Transferring to bigger tank. Do I need to cycle again?

[Tropi]

So I've got my 2 ft 23g tank with no sump, with 7kg of Live rock and 5kg of Sand that's been running for 4 and a bit months, I finally took the plunge and ordered a custom tank 36x18x24 inches roughly 64g and a 36x14x14 sump to go with it so according to the LFS around 95g (360 litres) all together and it should be ready in somewhere around three weeks.

 

Now one LFS told me I don't need to cycle it again if I transfer all my current rock and sand over to the new one but another one told me because of how much bigger it is and how much more new rock and sand I have to get that it would be safer to cycle it again. I'm more inclined to agree with the second one so was hoping you guys could share your experiences with how you went about doing your transfers. I don't want to lose any of my livestock but the spot my current tank is in is where I would like part of the new one to go.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice

[Arkayology]

TBH, I wouldn't worry about it. You are adding more water, but if you don't add more waste to the water (more fish/dead or drying rock) you shouldn't have a problem in theory. If you wanted to be really careful, you could pick up a bottle of a bacterial additive like Dr. Tim's One and Only.

 

I transferred the LR from a 20g high to a 60g cube once and I didn't have any problems. HTH.

[cruiZe]

i went from 15g to 40B - I did a slow transition that was very smooth - I got dry rock for the 40B and put some of the live rock from the small tank to get the big tank setup. After things were stable I transfered the rest of the rock and the livestock.

[aviator300]

About 3 months ago I up sized from a 5 to a 17 gallon tank without incident. I just added a bottle of

BioSpira ( which is the same stuff as Dr Tims One and Only), Transferred my live rock, and added some BRS Reef Saver dry rock to give more surface for bacteria.

 

I then moved my fish, inverts, and corals. Did it all on the same day but of course yours may take longer because of the size.

[Tropi]

Thanks heaps for the replies so far guys

 

So is it safe to add more new sand and more rock on the same day as the transfer or will that make it start a cycle and would you guys recommend the extra rock being Live or Dry?

From what I've read since I haven't had my sand for a long time I should be fine to use the old sand but just give it a good clean first?

 

Were most of your transfers completed in the day or longer?

[princerick]

I'm in the same boat as you OP.

I'm getting a new 50B and I thought I had to cycle it again since atm I've got a 15g, but according to the replies here it may not be necessary. I still feel pretty unsure about it, my 15g has been running for over a year and i'd hate to lose livestock for being impatient

[Tropi]

same. I'm very attached to my nems and clowns and other livestock and would really hate to lose any, I'm wondering if having some LR in a bucket of saltwater with a powerhead and heater for a couple of weeks or more before the transfer would help sort of cycle it a bit before hand or if it would make no difference

[Chris!]

I've gone from a 20 to a 75, 75 to a 180 and 180 down to a 70 and never cycled. I've always bought the "live sand" added it direct and did a thorough rinse on the new dry rock... I've had a "small cycle" but nothing that messed with my acros or wrasses and that was without even using any of the additives. The time from the 180 to the 70 I had a small cycle still even with using a bacteria product..... but it certainly wont hurt to use one either just follow the directions on the bottle if you do.

 

Goodluck and congrats on the new tank

 

 

Oh yeah, cycling the dry rock in a bucket/ large tote wouldn't be a bad idea either if you can.... not entirely required but certainly not a bad idea.

[princerick]

So basically there could be a small cycle if you use dry rocks, but none if you use only LR? Im asking this cause im gonna use 100% live rocks, no dry rocks whatsoever.

[Psychosis]

The best way to explain sounds something like this:

 

When you're moving all of your rock from an established system in to a barren system, that rock still has all of the the bacterial colonies established during your original cycle. Since you should experience very minimal die off moving it from your current system to the new one, you probably won't see even a mini cycle so long as you don't opt to add a ton of new live stock at the same time. The only potential problem arises from your sand bed, (which should not be moved to the new tank) and losing the benefits of having a well established sand bed. It should only be a very minimal part of the nitrogen cycle in your system, but if you're currently overstocked it could be enough to cause a mini cycle.

 

In short, move your current rock, add it on top of some dry rock if you feel like adding more to the bigger tank, and temperature assimilate your live stock. Monitor your levels closely. For added safety, cook the dry rock for about a month in a bucket with some rubble added from your current system.

 

This is all in very basic terms, but I think I've read a few good articles on the subject I'll try to dig up for you guys. No promises, I get distracted easily. Good luck.

[Tropi]

Thanks everyone for all your help

 

I know I've been able to add more live rock straight into my current tank a few times with out any problems so I'm hoping it would be the same as doing it in the new one. I think I'm going to cycle some new LR in a clear large container with powerhead and heater for a few weeks before I set up the new one, that way I suppose it gives me time to deal with any bad hitch hikers before it gets put in.

I'm wanting to do a deeper sand bed in the new tank this time for my strombus snail and sandsifting starfish so I'm probably going to use all new sand and just a cup of my current sand to seed it. Hope I'm on the right track.