Experienced Reefers! Help with moving to larger tank!

Ok. So I purchased a 65 gallon tank from an acquaintance this past weekend and want to transfer the contents of my 29 gallon Biocube to it.

Contents include:

3 Zoas
1 Nuclear Green Paly
1 Lunar Eclipse Paly
1 Cosmic Cupid Paly
1 Toadstool Leather
1 Hammer Coral
1 Frogspawn
1 Candy Cane (2 polyps)
1 Cynarina
1 Green Star Polyp
2 Pulsing Xenia (was originally one that split)
2 Acans (1 three polyp red and green, 1 two polyp orange)
2 Favites
1 Sun Coral
1 Lobo
2 Duncans
1 Red Goniopora
1 Aussie Elegant
1 Yellow Mushroom
1 Bird Nest
1 Short tentacled Orange tipped Torch
1 Shelf Coral
1 Blasto

Fish include a Clown, Coral Beauty, Purple Firefin, and Royal Gramma.
Cleanup crew includes Yellow Cucumber, Peppermint Shrimp, Scarlet Shrimp, Emerald Crab, Nassarius Snails, Turbo Snails, and Hermit Crabs.

What I purchased:
65 gallon drilled and plumbed tank, tank stand and canopy, 4 T5 bulbs and fixtures, a Bubble Magus NAC6, 30 gallon sump, plumbing, etc, and a Mag 5 pump which I replaced with a new Mag 9.5.

What I have done so far (starting 2 days ago):

Added new Carib Sea Arag-Alive sand (4 bags)
Added about 3-4 cups of sand from Biocube
Added a few pieces of live rock that the previously owner had in there
Added live rock rubble from my biocube chamber into the sump
Added 3-4 capfuls of Microbacter per day
Added 15-20 gallons of water from my biocube
Remaining water mixed with RO/DI and added

Currently I am showing between a .25 and .5 ammonia (same as yesterday). Everything else is normal.

When and how should I transfer the contents of my Biocube without causing a major cycle?

My current plan was to check parameters of the new tank for 2-3 days and if they looked okay, begin adding my Biocube contents. The problem is that I don't know if the ammonia is going to drop before I do this?

The idea is that adding the live rock (an additional 40 lbs) and water from my cube already contains the bio load needed to sustain the livestock and mitigate any cycle that could occur. Mind you, 15-20 gallons of my cube water has already been added, plus an additional 22 gallons or so from the final transfer.

If the ammonia doesn't get any higher in the 65, would adding the Biocube's contents consume the ammonia with the existing bio load?

I ask urgently because I don't want to miss any type of window that I should expect.

My preference is that people who have made a transfer similar to this, help with their experience and results. Not just theoretical.

Thank you in advance.

 

Sounds like a nice system upgrade you have going there.

I'm not guessing on your boldtyped question.

Either way sounds like you will have in under control.

 

Not sure why you're getting a amm reading unless the previous owners LR had dried out, and now thats causing it, or something in the sand?? Not sure. If the rock was dried out, I'd remove that and see what happens. You can always cycle it outside the tank and add it later.

If you're amm drops, I don't think there would be any problem moving everything over, as you stated. Good luck

 

Actually, he drained his tank the day I picked it up, so the rock never dried out.

HOWEVER, I see 3 other possibilities.

1) The few scoops of sand from my existing tank may have introduced previously unexposed items that could have started this cycle.
2) The microbacter is a bio load so I would imagine that in order to initiate a cycle, it has to start somewhere.
3) During the time when I transferred sand from the existing tank, I did accidentally transfer a nassarius snail. It is possible that it did not survive the move and is dead now, which would introduce ammonia.

 

true, you do need a source for the MB7 to work. I'd get that down to zero before adding your fish. should be pretty quick with the MB7

 

A source such as?

I have a few pieces of live rock in there.

Also, wouldn't the ammonia work as a source?

 

I started my tank up with established sand & rock from established tanks & I still had to wait for it to cycle. But I used all new water & I believe that caused some dying off from live rocks. Deff wait till amm goes down & wait to see how high your nitrites & nitrates go up. It only took me a few weeks to cycle through the nitrites in mine. The amm was gone in maybe a week. I still have some nitrates like 20 or so. Better to be safe than having your tank crash cause the bio load isn't enough to keep up the amount of corals & stock you have.

 

It is, I mis-worded it. you need a source of ammonia for MB7 to work, which you do, somehow, just what is the source? As you've quessed at.

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/45-gallon-90-gallon-upgrade-132010.html

This is what I did.

Put the new sand on the bottom. then put the old sand from the old tank on top. the New crushed coral then the old crushed coral. this will help the bio to stabilize in the new tank. Your new tank will do a mini cycle. expect it. then add in the old water then add in the LR. then add in the fish then add in the new water.

 

How long did the entire process take you? Did you move the LR at the same time as the water and fish? Is .25-.5 ammonia too high for the livestock to handle? I assume since you had a mini cycle, that your ammonia got somewhat close to that?