Moving/Changing Setup

[Gagej12]

Hello everyone, I have a 10g nano reef that has been running since March of 2020. The tank has been pretty successful at it started as something to do during COVID. However I’m moving and need to take apart the entire tank and I think this would also be a good time to upgrade it. Right now it is just a regular 10 gallon long tank with a hang over filter that holds carbon and bio balls. But I’m looking into getting an AIO just because they look better and could hopefully offer better filtration. I’m also thinking of getting a slightly larger tank, from 15-30g maybe. I like waterbox aquariums and fluval but any suggestions are appreciated. I also would appreciate advice on this idea as a whole, is it even feasible or a good idea? Thanks in advance.

[less than bread]

Not quite to the size you want, but the Fluval EVO 13.5 is an excellent AIO. Probably the best price for an AIO I’ve seen and depending on the type of corals you want to keep, the light that comes with it is honestly pretty good. This was my first tank and I really liked it.

 

When I moved from the EVO to my current tank, I set up the new tank and let it run with dry rock for about a month, adding bottled bacteria along the way. Then I started adding established rock from the EVO to get more bacteria in there. Once I saw the color of the dry rock starting to change, I added a bunch of water from the EVO to the new tank, before moving all my livestock over. It took about a week for everything to open back up but everything made it.

[Gagej12]

I’m not too worried about size I probably wouldn’t add anymore livestock regardless. And I only use an Aquaknight?( forgot the name). I know it’s a cheaper one and the most demanding coral I have is a green bubble colony so I think it should be fine. As for switching everything I was debating just bringing over my current rock since most of my corals have grown to them already. I want to put in new sand but I’m not sure how that would effect everything.Also  do you think saving like 7 or 8 gallons and then making another 5 or so would be ideal or should I keep two tanks running until the new tank is established?

[Tamberav]

You can use new sand. I usually rinse it first as it’s cloudy. Then you just add part of the old water and then new water like a larger water change and move everything over. The rock is already established so there’s no waiting. 
 

I like IM tanks, waterbox would be similar. Just pick one who’s dimensions work with your light unless you plan on changing lights too.

[Gagej12]

Not opposed to a new light. I would like to get a nicer one that I could put on a timer and maybe grow different corals if I have the space. Are of the lights with AIO kits good or should I buy one separate?

[travoose]

Going to jump in here as I literally am preparing to do this in the next few weeks.  Going from 10g to 20g, I plan to move everything over in one day, utilizing the same sand/rock and even existing water.  Basically the only change is I am doubling the water volume in the tank, for which I will must make the extra water and add it to the system.  

 

One question that I and maybe the op has would be how could we handle adding some more rock to the tank so that we don't start/kickoff a new cycle killing or damaging all of the current inhabitants in the tank?

[Gagej12]

That’s a good question I haven’t really thought of. I was just going to add a couple island rocks for frags to take over hopefully. Not sure your plans but I don’t think something like that would have too much of an impact? And you seem farther along in this process so what’s your plans for moving water? I was thinking maybe just fill up the gallons I get my regular water in. Just wondering if you have a better way.

[DevilDuck]

5 hours ago, travoose said:

Going to jump in here as I literally am preparing to do this in the next few weeks.  Going from 10g to 20g, I plan to move everything over in one day, utilizing the same sand/rock and even existing water.  Basically the only change is I am doubling the water volume in the tank, for which I will must make the extra water and add it to the system.  

 

One question that I and maybe the op has would be how could we handle adding some more rock to the tank so that we don't start/kickoff a new cycle killing or damaging all of the current inhabitants in the tank?

Most would recommend going with new sand or thoroughly rinsing out the old sand before moving it into a new tank. 

[travoose]

7 hours ago, Gagej12 said:

That’s a good question I haven’t really thought of. I was just going to add a couple island rocks for frags to take over hopefully. Not sure your plans but I don’t think something like that would have too much of an impact? And you seem farther along in this process so what’s your plans for moving water? I was thinking maybe just fill up the gallons I get my regular water in. Just wondering if you have a better way.

