Question about upgrading New tank to larger one

[Jakesaw]

I started with a 10 gallon to keep costs down as first tank - buying LFS water / rocks / etc.  It's about a month old, and I got my own RO/DI unit on President's day sale.  After making my own water, I decided I wish I had a 20L vs 10 gal to work with..  I've already got plenty of spare dead rock / and extra sand.  Would I be better starting a second tank when I want to go there or would it be an easy transfer 10 gal livestock / fish / rock? 

 

I can stick with 10 gal for now and plan 2nd tank when I want to get one up, or I can find a space for 20 and transfer everything fro 10 gal when I get a clear surface to put tank on ( don't have a surface right now ).  

 

Curious,

 

Thank

[mcarroll]

"You should always go with the biggest tank that your space/budget/situation will allow," he said on nano-reef.

 

While you're considering things, consider whether a 30 or 40 gallon would fit somewhere.  10 vs 20 is really not a big difference....coral still have no place to grow, still too small for 90% of the fish.  With 30-40 gallons you start to have a few real options, if it's an option.

 

Buy used if it helps on the budget front.  Not being in a hurry helps as well.

[Hazy]

I took the hard way, and up graded from a 10gal to a 20gal to a 30gal over the course of a few years. looking to upgrade one more time in the near future 😂😂

 

If you are going to upgrade, I would recommend transferring all your cycled water and live rock to the new tank. That will cut your cycle time to a week or 2 instead of 6-9 months. Basically it’s like adding a bunch of fresh clean water to your system or doing a 50% water change. (And ppl do that all the time) 

 

yeah it’s a lot of work, but (in my experience) it’s well worth it.   

[DGibster]

2 minutes ago, Hazy said:

I took the hard way, and up graded from a 10gal to a 20gal to a 30gal over the course of a few years. looking to upgrade one more time in the near future 😂😂

 

At least you have quarantine tanks now (the thing that everyone agrees we should do but no one actually does because who has a spare tank that isn’t already filled)🙃

[Jakesaw]

5 minutes ago, Hazy said:

I took the hard way, and up graded from a 10gal to a 20gal to a 30gal over the course of a few years. looking to upgrade one more time in the near future 😂😂

I 

Ironically, I have all those tanks in my basement planned for growth in hobby.( 20L, 29, 40 )  Even got enough dead rock for 40 gallon. I wanted to start on the cheap & small to get my feet wet. So I'm comfortable with my decision either way.  It got me into hobby with minimal hassle which was my intention.  I still have ALOT to learn..   

 

Plus I'd have to build a stand for any of the other tank sizes.

[Jakesaw]

4 minutes ago, DGibster said:

At least you have quarantine tanks now 

What's a quarantine tank ( j/k )

[Clown79]

Transfering a tank isn't difficult. No different than starting another.

 

Plan things out before hand, prepare everything correctly and you can transfer a tank in a day without any losses.

[rough eye]

you could use one tank to be cycling (i guess they call it 'cooking') all that rock, the longer the better before you use it.