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Post by snofun on Feb 4, 2013 8:48:58 GMT -5
first off thanks for all the posts and exciting information that can be found on here. Its great to see so many people having interest in this hobby.
I recently bought a 30 gallon reef tank with a 10g refuge and a sea clone 100 skimmer. Its currently stocked with 2 clowns, a wrasse, 2 cleaner shrimp, kenyi tree, 2 finger leather, 4 bubble corals, button polyps, and a brain coral.
I'm in the process of dismantling my 75 gallon freshwater tank so i can re-caulk it and to convert it saltwater. I would like to use my current 30 gallon as a refuge with the 75gallon tank.
What would be the best way to do this change over with minimal stress to the inhabitants as well as myself.
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Post by pam0630 on Feb 4, 2013 9:56:36 GMT -5
i went thru this not too long ago...went from a 55 gal a 125 gal
alot of work just reverse the process......its not that difficult..
drain all the good water off the top..put into buckets and when you get close to the bottom about 2 inches left at the bottom
just take all your stuff out put into buckets...i put my fish and coral
into a large tote
clean your sand really well get all that gook out....and there you go
start the process of putting everything into new tank
of course your going to have to add more water, i always have water setup to add to my tank....
thats just how i do it. everyone has a diff idea...have fun
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Post by gotareef on Feb 4, 2013 10:34:25 GMT -5
it is up to you. if you move everything fast it can lead to big problems.
sand is cheap I would use mostly new sand then add your old sand a little at a time after it is well cleaned and the tank is running for a couple weeks
a year or so ago I went from 120g to 180g. with the fish and corals I have, I made sure I wouldnt lose anything by making the move take 3 months!
I set up the 180 with sand waited a couple weeks for that to stabilize, then slowly started moving rock over to the new tank then a couple fish and some easy to keep corals then moved the rest into their new home. again this process took 3 months,I could have done it sooner but the more patience the better in the salt water world
another thing when you move the rock it will be exposed to air this kills the living things on the rock, make sure to get as much air out of the rock as you can after moving it. this reduces the amount of die off that creates nitrate and phosphate
any way you do it amquel plus will be your best friend after stirring up all the nasties in the sand and rocks into the water
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Post by pam0630 on Feb 4, 2013 13:33:42 GMT -5
i did my move from one tank to another in 3 days...transferred everything and it was fine....
again i let the tank settle for 2 days had dennis check my levels and transferred rock and fish.......crossed my fingers..
might be moving myself shortly, so going to have to undue my whole 125 gal tank and move......
dont know how im going to move the tote when fish and rocks in it...another thing is keeping it warm.....ive heard of putting those heat packets all over the outside of the tote...anyone have any other ideas for heat???i have my battery operated air pump
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Post by gotareef on Feb 4, 2013 15:17:23 GMT -5
car inverter and a small heater
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NateG
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by NateG on Feb 4, 2013 16:31:18 GMT -5
Are you putting the 75 in the same place where your 30 is now?
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Post by snofun on Feb 5, 2013 9:21:51 GMT -5
no the 75 is going to stay in the location it is in now. Im finishing up making my stand as I intend on the refugium to remain veiwable below the 75. I have plenty of buckets, heaters and aerators to give me a solid afternoon of getting things into place without worring about my live stock. part of my snag is that the 30 will be down for a few days so i can put dividers, ect to make it a refugium. during that 24-48h period of set up for the acrylic. my plan was to run the 75 with the 10G refugium for that period. im thinking this will also allow some time for the 45 new galons of water to acclimate before i add another 25-30 into the refugium.
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NateG
Full Member
Posts: 222
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Post by NateG on Feb 5, 2013 11:45:22 GMT -5
I don't know how everyone feels about this, but you could buy one of those massive 45 gallon rubbermaid trashcans for like $30, put it on a towel, fill with your 30's livestock and water, perhaps put it next to the 75 before filling it. Fill it to the brim with new water to acclimate. But a heater and a few pumps in it, maybe an airstone-the idea is to keep O2 up whether its with a pump etc.
If you were doing this for someone else i can understand why you would want to get it done in one day. But being your own, i would let the sands settle out, and when you put the livestock from the barrel to the 75, do a HUGE water change and do it with the old tank water.
Then return the trash can to home depot after you hosed it out haha
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