My plan for water is to utilize a few camping water jugs I bought at Walmart to transport my existing water to my new house. I’ll also mix up about ten gallons of water and move that in the jugs as well.  I’ll put my rock and coral in a Rubbermaid container with some water and just drive really slow.   I bought new sand, but will keep a few cups of the existing sand to seed things.

 

Would like to add some rock, but not sure how to safely go about it. 

[Gagej12]

Makes sense. I was thinking something along the same idea and just hoping the drive goes smoothly. 
Onto the next concern is new lighting. I had some time to do research today and really like the IM Fusion Pro 2 20g. The kit really seems to do exactly what I need and I would like to upgrade my lighting to fit this nicer and larger tank. But to be honest I have no idea where to begin on lighting. I’ve read some other threads and I see the same suggestions but they all use multiple fixtures/bulbs. I would really like to keep it all as one fixture/bulb so if anyone has experience or suggestions I appreciate it. Looking to keep around 300-400 or less for lighting. 
The aqua knight I’m using now works great and I even like the sleekness of it but even buying another 2 I don’t think they’re even close to strong enough. But if anyone has tried before I would love to hear how it went.

[mcarroll]

4 hours ago, travoose said:

I bought new sand, but will keep a few cups of the existing sand to seed things.

If your sand appears to be clean (it's just a year or so old!) then I'd recommend using it in the new tank without any cleaning.   This will go a long way toward preventing any ammonia from overrunning the processing capacity in the new tank.

 

But if you find that your sand is already dirty from food and crap settling in it (which indicates flow being too low and/or overfeeding, btw) then that can be a lot of work and wasted water to clean it.....then I'd recommend doing what you outlined above.

 

4 hours ago, Gagej12 said:

I had some time to do research today and really like the IM Fusion Pro 2 20g. [....] But to be honest I have no idea where to begin on lighting.

To begin with, that's only a 13" tall tank.  This is only 1" taller than your 10 Gallon.  

 

Essentially identical lighting requirements for intensity, and the IM 20 gallon is only about 4" longer than the 10 gallon...so not that much more lighting area either.

 

 (Remember that a lot of the "extra 10 gallons" you'll be getting is all tied up in the filter compartment.  IMO a 30 or 40 gallon would be a MUCH better upgrade....20 is almost the same as 10 in term of its limitations.  Also consider getting a regular tank and using a Tunze Reefpack to outfit it "All In One style".)

 

4 hours ago, Gagej12 said:

I would really like to keep it all as one fixture/bulb so if anyone has experience or suggestions I appreciate it. Looking to keep around 300-400 or less for lighting. 
The aqua knight I’m using now works great and I even like the sleekness of it but even buying another 2 I don’t think they’re even close to strong enough. But if anyone has tried before I would love to hear how it went.

Why the desire to avoid multiple fixtures?   With spotlights and long tanks that's pretty much a required strategy.

 

The smallest (18-24") Current USA Orbit Marine (the lowest end model) would cover the tank for only $150.   Using two of them will obviously be twice as good (but maybe overkill), and still fits your budget.

 

The more-powerful Orbit Marin IC (single strip) is only $200 for the 18-24" moel....and probably a better fit than two strips on such a small tank.

 

Although overkill, even the top-end Orbit Marine IC Pro (two strips in one pack) still fits your budget at only $250.

 

For such a small tank, I'd personally go with one of the single strip options. (Their black Friday sale is coming up too, for what it's worth.)

[aclman88]

@Clown79 has an excellent tank transfer thread on moving tanks that is worth checking out.  As far as sand, you can keep a little if you want, but I wouldn't risk keeping any sand or spending a bunch of time rinsing it since it is relatively cheap.  That is just my opinion, but I have never saved sand and it never affected my tanks. 

 

Edit: I see you are leaning towards the IM 20 which is a nice tank for sure.  I would avoid the Marine Orbit fixtures in general. I tried a pair on a 20 high and even at 100 percent whites and blues, the par (checked with a par meter) was too low in my opinion for the cost of the fixtures vs others. That along with the lack of controllability and the fact that I like a slightly bluer tank (so 100% whites wasn't an option) made it an easy decision to return them. 

