should i upgrade?

i am thinking about upgradeing my 29g reef, i just got a 55g tank with stand from a friend for free.i like the idea of a bigger tank and more room but i have one question. my 29 is only 7 months old would this be a problem?

 

heck yeah! put the stuff from your 29 to the 55 and use the 29 as a sump/fuge.... that isn't a tough move. buy more live rock and more live sand and mix up a bunch more water. Keep your 29's inhabitants in another separate container and make sure you acclimate them to the new tank. Other than that, it should be an easy swap.

 

I agree... Only advise make sure you have every thing you need so when you make the swap it goes easy..!! Oh and once you start take your time..!! Dont rush putin the rock in thats when a oopss could happen..!!


Good Luck...!!!

 

thanks for the advice, yea i think i am going to swap everyone to a bigger home soon but i just want to take it slow like you were saying. as for the 55 i have about 40lb of base rock and a 2 an a half inch of live sand in there now so i am just watching for any changes in water conditions.i have a few questions about the move..first question...can i take out live rock from my 29 one peice say a week and add it to the 55 then when i only have a few peice in the 29 take the livestock out ( 2 tomato clowns, watchmen goby, and a few frags of softies) in a qt i have till i can be sure the 55 will be ready. and last question i have is i dont have any lighting for the 55 and want to know if i can get by with my 30" pc's for a week or so till i can order the 48" t5's. if i can do this i will make sure the light is in the center and put the softies higher up in the tank. once agian thanks for the help.

 

Well, for the rock, honestly I would transfer a fish a week, and do a little rock with each fish. You don't want to try to keep all the fish in the 29 without most of the rock, as that is your main biological filter.
In regards to the lighting, a week should be OK. What corals specifically are we talking about here?

 

I agree with Packleader...

Just keep you Corals high closer to the light you should be fine till the new ones arive...

Good luck...

 

Well.....I would handle this like any other tank move. Just do it all at once. Your biggest problem is your sand. Two options IMO. I would either wash what you have really, really well, or just get new sand and do a 2 inch base. I moved a sand bed unwashed from one tank to another and had a two month cycle. The LR can go in all at once. Use as much water from your 29 as you can and premix the rest of it. It will end up being 50 to 60 percent new water....and that is OK. Your 30" PCs will do just fine until you get your other lighting system. Plan this out right and it can be a bing, bang boom kind of thing. If it were me, I would do the following:

1.) Set up the 55g. Put new sand in.
2.) Lay down glad wrap over sand and fill half way up (very slowly) with SW mixed the night before. Glad wrap will rise with water and you shouldn't disturb but a few grains of sand.
3.) Heat water to temp of old tank.
4.) Move LR as well as about half your water from your 29.
5.) Acclimate fish to new tank over about a half hour.
6.) Add as much water left over from your 29 without getting oogy water from the sand bed (oogy IS the technical term).
7.) Top off with leftover premixed SW if needed.

You could then wash the sand you had before very well and let dry....You will find a use for it later. You will end up with a mini-cycle from the transfer and new sand. But IMO, you will end up with mini-cycle no matter what you do with that sandbed. A new one is just a cleaner way of doing things and easier overall.

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!!

Have fun. I did something like this once.....From a 75 to a 90. It was interesting. I took my time and did it in five days with only one loss. If you want to wait a few weeks to do this, you could do something like a 30% weekly water change and keep the water for the change over. That would help.

Now you are going to get a lot of suggestions on this one......there are many ways to skin a cat. Just do what you are most comfortable with. For me....I am an all or nothing kind of a dude. Which is why I chose this way. Later gator.

Peace.......John.

 

I agree with 99% of this - my only disagreement is on the technical term for the sludge/ slurry that is in your sand - oog is in fact the technical term for the mess thats left on your carpet after moving live rock from 1 tank to another

done this sort of thing many times over the years, always prepared well in advance using the water from existing set up tank to start filling the new tank, that cuts down on the new water being added at any one time

 

thank u guys for the advice on the move, i plan on getting set up and everything i need here in a few days.