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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Upgrading the tank size


MK1623

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Hi,

I am having my tiny 60-Liter tank since the end of March and it has given me so much pleasure.  So, now I am considering making the tank slightly bigger. 

 

Any advice on how to transfer to a bigger tank would be grateful.  I am thinking to make it 120L to 150L.  What should I bear in mind when I move my fish,  livestock and coral into a new tank?  How should I prepare for the move?  I have been also having cyano issues for about five weeks, too and keep water changing but not much improvement yet.   

 

Thank you very much in advance. 

 

The photo below is my fish tank today.  IMG_7577.thumb.JPG.2dcdf9d6ee702188d7d739801fd07111.JPG  

 

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Hi, so you want to at least double the size of your tank.  There are just a few things to consider, but I wouldn't anticipate any problems.  One question, will you be putting the tank in the same location, or another location (where you can set the new one up before you tear the old one down)?  This might affect how you do it.

 

  • With the cyano, I'd use new sand in the new tank.  You can siphon off a handful of clean sand to help seed the new sand if you'd like, but it's not required.
  • If you decide to add new rock (live, dry, or a mix of both), you will need to fully cure it prior to using it in your new tank.  Once it's cured/cycled, you can start the transfer.
  • So if both tanks will be setup at the same time, you get the new tank running with the new sand, the new rocks, and new water (with matching specific gravity and temperature with your old tank).  It's a little trickier if you have to tear down the old one before setting up the new one.

Different location:

  • Setup up the new tank with cured rock, new sand, and water.
  • Move the rocks and coral to the new tank
  • Move the fish and other inverts to the new tank

Same location:

  • Thoroughly pre-rinse all of the new sand.
  • Siphon out tank water into buckets to hold coral, rocks, fish, and inverts.  You'll want several buckets, put the fish and invert into one, rocks into another, and loose coral into another.  If you wish, you can have another bucket with just water to use in the new tank.
  • Once you've disturbed the old sand bed, you will have to discard the remaining water.  So you will need lots of new saltwater premade and ready to use.
  • Tear down the old tank, and setup the new tank.
  • Match the salinity and temperature of the new water to the water in the buckets.
  • Add the new sand, rocks and water.
  • Add the old rock, and the corals
  • Add the fish.

Have a bottle of Seachem Prime available just in case you have an ammonia spike.  An ammonia spike would be unusual, but it's a good precaution to have around.

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Have a clear idea about layout, flow, filtration, light, power hub etc. It will make your life easier down the road. 

Moving to new tank is relatively easy. Leaving old tank problems/issues might require some work and strategy though. 

 

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I documented my transfer step by step so others could get some ideas for when it was their time to upgrade.

 

Having a plan and being organized really helps so you don't run into last minute emergencies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
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On 9/14/2018 at 1:59 PM, seabass said:

Hi, so you want to at least double the size of your tank.  There are just a few things to consider, but I wouldn't anticipate any problems.  One question, will you be putting the tank in the same location, or another location (where you can set the new one up before you tear the old one down)?  This might affect how you do it.

 

  • With the cyano, I'd use new sand in the new tank.  You can siphon off a handful of clean sand to help seed the new sand if you'd like, but it's not required.
  • If you decide to add new rock (live, dry, or a mix of both), you will need to fully cure it prior to using it in your new tank.  Once it's cured/cycled, you can start the transfer.
  • So if both tanks will be setup at the same time, you get the new tank running with the new sand, the new rocks, and new water (with matching specific gravity and temperature with your old tank).  It's a little trickier if you have to tear down the old one before setting up the new one.

Different location:

  • Setup up the new tank with cured rock, new sand, and water.
  • Move the rocks and coral to the new tank
  • Move the fish and other inverts to the new tank

Same location:

  • Thoroughly pre-rinse all of the new sand.
  • Siphon out tank water into buckets to hold coral, rocks, fish, and inverts.  You'll want several buckets, put the fish and invert into one, rocks into another, and loose coral into another.  If you wish, you can have another bucket with just water to use in the new tank.
  • Once you've disturbed the old sand bed, you will have to discard the remaining water.  So you will need lots of new saltwater premade and ready to use.
  • Tear down the old tank, and setup the new tank.
  • Match the salinity and temperature of the new water to the water in the buckets.
  • Add the new sand, rocks and water.
  • Add the old rock, and the corals
  • Add the fish.

Have a bottle of Seachem Prime available just in case you have an ammonia spike.  An ammonia spike would be unusual, but it's a good precaution to have around.

Thank you very much for your wonderful advice!!!! 

 

I will probably put the new tank in the same location because it is the nicest spot in my livingroom.  I will read your advice carefully again and again and plan the move carefully!  It sounds less complicated than I thought!  Thank you very much for your wonderful advice.  

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On 9/14/2018 at 2:09 PM, A Little Blue said:

Have a clear idea about layout, flow, filtration, light, power hub etc. It will make your life easier down the road. 

Moving to new tank is relatively easy. Leaving old tank problems/issues might require some work and strategy though. 

 

Thank you very much for your great advice!  I will make a plan first!  I thought moving to a new tank would be much more difficult and I have been thinking because it would be very difficult.   Thank you!  

