Alright so I got the tank and stand situated where it's gonna live. Filled it with tap water ( sorry, wasn't about to buy 125 gallons of RO!). Threw in tap water conditioner, a heater and a small powerhead for some water movement, tomorrow I'm going to add my salt and match my sg of my 55 gallon that's running now. After the sg is met how long shoukd I wait before introducing live sand and live rock? Can I do it immediately or will it harm the bacteria? I was going to add the 65+ pounds of rock and 60 lbs of sand and let the tank run a few weeks before I begin the breakdown of the 55 and add another 60+ lbs of lr and 40lbs of live sand... And then ultimately the corals and fish.... Leaving me with a 55 that will become my new sump. Someone please help. Is this feesible?
125 gallon build
- Thread starter Krazykarl
- Start date
- Status
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Wow! You don't mess around.. I guess they don't call you "krazy" for nothing! LOL.. Good luck with your new project..
My advice would be to take your time and try to minimize any significant changes to your inhabitants.
The good news is that you have an established tank and just relocating everything to a larger environment.
My advice would be to take your time and try to minimize any significant changes to your inhabitants.
The good news is that you have an established tank and just relocating everything to a larger environment.
Hahahah well I'm still a beginner only been doing this for about 9 or 10 months. I'm knowledgeable but I still ask questions. I don't want to lose any fish or livestock in the move. Maybe I should reiterate a little and explain a bit more. I've had a 55 gallon tank running for about 10 months with approx 60 lbs of lr and 40 lbs of sand. I recently bought a 125 and filled it today. I am purchasing 65 lbs of live rock and 60 lbs of live sand. I am adding the salt tomorrow to match my sg in my 55. After a few hours I'm going To add the 65 lbs of lr and the 60 lbs of live sand. My question is will adding an already cultures amount of live Rock and sand to new water decimate the bacteria in the rocks and sand? Or will it matter? To me i see it like doing a 100% water change. I'm gonna let the tank run for a month before i transfer any live stock or rock to the 125. At which point the fish will go too. The water in my 55 will stay and just get mixed with the water in the 125 once I plumb it and turn in the return pump. Please chime in and tell me if I'm doing this the right way.
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Sounds like you are doing everything right. I would maybe let the new salt water mix and circulate longer than a couple hours. If your not in a rush, maybe let things stabilize for 24 hours then add your live rock and sand. Let it stabilize for a couple days, test for ammonia, and go from there. Once your rock and sand bed has is stabilized (i.e. no ammonia, nitirite, etc) you should be good to move your established inhabitants to their new home. Just remember to take your time acclimatizing your old stuff into the new system.
If the Rock and sand is already LIVE and bacteria cultured Am I still going to go thru a nitrogen cycle? I thought the idea of cycling a tank was in a brand new system with base rock and sand where you attempt to introduce a form of ammonia to jump start the growth of bacteria. If this bacteria is already present will I necessarily see a spike in ammonia nitrite or nitrates? I wouldnt think so but I could be wrong. My only fear of letting the tank settle for a day is I will have the live rock and sand I bought sitting in buckets full of water from an established tank. How long can it sit before die off?
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Your absolutely correct.. If your rock and sand is already "live" it won't go through a cycle. It will just adapt to the new system, but disturbing the sandbed during the transfer could trigger some die off, which could cause a slight ammonia spike. Just being cautious.
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Krazykarl link said:
The rock and sand should be fine overnight, keep it warm and throw in a powerhead for circulation. You would also probably be okay with your original plan too. It's your choice. I have done things both ways when I upgraded my tanks and suffered no ill fate
F
fishit
Guest
no sorry this is not true at all your tank will cycle every time you add more live rock wether minor or could go throw a full cycle no way to tell till its in . that's y you should add all live rock needed at once. you should add all you r rock even the rock in your 55 plus your new rock get it set up the way you want then after that you ad your sand reason being the fish and crabs will dig in the sand and if thee rock is siting on the sand bed the fish dig it up and will cause all your rock to fall and possible crack your tank!!! put your salt in now if you want then do a 50% water change on your 55 and ad that in to get the bacteria going then when the water gets to temp and salinity is good ad all live rock needed 1 lb per gal plus. let cycle probably a few days at least depending on the new live rock and keep adding water out of your 55 over this time once cycled add your sand and fish
My only problem is alot of my live rock in my 55 right now is covered in coral. There are the odd pieces I can remove and add to the 125 but majority is coral. So I think those need to wait along with the fish. Regardless what I choose i think just to play it safe I'll do it slowLy. Let the tank run for a month or so with new LIVE rock and LIVE sand allowing the water to get to temp and salinity and then slowly acclimate fish and corals to new water params. They should be close anyway: then once I have the fish and coral I will have to add the remaining sand from the 55. Or, I thought to myself, what if I leave the sand in the 55 for the refugium section, thus not disturbing it. Ibwasnt going to build glass baffles like I did in my previous sump. Rather mimic stellarflares ref/sump design. I dunno I'm sure it'll all work out.. If not i strt over in live stock!
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Just go slow and watch your params.looking forward to watching your progress. Good luck!
Well the salinity is matched to the 55. The live sand is in and settled, the live rock is in ( not scaped) the snails are coming out. The temp is matched. Activated carbon runnin to remove chlorine and chloramines. Gonna monitor water parameters for a few weeks and start the break down of my 55... So excited
teebone110
Distinguished Member
Good stuff!
F
fishit
Guest
make sure you get a air bubbler in there to oxygenate the water well your not running a sump
C
crazybizzle
Guest
post a pic
lewis844
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2010
- Location
- Wallaceburg, Ontario
cant wait to see some pics of the setup
Blob-79
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2017
- Location
- Tillsonburg
Krazykarl link said:
I dont think so. However with power heads agitating the water surface, you wont need to filter out chlorine. For instance if you fill a pail up with tap water, and just let it sit for a day or 2, the chlorine evaporates out.
Im taking pics as I go tracking my progress day 1 so far. Gonna run some water tests tonight and keep a log. Once I'm done doing the tear down of the 55 I'm going to post pictures of the whole process along with details. Hopefully it will help ppl inthe future that consider upgrading....
- Status