Tank upgrade with a move...

mmx01 · 05/16/2018, 04:04 AM

Hello All,

I went through a lot of posts on moving tanks but unfortunately no concrete plan appeared in my head and I do have a time constraint. Does it make sense to do both things at the same time move the tank and upgrade it?

Life of a tenant is never easy and I will be moving in roughly 2 months (same city ~30m drive). Most probably there won't be more than a week of overlap between both properties leaving me up to 7 days to transfer all the stuff, furniture and the tank. It is a small 20g nano but since an upgrade to 75g was on my mind for a long time would it be wise to combine both operations?

First though was to maximize the time now to reduce a risk of cycle later (if possible). Get new dry rock for seeding and seed it with bacteria for 2 months in a bucket.
1. Put dry (not dead) rock into a container for a month+ with some live rock from existing tank - not too much to avoid impact on the existing tank (of course SW, heater, PW etc in the bucket). Checking params weekly + feeding bacteria with household ammonia
2. Add new marine pure to the sump so it is populated in the existing tank also replacing surface of removed LR
3. Do two 50% water changes in the exiting tank a week to the move (one 7 days before, one a day before) and retain the water. Use of the same salt mix should somehow accustom corals & fish towards newer water in the old tank while old water should get the new tank closer to what they know
4. On the two month mark setup the new tank with new equipment (cannot do it before 7 days to move), get new LS, add 20g of old water from earlier changes + seeded rock from the bucket + marine pure to the new tank and fill the rest with new SW

== this is were my 7 days move window starts with the old tank still running in parallel ==

5. I would assume after 2-3 days dust should somehow settle in the new tank. This is where the rest of LR from the old tank + existing marine pure from the sump would be moved to the new tank together with inhabitants. No sand transfer, just a cup for seeding.

I would of course do Temp/PH adjustment and to level possible Alk/Ca/Mg but here is where I hope water changes prior the move should mitigate swing to some extent.

The current tank is roughly 10 months old and the things have stopped dying on me (acros & montis) about 3 months ago which I very much appreciate and for the first time I see how encrusting tissue of corals looks like!

How otherwise could I increase chances of success?

Regards,
M

j.falk · 05/16/2018, 05:20 AM

Why not focus on moving the 20 for right now and then set up the 75 when you aren't so stressed out during the move and have ample time to do it without rushing? Trying to do too many things at one time with limited time is usually a recipe for disaster.

mmx01 · 05/16/2018, 06:09 AM

It is an option I'm considering as well hence pooling for opinions. Maybe indeed that would be a better alternative. Two things I had in mind against were disturbing existing sand bed during the move and making it in fact two changes over one stress wise in a short period of time.

MarkW64 · 05/16/2018, 07:52 AM

I think it makes sense to combine the move and the upgrade, but IMO your plans are making things WAAAY more complicated than necessary! You are worried about a "cycle" happening -- I don't think you need to be. A "cycle" is what you get when you have insufficient bacteria to handle your bioload. As long as you don't have a lot of die-off in your move, and you don't quickly add livestock to the new tank, there is no reason to expect a cycle (elevated ammonia). Here is basically what I would do:
1) Set up new tank with the new rock and sand and water. Match parameters to existing tank.
2) Allow to "settle" for a few days. Make sure everything is running correctly.
3) Move existing rock and livestock.
4) Slowly (as always) add new fish etc. to new tank

If it makes you feel better, you could add some extra steps like seeding some biopure ahead of time, adding "bacteria in a bottle" when setting up the new tank, etc.

squeakymcmurdo · 05/17/2018, 10:51 AM

It makes sense to upgrade at the same time as the move. I have to take down my 75 gallon in order to put in new flooring. I have a 125 waiting. I have been adding the extra dry rock needed for the bigger tank into my 75 a piece at a time every week. I did the same when I upgraded from a 30 gallon. It looks crowed and silly but it works. Just have supplies on hand for any swing in the parameters. It didn’t happen in my case but it is a possibility.

