Jump to content
Premium Aquatics Aquarium Supplies

100% water changes like "Ecoreef One" vs traditional cycling


OceanTiger

Recommended Posts

Ok fellow reefers, I have a challenge for you. I'm in need of the opinions of moderators and advanced aquarists.

 

I started a Nuvo 16 that is modeled after Jake Adams' "Ecoreef One". Google search Ecoreef One if you are not familiar or try http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/4/aquarium. His theory works.

 

I use ESV's seawater mix and do 100% water changes every week that are matched by temp and pH, and when I mix the seawater I use a digital scale for accuracy. I have no fish and all of my coral frags are happy and open.

 

I ordered a custom rock piece from Cerameco and also experienced high silicate readings like Ecoreef One so I soaked it for 6 months in RODI water then for a month in saltwater to cure it and drop the silicate levels. I then added it to the tank with no sand. I use a tunze osmolator for my ATO, and I have an Apex Jr running everything from my probes to my Hydra light.

 

Now, here comes my question. I want to upgrade my tank size since I fell in love with the CADlights 34g mini II tank. I want the tank size so I can host more corals. In the past I have run nano tanks and a 55g tank, so the 34g will be a fun mid size tank.

 

What I want some feedback on is how to transition tanks.

 

1. Who would keep the 16g running for several more months, and in tandem start the 34g tank with some live rock, add a heater, turn on the light and return pump included in the setup and let the new tank cycle for 1-2 months, then do a decent size water change and switch everything over?

 

Or

 

2a. Switch everything over now into the 34g tank, using ESV seawater(which has component A and B already in it for calcium, pH, etc)

2b. Do weekly 100% water changes in the 34g tank for a couple of months to keep nitrite and ammonia levels super low and establish a bacteria colony in the 34g tank

2c. Over time start reducing the volume of water changes systematically to get to the traditional reef care of weekly 10-20% water changes.

2d. Test for nitrites,ammonia and nitrates.

 

3. Does anyone have any other ideas besides what I listed?

 

My goal is to determine the safest method to bring my acans, zoas, Palys, toadstool, finger coral, and ricordias into the new tank, and transition from a "dosing free, zero cycling nano tank like Ecoreef One" that has limited size for coral growth, to a larger tank. However, knowing that the larger tank tradeoff is the inability to do the 100% water change, no testing, no additives method.

 

Please share your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Link to comment

I think it depends on what kind of rock you'll be adding to the new tank.

 

Will you get another ceramico rock or will you use dry rock, cured/aquacultured live rock or uncured live rock? It sounds like you like to keep a pretty clean shop so it's sounding like dry rock is your best bet if that's the case.

 

If you do use dry rock (clean dry rock!) then I see no reason why you can't transfer everything over to the larger tank all at once and in the same day. Start it with new water and then decide where to go from there - whether that be regular water changes or dosing. Just don't add much, if anything right away. Will your new system have fish or will you keep it coral only?

 

If you are gravitating toward live rock I would get good clean aquacultured rock and then I would gravitate toward option 1, except you should only need to let it "cycle" for a few days until you're confident all die-off from transport has decomposed and water parameters are appropriate.

Link to comment

I did something similar when I moved my old 20H - here's what did, maybe it will give you some inspiration! I had to move the livestock about 30 miles and didn't have much time to make it happen (I moved and the individuals watching my tank at the previous house were not doing well).

 

I grabbed a new 20H and a bag of Arag-alive sand, which has always done me right as far as preventing a cycle, put in the sand and mixed up a fresh batch of SW and filled it up in place in the new location with a heater and (maybe, can't remember) a powerhead. Let it settle over night.

 

Next day: went over to the old tank with a few buckets/bags and put all the live rock and frags into their appropriate packaging, brought it down, and put it in the new tank. No problems, no losses, no 100% WCs, everything went great. You would have even better luck due to less potential for die-off on the LR during moving.

 

So, I guess I'm in the "just move it all into the new tank" camp - your established rock should be able to handle it, IMO. Or you can do a mix of both and just move a portion of the bio-load to the new tank every few days, either way if you're testing in the new tank and not seeing any Ammonia, go for it.

 

Honestly, that Aragalive is a bit of a miracle worker from what I've seen - I've yet to see a tank cycle that was started with it. YMMV of course and after reading up on the ecoreef one, it looks like you won't be running any substrate at all? In that case, testing for Ammo will have to take a higher precedence, but some established LR will go a long way.

Link to comment
Partially Submerged

First of all, 100% weekly water changes don't replace a cycle. Ammonia builds up quickly, so if you really did a hardcore change (say moving a full tank's worth of fish into a brand new tank), you'd pretty much have to change water every couple of hours.

 

Secondly, though, since you are taking most of the existing rock (sand as well?) filter media, etc. with you to the new tank and only add new inert material, you should not have the same massive new cycle. You will probably have a bit and see some diatom growth as your new tank adjusts, but nothing that should threaten any livestock. It's definitely a good idea to do larger and more frequent water changes during this adjustment period.

 

So, that's the theory, and it worked for me in a recent transfer from 3g to a 4g reef and a complete redo (including new substrate) of a 57 gallon planted tank. In practice, there are more variables. Will the new material leech anything? Will you be quick enough transferring the live rock? Will you injure any corals in the process? Etc. There is no real way to predict exactly what will happen, and this will be stressful to your livestock no matter how you do it. But unless we are talking about very sensitive corals, I'd probably go for it and manage the symptoms as they appear.

Link to comment

I would move the existing contents to the new tank and adds whatever the difference in water is.

 

If adding more dry rock:

Rinse well in water to remove dust etc

muriatic acid soak to remove phosphates. Soak in RODI for a while then SW before adding to the tank.

Hypothetically, you can add as much dry rock as you want at any one time, but my experience has been better with the above method and add a few pieces a week. Hth

Link to comment

Great comments so far. To add another clarification point, no fish will be in the tank for at least 6 months. I want to keep the ammo risk as low as possible for the health of my corals.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...