  • Like 1
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On 9/14/2018 at 3:16 PM, Clown79 said:

I documented my transfer step by step so others could get some ideas for when it was their time to upgrade.

 

Having a plan and being organized really helps so you don't run into last minute emergencies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you ever so much for sharing your wonderful detailed documentation on your moving!  The moving is almost identical sizes to mine (I am thinking to move from 60L to 120-150L.  Therefore, it would be extremely useful to me!  Thank you very much, indeed.  

 

What did you notice the differences between the 15g tank and 25g tank?  Would it be different in term of stability or maintenance?  

 

 

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4 hours ago, MK1623 said:

Thank you ever so much for sharing your wonderful detailed documentation on your moving!  The moving is almost identical sizes to mine (I am thinking to move from 60L to 120-150L.  Therefore, it would be extremely useful to me!  Thank you very much, indeed.  

 

What did you notice the differences between the 15g tank and 25g tank?  Would it be different in term of stability or maintenance?  

 

 

You're very welcome.

 

I haven't really seen a difference besides having more room and a cleaner look. 

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3 hours ago, MK1623 said:

I see. There would be many differences!  

What I mean is that maintenance hasn't changed and I could have 2 more fish but I like a low bioload and keeping territorial issues to a minimum

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47 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

What I mean is that maintenance hasn't changed and I could have 2 more fish but I like a low bioload and keeping territorial issues to a minimum

Great!  Thank you very much!  I need to plan it!  Thank you!  

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/14/2018 at 1:59 PM, seabass said:

Hi, so you want to at least double the size of your tank.  There are just a few things to consider, but I wouldn't anticipate any problems.  One question, will you be putting the tank in the same location, or another location (where you can set the new one up before you tear the old one down)?  This might affect how you do it.

 

  • With the cyano, I'd use new sand in the new tank.  You can siphon off a handful of clean sand to help seed the new sand if you'd like, but it's not required.
  • If you decide to add new rock (live, dry, or a mix of both), you will need to fully cure it prior to using it in your new tank.  Once it's cured/cycled, you can start the transfer.
  • So if both tanks will be setup at the same time, you get the new tank running with the new sand, the new rocks, and new water (with matching specific gravity and temperature with your old tank).  It's a little trickier if you have to tear down the old one before setting up the new one.

Different location:

  • Setup up the new tank with cured rock, new sand, and water.
  • Move the rocks and coral to the new tank
  • Move the fish and other inverts to the new tank

Same location:

  • Thoroughly pre-rinse all of the new sand.
  • Siphon out tank water into buckets to hold coral, rocks, fish, and inverts.  You'll want several buckets, put the fish and invert into one, rocks into another, and loose coral into another.  If you wish, you can have another bucket with just water to use in the new tank.
  • Once you've disturbed the old sand bed, you will have to discard the remaining water.  So you will need lots of new saltwater premade and ready to use.
  • Tear down the old tank, and setup the new tank.
  • Match the salinity and temperature of the new water to the water in the buckets.
  • Add the new sand, rocks and water.
  • Add the old rock, and the corals
  • Add the fish.

Have a bottle of Seachem Prime available just in case you have an ammonia spike.  An ammonia spike would be unusual, but it's a good precaution to have around.

Hi,
I was thinking to move to the same location but now I am thinking to move to a different location in the same room.  And I would like to ask you a few questions.   

 Question 1:

If I start to a new tank with new sand and new water with handful of clean sand as you suggest, how long will the cycle need ? About a month again?   Or I can do it 

 

Question 2:

I am having diatom problems still (I do not have cyano problems any longer but now I have yellow diatom problem, even though I use RO water and a protein skimmer.), so would be better to start it with a new new water without using the water in the old tank?  

 

Question 3:

I am not thinking to add new rock at the moment. So, I would have Just bigger tank and the same amount of fish and corals.  Would it be OK without adding new rocks or is it better to get more rocks?  

 

 

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52 minutes ago, MK1623 said:

Question 1:

If I start to a new tank with new sand and new water with handful of clean sand as you suggest, how long will the cycle need ? About a month again?

The current rocks are capable of supporting the same bio-load.  So even if you put everything from your current tank into a 500L tank, it should still be able to process all of the ammonia.  Remember, the bacteria reside on the rocks, not so much in the water column.

 

So the new tank would already be cycled.  However, if you wish to add more rocks, just cycle/cure them before hand.  Once they are "cycled", you can add them to your tank.

 

57 minutes ago, MK1623 said:

Question 2:

I am having diatom problems still (I do not have cyano problems any longer but now I have yellow diatom problem, even though I use RO water and a protein skimmer.), so would be better to start it with a new new water without using the water in the old tank?

I would use mostly new water, but you can use some or all of the existing water if you wish.  RO water might not be silicate free.  Diatoms use silicate for their cell walls.

 

1 hour ago, MK1623 said:

Question 3:

I am not thinking to add new rock at the moment. So, I would have Just bigger tank and the same amount of fish and corals.  Would it be OK without adding new rocks or is it better to get more rocks?  

There is absolutely no need for more rock.  With the same livestock, more rock would primarily be for cosmetic purposes.

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