Re Aquascaping a established reef aquarium

Discussion in 'General Reef Topics' started by The Biocube Man, Jan 31, 2013.

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  1. The Biocube Man

    The Biocube Man Plankton

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    Hey everybody. I have had my 29 gallon biocube up and running for over a year now and really want to change things up inside. I would like to pull all of the rock out and do a complete re aquascape. I have a decent amount of corals that are on the rocks and scattered around on the sand bed. My main concern is killing all of my fish and corals. So my question is, should I treat this like a tank move and take the rock and put it into buckets with existing water and do the same with the fish and corals? Or can i leave the fish and corals in the aquarium and just pull the rock out, shake off the debris off and put it back in and build my design i want?
     
    The Biocube Man, Jan 31, 2013
    The Biocube Man, Jan 31, 2013
    #1

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  2. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    I would have extra water to put the rocks in and to clean them off. The fish and coral should be fine as long as you have enough room to move them away from where you are redoing your scape.
     
    2in10, Jan 31, 2013
    2in10, Jan 31, 2013
    #2
  3. The Biocube Man

    The Biocube Man Plankton

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    Should I be worried about starting a new cycle again? I've herd that when you disturb rocks and a lot of debris comes off of them that you could start a cycle.
     
    The Biocube Man, Jan 31, 2013
    The Biocube Man, Jan 31, 2013
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  4. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    It would most likely only be a mini cycle. Just do some extra water changes to be safe.
     
    2in10, Jan 31, 2013
    2in10, Jan 31, 2013
    #4
  5. louy99

    louy99 Feather Duster

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    I believe disturbing the sand causes a cycle too
     
    louy99, Feb 1, 2013
    louy99, Feb 1, 2013
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  6. Cyano

    Cyano Plankton

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    Be careful

    IME everytime I did something like you are about to it was a pain in the arse. I moved a 30 gallon cube from one room to another which of course I had to take everything out and move the tank then put everything back in I did minimal cleaning to avoid a cycle. I rinsed my rock in the old tank water and did a 50% water change. All was fine for a few days then I had a mini cycle with patches of cyano and diatoms. it cleared up in a month or so with regular scheduled water changes. I believe this all stemed from disturbing the sandbed. This was my first tank and at that time I had a lot of rock lying directly on sand and when it was lifted up all kinds of garbage flew out.
     
    Cyano, Feb 1, 2013
    Cyano, Feb 1, 2013
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  7. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

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    I just did this in my 55. It has been up and running for 8 months and I have not touched the rock or sand since it was filled. I filled up a couple 5 gal pails with tank water to place the rocks in. I tried to disturb as little sand as possible, although I have a sand sifting goby, so I was not anticipating an issue. Almost a week later now and I have not seen any signs of a mini-cycle :)
     
    Marshall O, Feb 1, 2013
    Marshall O, Feb 1, 2013
    #7