New tank upgrade/journal w/ pics

Hey all! It has been a while since I have been on 3 reef due to work/school/life in general. But I'm back and thanks to Craigslist I have a new tank! I'll be switching this tank out for my old one.

I have been battling algea for the past few months and I'm pretty sure I've narrowed it down to a filled up dsb. (I wasn't carring for the DSB properly)

So while I switch from the old tank to the new one I'll be ditching the DSB and going with a 1.5" sand bed.

Here is a pic of the tank when it was set up at the old owner's house.

So far I have it all cleaned out and ready to go for the switch. More pics coming as this tank progresses.

 

Very nice set up

 

Thank you.

Here is a picture of the current tank who's inhabitants will be making the move shortly. The rocks are covered in a flakey type algae that comes off pretty easily with a good scrubbing. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm planning on doing a good scrubbing on each rock before moving to the new tank. I am assuming removing as much algae as I can and doing my best to keep nutrients out of the new system should cure the algae problem.


Finished rinsing 30 lbs of fresh sand, with some help of course . I am planning on putting 30 lbs down and then stacking the rocks on top of this. Seeding the new bed with a cup of sand from the old system, then cleaning and adding sand from the old system over the next month until I reach a 1.5" sand bed.

 

Got everything finished up this weekend. Took a couple hours to get the scape down but I think it came out pretty good. Everyone seems to be settling in nicely. I like the new home the shrimp picked out, I can actually see him now. Last time he picked a spot on the backside of the rocks, now I can see him just peeking out from under the rocks waiting for food. I'm going to test today to see if I get any type of cycle. I had to throw out more of the old water than I wanted to but it was wayyyy to nasty to put into the new tank.

 

One more shot