Upgrading Tank...Sand and Lighting question

I am going to be upgrading my 55 gallon soon....Looks like I may be getting a good deal on a 125 gallon. My question is if I want to change to black sand or another kind of sand, can i put down the live sand I have in my 55 gallon and then put the new black sand on top of that or should I not even use the old sand if I am going to use the live rock from the 55 gallon? Will I get another cycle?

Also if I'm not going to get too many corals, can I use the 48" T5 from my 55 gallon and still get a few corals? And what kind of corals could I get?

Thanks for the help

 

How many bulbs do you currently have?

 

4 bulbs

 

Edit: what brand model of fixture do you have?

some fixtures will work but only if the quality is there and even that you would be limited to softies/LPS from what I understand.

as far as your old sand goes you can use a cup of you old sand to help the new sand and rinse the rest and use it in you refuge or in you new tank.

 

for the sand, I would start with all new sand again if your current tank is somewhat established. Unless you really take the time to thoroughly clean/rinse all the junk out of your sand, there are more bad things trapped in there over time, than good.

+1 on what RC said on seeding the new sand with a few cups of your current sand

 

I have this -----> Fixture <------ Aquaticlife 48" with ATI bulbs (2 Blue plus, 1 Purple plus and 1 Aquablue special) and each bulb has its own reflector.

Thanks for the help so far guys.

 

AquaticLife makes nice fixtures and ATI bulbs are the best IMO so that's def a plus.

You main concern will be lightspread on a tank that much bigger, (I think) 125g is a good bit wider than a 55g so you'll really have to concentrate your corals under the light if you are going to use it. Is the 125g the same length as your 55g? There's different dimensions so post your dimension of the new tank if you could, that might help us give you the best advice.

 

With 4x48" bulbs over a 125 you should be able to keep some LPS in the middle of the tank. Each end will be low on light, but there will be enough to support low light softies there.

I don't think you would have good success with SPS, but could possibly put some very high in the tank in the center. Just don't expect stellar results.

I'd keep it to LPS and sift corals.

 

Thanks! That's what I was hoping to hear. Except I would like some SPS.

 

New tank is 72 x 18 x 23. Using new sand, won't that cause a new cycle?