Swithching tanks

[Mmorse]

If I were to switch tanks say from a 20g high to a 20g long how would I do this so that I would not damage or kill anything in the process of moving it?:

[palaegic]

Have a 22 gallon rubbermaid container (Home Centers carry them) 2 five gallon buckets and towels at the ready. Nice to have, but not absolutely necessary, is a few extra powerheads or airstone and pump, and an extra aquarium heater.

 

Mix up some fresh seawater in one or both of the 5 gallons prior to starting with the move.

 

Siphon off a large portion of the existing water to the rubbermaid. This is going to be your temporary holding area for liverock and livestock. So, you will also want to add your heater and a power head or two to the rubbermaid. Add your rock and livestock to the holding tank - very carefully

 

The next step is to offload the substrate from your 20 high to the 20 long. Keep in mind that due to the differences in dimensions, you will likely need additional sand. At the same token, you may also want to add additional liverock to your newfound real estate. If you plan on adding more LR, it will be much easier to add during the move, rather than after the move when all of your animals are back in their new home. However, if you follow my recommendation of the rubbermaid container - this can work as a makeshift tank for a period of time. (I used one for almost 3 weeks when a 30 gallon High busted a seam)

 

Add sand to new tank. Add hardware to new tank (PH's, heaters and so on) Add 30 to 40 percent fresh seawater to new tank (try to avoid dust storm). Wait until cloudiness subsides prior to attempting aquascaping with liverock top off tank with aged water from the rubbermaid and then let things run for a while and settle in. Basically you don't want to reintroduce your livestock if the tank looks like a white-out.

 

At the very least, you are looking at several hours of work, if not over the course of a weekend. Be prepared for the worst. Hope for the best. Post pics of the adventure.

[caja]

Keep in mind that if you do add more LR it needs to be fully cured in order to avoid starting a new cycle in the tank.

 

I've transferred the contents of one of my tanks to another and although I didn't add more LR, just the fact that I disturbed the sand bed seemed to create a very small cycle. Just a bit of a diatom problem, but I kept up with water changes and tossed in a bunch of blue legs and red legs to clean up the mess.

 

Good luck!

[palaegic]

Good point Caj - that was what I was thinking, with regard to maintaining the holding tank for a few weeks while new rock cycles - but forgot to include in my manifesto ...

[caja]

Yep, set up the tank and cycle the new LR in a separate bucket with a heater and powerhead. My method of choice.

[Chronicles]

Take lots of pictures......adventures are fun