HELP! TANK IS LEAKING

[coryscritch]

Hi, so i came home today and noticed my tank has sprung a leak. i do not have time to let a new tank cycle. so i have to do this today. 

my plan is to transfer all the water to the new tank. after i will add live rock and corals, then my two clowns and cleaner shrimp. so now I'm left with the sand in my old tank. i was planning to bag it in ziplock bags and transfer to the new tank take it to the bottom of tank and slowly let it out. is there a better way to do this. i really don't want to lose my clowns/shrimp/coral. please help. thank!

[kimberbee]

Get a new tank, hopefully of similar size. Move all the rock, coral, fish, and water over that you can. 

 

Depending on how old the tank is, you can re-use the sand, or just get new live sand. 

 

Personally, I would get new sand if the sand you have is over a year old. 

 

I have moved tanks before and it was a similar situation to what you are going to need to do. I put new sand down, moved my rocks, coral, fish over with as much water as possible. I let everything circulate for a day and then did a water change like normal. I had only a little cycle if any. There was enough good bacteria on all the rocks that I didn't have any issues or losses.

 

If you move old sand around too much, you'll stir everything up and could cause a nitrate spike from my understanding.

 

Good luck. 

[coryscritch]

Thanks so much. My tank is only three months old so I think I may try and move the sand. Did you use dry sand or live sand 

[kimberbee]

6 minutes ago, coryscritch said:

Thanks so much. My tank is only three months old so I think I may try and move the sand. Did you use dry sand or live sand 

I used live sand. 

 

At 3 months old I would try to reuse the sand. Try your best not to stir it up too much and you should be fine. Though I would still suggest doing a water change while siphoning the sand tomorrow or within a day or two. 

[A Little Blue]

1 hour ago, coryscritch said:

Hi, so i came home today and noticed my tank has sprung a leak. i do not have time to let a new tank cycle. so i have to do this today. 

my plan is to transfer all the water to the new tank. after i will add live rock and corals, then my two clowns and cleaner shrimp. so now I'm left with the sand in my old tank. i was planning to bag it in ziplock bags and transfer to the new tank take it to the bottom of tank and slowly let it out. is there a better way to do this. i really don't want to lose my clowns/shrimp/coral. please help. thank!

I would not mess with the old sand. Get some Live rock, plenty of it, old tank water and  Microblift Special Bland (saved my tank and helps with transfer). Use some carbon or ChemiPure and you should be fine. You can deal with sand later. Small batch at the time. Right now, it’s crunch time and priority is to save the animals. Good luck and you should be fine. 

PS You can get special bland at most fish stores, petco or Walmart. 

[kismetsh]

What kind of tank? Sorry you are dealing with this!

[Clown79]

Transferring a tank doesn't need to go through a cycle. The rocks are established in the existing tank. The bacteria doesn't die or disappear dur to moving them.

Drying them out is what kills bacteria.

 

Transferring the old sand is where you will run into a problem with either a spike in Ammonia or nutrient issues. even 3 month old sand.

 

Either use newly washed sand or completely wash the old sand until it runs clear.

 

The easiest way to do this

 

Wash sand with tap water, until it is clear. Last rinse with salt water.

 

My transfer method is:

 

Siphon water into buckets,  try saving as much as possible. Don't disturb the sand in this process.

 

place livestock in one(adding a powerhead is a good idea to this bucket or air hose.

 

Transfer rocks into another bucket of siphoned water

 

 

Remove sand- wash sand.

 

Add rocks to new tank, add sand, start filling tank with saved water and new water.

 

Ensure temp and salinity is exact as the old system.

Add livestock to tank when it's clear enough to see the back panel.

 

Done.

 

[Nocturnal]

Yeah. The only cycle you might see will be due to old junk being stirred up in the move and that should pass quickly. Don't worry too much.

[1891Bro]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Transferring a tank doesn't need to go through a cycle. The rocks are established in the existing tank. The bacteria doesn't die or disappear dur to moving them.

Drying them out is what kills bacteria.

 

Transferring the old sand is where you will run into a problem with either a spike in Ammonia or nutrient issues. even 3 month old sand.

 

Either use newly washed sand or completely wash the old sand until it runs clear.

 

The easiest way to do this

 

Wash sand with tap water, until it is clear. Last rinse with salt water.

 

My transfer method is:

 

Siphon water into buckets,  try saving as much as possible. Don't disturb the sand in this process.

 

place livestock in one(adding a powerhead is a good idea to this bucket or air hose.

 

Transfer rocks into another bucket of siphoned water

 

 

Remove sand- wash sand.

 

Add rocks to new tank, add sand, start filling tank with saved water and new water.

 

Ensure temp and salinity is exact as the old system.

Add livestock to tank when it's clear enough to see the back panel.

 

Done.

 

And that’s all you need to know. 

[coryscritch]

 

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Transferring a tank doesn't need to go through a cycle. The rocks are established in the existing tank. The bacteria doesn't die or disappear dur to moving them.

Drying them out is what kills bacteria.

 

Transferring the old sand is where you will run into a problem with either a spike in Ammonia or nutrient issues. even 3 month old sand.

 

Either use newly washed sand or completely wash the old sand until it runs clear.

 

The easiest way to do this

 

Wash sand with tap water, until it is clear. Last rinse with salt water.

 

My transfer method is:

 

Siphon water into buckets,  try saving as much as possible. Don't disturb the sand in this process.

