Troys 29 to 55 Gallon Reef UPGRADE

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to introduce myself a little. I am new to the reef hobby but have been an avid aquariumist for years. My first Reef experiance started about a 8 months ago in a 29 gallon tank. Everything was perfect. We cycled the tank and began buying fish within 2 months. We ended up with 4 fish, couple crabs n snails, 2 anemones and several corals.

Just recently PetCo here in the states had a tank sale. $1 per gallon. That was hard to beat. So we bought a 55 gallon tank and started the upgrade process. I used all the water and live sand and rock from the original 29 gallon to fill the new 55g, then just topped off the rest with fresh saltwater and bought more live sand and 20 more lbs live rock.

I am at the beginning of week 3 right now in the cycle and am worried haha Im sure you can guess why...

So far everything is running,,,, just okay. We had some Ich show up on my Flame Angel which about killed me! Ended up picking up some "FisVet NO-ICH" from my LFS. I hate putting a chemical in my tank but the owner of the LFS assured me that this stuff was 100% organic and was safe with invertebrates and "most corals". I only have Polyps, mushrooms, and a montipora. Either way dont want to lose my Flame Angel!

I never seemed to see much Diatoms algae but there is defiantly a green algae bloom going on right now. Even had a little red slime but my Conch Snail is eating it pretty readily.

Okay now for the species list haha
Fish-
Flame Angel, Mandoran Goby, Maroon Clown, By-Colored Blennie

Invertebrates-
even mix of about 80 snails, cerinth, astrea, turbo, nassarius. 1 fighting conch snail.
1 striped legged hermit crab, 1 halloween hermit crab. 10 red leg, 10 blue leg crabs, 1 sally lightfoot, 1 emerald crab. 1 condylactus anemone, 1 bubble tip anemone.

Other than that just the corals i mention earlier.

I have not done any water changes yet due to the cycle. I am also using R/O water.

Is there anything I can or should be doing to help me out during this new cycle? Sucks cause I had to move all the animals and corals into a uncycled tank!

Let me know what you all think please. Thanks guys!

Ill get you all some pics up asap. Its not to pretty though haha

 

Well congrats on the upgrade when green algae and red slime algae appear you can bet its a high nutrient and or phosphate issue. Using your old sand I'm sure has something to do with this. You stirred things up! Lol however using LR And live sand like you did you need not wait for your tank to cycle. It probably already is. Do your water change! Cut down on your feedings. If possible run some GFO and phosphate removers.

 

I'd look into adding a DI unit to your RO unit ASAP! That;s pretty cheap! check out BRS for that!

you're CUC seems pretty good, but i'd watch your sally light foot!

never heard of your ich medicine! sorry! ]

Doing that big of a change will stress your fish out! I'd keep lighting lower for a week or so to let things settle in!

What are your params?

welcome to 3reef!
i wrote this up as a basic 101 to help! stole most the info from the pro's on here!
http://www.3reef.com/forums/diseases/ich-101-noob-noob-128391.html

good luck, keep the flame eating!

 

Welcome to 3reef. Honestly I don't think you have an un-cycled tank. You moved over all of your live rock and bought more, so you are probably wont see a cycle. Like Nana said, you are probably getting your algae bloom from stirring up your sand bed. You probably would have been better off to just buy new sand. Most people wont use the same sand when upgrading unless the sand is still fairly new.

 

Oh yeah, I did an upgrade from a 16 gallon to a 40 gallon breeder just like you did and didn't have a cycle at all.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies! That was fast, I love this forum haha

Okay starting with what Cosmo said, I checked into the DI add ons. I currently have the Coralife Pure-Flo II RO Unit. I can definitely purchase one of these if it is a must have? If so, is it better to go with the Dual DI add on or would the single be okay? OR should i just buy one of these and keep it in the family
Coralife Add-on Deionization Canister
Ill get them parameters up here asap too Cosmo. I just haven't checked it because I thought I was gonna be in this nitrogen cycle for 2 more weeks. I had never heard of this med before either. The LFS I shop has been in business about 35 years and is a family owned place . They only sell Saltwater stuff so I hope they know whats up.

Stickman, my 29 gallon tank was only 8 months old when I switched so the sand was still "fairly new" or at least I thought for a reef tank but im sure your dead on with that. You too Nana. Lesson learned!

Oh and Nana I will definitely go ahead and do a water change. Tomorrow is the last day for the Ich medication. Should I do it about 24 hrs after that or just go ahead with the change you think? and what percentage should I change? Also, what is GFO? I am feeding 1 time per day. Just enuff till they stop eating it. This is usually hardly anything I feel like. like 1 flake the size of a dime for example a day and that's for everything in the tank! If anything i think i am definitely under feeding. At least I feel like it. What do you think?

Thanks again everyone! Ill keep ya posted.

 

Oh ya, and what do you mean by that haha? I though they were good for a reef.

 

GFO - Granular Ferric Oxide - It is a phosphate remover. Are you running a skimmer? This can help remove excess nutrients from your system as well. Doe the ICH medicine say how much water to change out? If not, I would go with about 20%.

I am running a skimmer and 2 HOB filters. I am using Seachem Purigen and RowaPhos in one of them and carbon in the other. I over feed and I am not currently have a problem with phosphates or nitrates. I feel the same way as you do with feeding lol. I just do a little bit here and there through out the day when I am home, but I also have a lot of bristle worms that eat up all of my left overs and a decent CuC.

 

For the Sally Light Foot, this is probably what people are talking about:

"When large, it can become aggressive and catch and eat small invertebrates and fish."

 

That seems a little pricey for a DI add on! I'd look at BRS and buckeye field supply for a few cheaper options!

Just FYI, hold the cursor over an abbreviation and it will come up what it means! test GFO!lol

Also, i'd do a 20% water change and prep for another! i like to keep a 20 % water change ready just in case! or at least a 10%! But the DI is def a must unless ya like battling algae and cyano! your choice! lol

Just remember your LFS prob does know what they're talking about, but its a business that is struggling cause of the internet age! they need to sell you stuff! Take it with a grain of salt and then go research! Trust me on the DI part though! My cyano cleared up within a month and your algae prob will to! no promises though!