Kinda's Large Tank Adventure (LTA)

[Kindanewtothis]

Also I was thinking about removing the anemone with the rock it attached to so this one is gonna have to be on top of the sand when I put it in the new tank.

 

If I put all the rocks in buckets with water, I won't have much water to transfer to the new tank but I guess I could transfer it once the rocks are in.

[seabass]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

And there is no problem in adding new live sand (as adding new live rocks I suppose) ?

The bagged live sand will not cause problems.  The "live" portion is basically the same as bottled nitrifying bacteria.  Live rock contains other fauna and the potential for die off and/or dead organics on it.

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I wanted to save some money and keep the small rocks I have in the bottom right now... I'll see what I do about the sand.

Unfortunately, there are things in this hobby where saving money may be a detriment.  You can probably use the freshwater gravel that you have (if you clean it regularly with a gravel vacuum as you would with a freshwater tank).  However, I wouldn't mix the two.  Proper cleaning of the gravel will end up removing the sand.  Stick with one or the other.  Most people use sand (dry sand is fine to use after being rinsed thoroughly).

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Also I was thinking about removing the anemone with the rock it attached to so this one is gonna have to be on top of the sand when I put it in the new tank.

Placing rock on the bottom glass versus on top of the sand really originated when people were stacking rock.  As the base shifts, the stacked rocks become unstable and can tumble down (even breaking your tank).

 

I had an instance where a brittle star would dig under my rocks.  Unfortunately, one day the rock dropped down on top of the star and killed it.

 

All that being said, there are some times when you can place rock on top of the sand bed.  The rock should have a good base and be stable (also without other rocks stacked on top of it).

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

If I put all the rocks in buckets with water, I won't have much water to transfer to the new tank but I guess I could transfer it once the rocks are in.

Before you start to transfer your tank, siphon a bunch of water into buckets.  This is the water that you will keep to transfer into your new tank.  You will need a lot of water to fill your new tank.  I figure you might be able to salvage maybe 10 gallons of water from your old tank.

 

I would discard the water that is in the buckets with the rocks.  Also, once you disturb the substrate in your old tank, I would discard the remaining water.

[Kindanewtothis]

I guess sand is the way to go then. I should have use sand from the begining 

[seabass]

Well, switching tanks is the perfect time to use or switch to the substrate that you really want (or to go bare bottom).

[Kindanewtothis]

But there is one thing I don't get, you don't use the vaccum with sand?

[seabass]

You can.  However, if you vacuum the sand like you do the gravel, you'll end up siphoning out the sand (or clogging the tubing).  IMO, it's tough to get used to vacuuming a sand bed.  I feel that's why many reef keepers have problems with wastes building up in their tank's substrate.

[Tired]

Sand is much smaller grains, so detritus won't go down into it nearly as much as it does in gravel. To get out the detritus that does get in, just stir a portion of the sandbed with a chopstick or similar when you do water changes, and suck up the detritus that gets stirred out. Mostly just make sure you suck up the detritus that accumulates on top. 

[Kindanewtothis]

Got my sand and salt for the new tank.

 

Also bought 22 gallons of distilled water (all they got) Cashier looked at me weird! 

[Kindanewtothis]

I suppose I should prepare (salt and heat) water in advance?

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Also bought 22 gallons of distilled water (all they got) Cashier looked at me weird!

You might need another 10 gallons of distilled water.

 

26 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I suppose I should prepare (salt and heat) water in advance?

Yep.

[Kindanewtothis]

26 minutes ago, seabass said:

You might need another 10 gallons of distilled water.

Yeah, it's not 30 gallons that I will be able to transfer. I'll get more water cause I'm not using water from the sink.

[Kindanewtothis]

The water I'm "making" does it have to move or can it stay in a buckets for like a day (once the salt is added)?

[seabass]

It doesn't need to move; but I'd probably put a lid on it after it has dissolved.  You can aerate it prior to adding anything to the tank.

[Tired]

You can keep saltwater for awhile, as long as the salt container doesn't say "use soon after mixing". A few brands don't sit well. Most brands, you can let them sit. But you should vigorously stir the water before using or run a pump in it for awhile, to make sure there's plenty of oxygen and that nothing has settled too badly. 

[Kindanewtothis]

Ok so I know I ask a lot of questions, but I want to do things the right way. Here's one more:

 

There is gonna be a 3-4 hours gap between the time I get the new rocks and the time I get the new tank. What do I do with these new rocks? Should I put them in the water I prepared? Try do add them to my 30 gallons (might not have enough space)? Let them out of the water?

[seabass]

It would be best to put them in saltwater.

 

But a bare minimum, you could keep spraying them with saltwater so they do not dry out.

[Tired]

Questions are good! Much better than just doing things and hoping it works out. 

 

The ideal would be to put the rocks in saltwater. I'd put them in the new water you mixed up. They don't need much, just enough water to cover them. If you can't do that, spraying them with saltwater periodically, covering them in saltwater-wet paper towels, or both, would be a good idea. But you really need to not have any die-off, so I would really keep them in water as much as possible. If things start dying, you can't put those rocks in a tank with livestock until all the death rots off. 

[Kindanewtothis]

Last time, I just put them in a bucket for the transport (no water), is 20-30 minutes out of the water too long?

[seabass]

Yes, I'd transfer them in water (absolutely the best method).  Although like Tired indicated, you can soak some paper towels in saltwater and transport them that way for a half an hour.

[Tired]

Half an hour is much less of a problem than several hours. A bucket of water would still be best, with a lid so it won't spill. If you can't manage a full bucket of water, soaked paper towels will be workable for half an hour, particularly if you put a couple inches of water in the bottom of the bucket. Just take the towels off and fill the buckets up with water when you get the rocks home. 

[Kindanewtothis]

Got my new rocks (only 40$ for 20 pounds). I'm a bit wondering how I'm gonna fit the whole 50 pounds in the tank.

 

 

[Tired]

Well, you don't have to. You could pick the best pieces with the most stuff on them, and just not use the rest. I'm sure you could find a buyer, or just someone to take it off your hands free. You can store leftover live rock in a bucket with some form of aeration just fine. 

[Kindanewtothis]

It's done. Thanks everyone for the help. I hope everything will be alive tomorrow. Water is a bit clumsy right now.

 

 

[Kindanewtothis]

[Kindanewtothis]

I just have some problems with "black rim" to install my lights. Do you know if it can be removed?