Going from 20 gal to 30 gal

[tvwatcher2]

If I move all of my cycled LR, LS, and water from my 20 gal to a 30 gal, will the tank go through a cycle or will I get any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate spikes?

[ReefNutPA]

More than likely, yes... you will go through a mini-cycle. However, it will not take nearly as long to cycle through as it did when you first set up the tank. My guess would be somewhere around the 1 to 3 week range, depending on how carefully you removed the sand.

When I move tanks and reuse a sandbed, I use a new plastic dustpan and carefully remove sections at a time and place it in the new tank. That way, a great majority of the sandbed stays intact and has less die-off than if you just scoop cups of the sand out and place it in a new tank.

Tom

[pledosophy]

I think I just read a thread about this same topic on seahorse.org

You can move the rock, and use new sand if you are incloined not to have a cylce at all. I have moved about 10 tanks and never seen a cycle IME.

Good Luck to you.