Transferring tanks, help with ?'s

Hi 3reefer's

I am getting ready to transfer the contents of my 55g to a 20g. My 55g is 4 months old, and has been a perfect tank, I have pods everywhere, a couple pieces of corraline covered LR and about 40lbs of base rock that has been in from the start. Also Black Tahitian Moon SSB. I don't have much in the 55...
-Frogspawn
-2 Favia frags
- Goniopora frag
- Mushrooms
- B&W Clown

Would it be best to just add new water to the 20 setup with existing sand and rock from the 55? Should I do a 50/50 mix of water from the old tank to the new, or should I do a 50% change in the 55 and use the water removed to fill the 20? Should I have all LR in the new 20 or can I use some dry base rock and some LR from the 55? I am trying to get everything transferred as quickly as I can so that I can tear down the 55. I am still waiting on lights for my 20, so that's another week of keeping the 55 up, minimum.

Thanks for the help!

I am also going to use the remainder of the sand from the 55 in a fuge setup for the 20. Any issues here?

 

I would not reuse the sand.Even though your tank has only been running a short time it is still not worth the risk.IMO You could use a cup or two of the old sand to help cycle the new tank though. Using water from the old tank has little to no benefit as the bacteria needed live on surfaces not in the water column. As long as the new tank is not going in the same place as the old one then it is much easier. If your using live sand and you are mixing your SW add the water, then salt, then sand.(leave some room as the salt,sand,and rock will displace some water) Get your filters working to clear the tank up.After it settles and you can see what you are doing add some of your pieces of LR.(THE MORE THE BETTER) Add a piece of shrimp or some fish food and wait for the tank to cycle.When your Ammonia and NitrItes have dropped to zero you can add your fish. Wait at least a week and check your parameters again before adding the rest of your rock and corals.

 

I guess my question is... Why would I have a cycle if I am using LR from across the room. I am not saying should or shouldn't either way, I just don't understand the cycle if everything I am using is already stable and live. If anyone could tell me why this is I would really appreciate it. Maybe it will just be a small cycle...?

*Just re-read your post, so I should only have a light cycle (1 week) that's good, I can live with that. Water is already mixed and ready to go

 

Cycle times will vary from tank to tank. I never said it would take a week.I said after the cycle and adding your fish wait a week to add the rest of your LR and corals.If I read your original post right and you only have one fish this may not be necessary. If you are transferring your LR you should have a short cycle. How short is anyones guess. DON'T rush this. I can't stress this enough!! Good luck!!8)

 

Thank you for the help, very much. Someone is actually buying my 55 tomorrow with all the corals and everything as it sits. Very unexpected

I am keeping a few mushrooms and I do only have the 1 fish, looks like I will be putting him in the tank tomorrow...I have no other option, other than possibly taking him to the LFS for a while.

and it also looks like I will be buying new sand

Thanks again

 

If you use rock that has been in the old tank the whole time (4 months) there will be no cycle and your fish will be fine. If you're using a 20g you can probably get away with one nice size rock (6-8lbs) if you only have one fish. You can add dry base rock as well with little to no impact on the new setup. I would however wait a couple weeks before adding anymore to the bioload, just to be on the safe side.

 

^^ This was/is the plan. I have about 12-15lbs of rock between the DT and the fuge. Tomorrow I will try to get some sand as well.

Thanks

 

Sorry to say but if this were true none of us would ever have to cycle a new tank.Which is not the case. I think most of us have started tanks in the past using nothing but LR but the tank will still cycle.

 

From what I understood, this was because the "LR" was shipped dry, not in water. Everything I have read on getting LR shipped in water they have had little (1-3 weeks) to no cycle because there was little to no die off in shipping or storage of the rock. There is only one place I know of that ships this way. Anyway- Since my rock never left the water for more than 6 seconds I thought I should be safe.

Now I know to expect a bloom of some sort...whatever it may be, I hope I am prepared. I do nothing but constantly monitor the tank I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes in my build thread.

Vinny, thank you so much for the help and I hope you will keep an eye on my progress.

Coastie, thank you too and I hope it goes this well...if not it's ok

 

I know when I upgraded from a 29g to a 40g breeder with 20g sump. I just took everything out of the 29g except for the sand. I topped off the tank with new water and new sand. No problems.

If you want to cycle a new tank, you should look in to this stuff called Dr. Tim's One and Only, there will be no waiting 4-6 weeks to cycle your tank. It will cycle in less than a week. On my next tank, I will try it and see how it works. I haven't found one bad review on it.