 

place livestock in one(adding a powerhead is a good idea to this bucket or air hose.

 

Transfer rocks into another bucket of siphoned water

 

 

Remove sand- wash sand.

 

Add rocks to new tank, add sand, start filling tank with saved water and new water.

 

Ensure temp and salinity is exact as the old system.

Add livestock to tank when it's clear enough to see the back panel.

 

Done.

 

im torn y'all!  thanks for all the quick responses. i bought a new tank. its the innovative marine 14gallon. 

 

i just got back from the local reef shop. they recommended everything you did. only thing different is they said keep my sand, take it out of my current take last. then very carefully put it in new tank. put plastic down over top of the sand and slowly add water. actually sounds kind of legit. do you think it sounds like a possible idea? my tank is just so happy right now. its so simple i have a hob filter, hob refugium, just a basic 10 gallon tank. so bummed i have to do this.  i will update you guys when its done. thanks so much !!

[coryscritch]

1 hour ago, kismetsh said:

What kind of tank? Sorry you are dealing with this!

just a very basic 10 gallon tank. 

1 hour ago, Nocturnal said:

Yeah. The only cycle you might see will be due to old junk being stirred up in the move and that should pass quickly. Don't worry too much.

thanks for the positivity 

 

[A Little Blue]

It’s my bias but I don’t do/did sand on any of my tanks. Never cared for it’s appearance & maintenance that is associated with keeping a healthy aquarium with a sand-bed is a hassle I try to avoid. But I admire all those who opt to use it with quite a success. 

[1891Bro]

18 minutes ago, coryscritch said:

 

im torn y'all!  thanks for all the quick responses. i bought a new tank. its the innovative marine 14gallon. 

 

i just got back from the local reef shop. they recommended everything you did. only thing different is they said keep my sand, take it out of my current take last. then very carefully put it in new tank. put plastic down over top of the sand and slowly add water. actually sounds kind of legit. do you think it sounds like a possible idea? my tank is just so happy right now. its so simple i have a hob filter, hob refugium, just a basic 10 gallon tank. so bummed i have to do this.  i will update you guys when its done. thanks so much !!

Rinse it bro. You’ll be glad you did. It’s a perfect chance to get any stored away nasties outta there. 

[coryscritch]

I’ll let you guys know how it goes. I’m about to swap now 

[dandelion]

Just wondering why everyone suggests saving the water? If I were you I would just make new water. May as well take the chance to do a 100% water change.

[Nocturnal]

3 minutes ago, dandelion said:

Just wondering why everyone suggests saving the water? If I were you I would just make new water. May as well take the chance to do a 100% water change.

Idk. 100% is a pretty big chemistry change. If the tank water is pretty clean I would just do 30% or something. If it's loaded with nutrients then yeah. 

[A Little Blue]

41 minutes ago, Nocturnal said:

Idk. 100% is a pretty big chemistry change. If the tank water is pretty clean I would just do 30% or something. If it's loaded with nutrients then yeah. 

That ^^^^ and why waste perfectly fine water? 

[1891Bro]

1 hour ago, Nocturnal said:

Idk. 100% is a pretty big chemistry change. If the tank water is pretty clean I would just do 30% or something. If it's loaded with nutrients then yeah. 

I change about 70% weekly. Why not?

Edit: just did the math. It’s 57% so let’s call it sixty so I sound a bit closer the first time. 

24 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

That ^^^^ and why waste perfectly fine water? 

Yeah, if it’s clean, that too. 

[ajmckay]

Agree with what clown said...   It's not a guarantee that your sand will cause issues when it's re-introduced into the new tank, but generally it doesn't take long for sand to trap enough detritus that stirring it up would cause a substantial "cloud of crap" in the water.  The best part about rinsing the sand is starting off with a nice clean tank.  Adding the sand back after you rinse it won't cloud the water up.

 

The only real con to rinsing the sand is loss of the  microfauna. Basically all the tiny microscopic life that's living in the sand.  Not to say that it's lost forever though because it's in your rock also and in short order the sand becomes "live" again.  So again it's a con, but only temporarily.   

 

If you're absolutely keen on keeping the old sand I would at the very least stir it up in some water and try to suck out as much of the gunky water as possible.  As long as you take care to get the new water to the same salinity and pH as your old water you can change as much or as little water out during this move as you want.  Guess it's a moot point since you're already a few hours in - but in-case someone else reads     Good luck!

[coryscritch]

What’s up guys. The move went successful. No change in parameters! I did end up using my old sand. I put it in the new tank first, then put a trash bag over top and filled it very slowly. The water has already cleared up for the most part. Everybody is still alive and seems happy! So that’s a plus. I ended up using about 90% of the old water and had 4 gallons mixed up to make up the difference. I went from a 10 gallon to a 14. Thanks for all the help. Hopefully everything is still good in the morning 

[kismetsh]

Looks good!

[dandelion]

Make sure you check your ammonia a couple three times today to make sure it doesn’t spike. Just to be safe.

[dandelion]

9 hours ago, Nocturnal said:

Idk. 100% is a pretty big chemistry change. If the tank water is pretty clean I would just do 30% or something. If it's loaded with nutrients then yeah. 

Very true. But then I’m used to doing near 100% change on my pico and I never had problems.

[dandelion]

I’m wondering though did you do anything special to save your hardwood floor ?

[Elizabeth94]

Nice job on the transfer! I think it looks good. An unintentional tank upgrade too XD