Toga2 · 05/23/2018, 01:01 AM

Keep everything in buckets submerged, make as few changes as possible and plan ahead

05/16/2018, 04:04 AM	#1
mmx01 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 17	Tank upgrade with a move... Hello All, I went through a lot of posts on moving tanks but unfortunately no concrete plan appeared in my head and I do have a time constraint. Does it make sense to do both things at the same time move the tank and upgrade it? Life of a tenant is never easy and I will be moving in roughly 2 months (same city ~30m drive). Most probably there won't be more than a week of overlap between both properties leaving me up to 7 days to transfer all the stuff, furniture and the tank. It is a small 20g nano but since an upgrade to 75g was on my mind for a long time would it be wise to combine both operations? First though was to maximize the time now to reduce a risk of cycle later (if possible). Get new dry rock for seeding and seed it with bacteria for 2 months in a bucket. 1. Put dry (not dead) rock into a container for a month+ with some live rock from existing tank - not too much to avoid impact on the existing tank (of course SW, heater, PW etc in the bucket). Checking params weekly + feeding bacteria with household ammonia 2. Add new marine pure to the sump so it is populated in the existing tank also replacing surface of removed LR 3. Do two 50% water changes in the exiting tank a week to the move (one 7 days before, one a day before) and retain the water. Use of the same salt mix should somehow accustom corals & fish towards newer water in the old tank while old water should get the new tank closer to what they know 4. On the two month mark setup the new tank with new equipment (cannot do it before 7 days to move), get new LS, add 20g of old water from earlier changes + seeded rock from the bucket + marine pure to the new tank and fill the rest with new SW == this is were my 7 days move window starts with the old tank still running in parallel == 5. I would assume after 2-3 days dust should somehow settle in the new tank. This is where the rest of LR from the old tank + existing marine pure from the sump would be moved to the new tank together with inhabitants. No sand transfer, just a cup for seeding. I would of course do Temp/PH adjustment and to level possible Alk/Ca/Mg but here is where I hope water changes prior the move should mitigate swing to some extent. The current tank is roughly 10 months old and the things have stopped dying on me (acros & montis) about 3 months ago which I very much appreciate and for the first time I see how encrusting tissue of corals looks like! How otherwise could I increase chances of success? Regards, M

05/16/2018, 07:52 AM	#4
MarkW64 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 217	I think it makes sense to combine the move and the upgrade, but IMO your plans are making things WAAAY more complicated than necessary! You are worried about a "cycle" happening -- I don't think you need to be. A "cycle" is what you get when you have insufficient bacteria to handle your bioload. As long as you don't have a lot of die-off in your move, and you don't quickly add livestock to the new tank, there is no reason to expect a cycle (elevated ammonia). Here is basically what I would do: 1) Set up new tank with the new rock and sand and water. Match parameters to existing tank. 2) Allow to "settle" for a few days. Make sure everything is running correctly. 3) Move existing rock and livestock. 4) Slowly (as always) add new fish etc. to new tank If it makes you feel better, you could add some extra steps like seeding some biopure ahead of time, adding "bacteria in a bottle" when setting up the new tank, etc. __________________ Setting up 230g Miracles mixed reef peninsula, TampaBaySaltwater liverock package, Radion Gen3 pros, Vectra returns

05/17/2018, 10:51 AM	#5
squeakymcmurdo Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Star Valley, Wyoming Posts: 139	It makes sense to upgrade at the same time as the move. I have to take down my 75 gallon in order to put in new flooring. I have a 125 waiting. I have been adding the extra dry rock needed for the bigger tank into my 75 a piece at a time every week. I did the same when I upgraded from a 30 gallon. It looks crowed and silly but it works. Just have supplies on hand for any swing in the parameters. It didn’t happen in my case but it is a possibility. __________________ 75 gallon reef with 10 gallon sump 125 gallon waiting outside and functioning as my kids’ swimming pool until my husband helps me lift it onto the stand.

05/16/2018, 05:20 AM	#2
j.falk Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 632	Why not focus on moving the 20 for right now and then set up the 75 when you aren't so stressed out during the move and have ample time to do it without rushing? Trying to do too many things at one time with limited time is usually a recipe for disaster.

05/16/2018, 06:09 AM	#3
mmx01 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 17	It is an option I'm considering as well hence pooling for opinions. Maybe indeed that would be a better alternative. Two things I had in mind against were disturbing existing sand bed during the move and making it in fact two changes over one stress wise in a short period of time.

05/23/2018, 01:01 AM	#6
Toga2 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Saratoga NY Posts: 50	Keep everything in buckets submerged, make as few changes as possible and plan ahead