 

I think you would be disappointed if you went with them.  I would get another hipargero and call it a day.  It is affordable, you seem happy with it, and the nuvo is a shallower tank and your coral are already adjusted it with.  If you have amazon prime, you could even try them out for a week or two and if you don't like them order something else and return the new light.  As far as new lights, it would be hard to beat two ai primes.  You can get them new with mounts for 450-500 or find a couple of used fixtures well with in your proposed lighting budget.

 

 

A question for those in this thread who are moving is how far are you driving to a new place and do you have the ability to set up a tank beforehand?  This will definitely affect advice for moving.  I moved a 20 gallon from NY to VA so well over 8 hours of driving and only lost one fish (the breeder box opened and pretty sure my clowns murdered my bangaii cardinal in the small container).  The key to success was multiple buckets, battery powered air pumps, an inverter to turn my cigarette lighter into a 220V outlet, and writing out a plan of action.  It will take longer than you think, so budget a few extra hours into what you estimate.

[Jakesaw]

I'll chime in with Light suggestion.

 

Viparspectra - I've got one and have been really happy with it.  Should have no problem lighting 30 " of tank. They are simple like Hipargero with a blue and white channel, have a built in timer with memory function that will keep the time through a power outage. 

 

For future tanks, I've seen 2 x 165w lights on a 40 gallon, 55 or 75 gallon tank full of coral - so you can grow pretty much anything with these lights.  I'm running mine over 10 gallon and will be lighting a 20L next.  Runs cool, quite, and I run the settings pretty for my tank needs with plenty of room to crank it up if needed.  Also - no disco light shimmer which I'm not a fan of.

 

My only gripe is it's not as attractive form factor as an AI 16 Prime or similar -  and you have to get a work around to hang the light.  I weigh that with the cost and longevity of purchase for tank upgrades and I'm very happy with the purchase.  As a budget reefer, it's a no brainer to me.

 

Almost bought the Hipargero as first light but I had a chat with local reef store and found 3 month used Vipar selling locally that I jumped on.  

 

[travoose]

4 hours ago, aclman88 said:

A question for those in this thread who are moving is how far are you driving to a new place and do you have the ability to set up a tank beforehand?  This will definitely affect advice for moving.  I moved a 20 gallon from NY to VA so well over 8 hours of driving and only lost one fish (the breeder box opened and pretty sure my clowns murdered my bangaii cardinal in the small container).  The key to success was multiple buckets, battery powered air pumps, an inverter to turn my cigarette lighter into a 220V outlet, and writing out a plan of action.  It will take longer than you think, so budget a few extra hours into what you estimate.

I am only moving about ten minutes from my current location.  I am hoping to setup the tank for in advance, but won't have more than a few days of overlap where I have access to both old and new properties.  If I had a bunch of time, I would do an entire cycle again.  I am looking to avoid spiking anything and that is why I am only going to add the existing rock that was in my old system to the new system.  I would like to add maybe 2-3 more pounds of rock, no so much for the filtration, but more for the aesthetic value of things, but won't do so unless I can be certain it won't initiate some type of spike in parameters that will kill my existing coral/fish.

[Gagej12]

Hey guys thanks for all the great info and replies.Definitely going to check the thread that was mentioned.Now to answer some questions: My sand is dirty and would definitely need to be replaced. I’m debating black sand to change it up a little but we’ll see. As for my tank selection and display size I’m not overly concerned with upgrading my display area. I know I need better filtration and think the tank would benefit a lot from the extra space going there. It’s definitely not set in stone though and I’m still checking out other options. I’ll have to look into the Tunze reef pack they seem really cool I just know nothing about them.

For lighting I appreciate all the input and recommendations. I’m going to take some time tonight and look at all of them more. I’ll also do more research into other threads to see. Hopefully I can narrow it down to a top 3 and come back for recommendations again. And the drive is only an hour but I can keep the fish at my old place for as long as needed so not too much of a concern.

[Gagej12]

Hey guys more questions and hopefully more answers. I’ve kept looking and I’m pretty set on the IM 20 now. I might do another tank with Tunze reef pack with my old tank but that’s another story. I’m looking into adding a protein skimmer now, yes I know they’re not needed but I really want to focus on making a nice tank now with crystal clear water and healthy growing coral. So the question here is does anyone have a skimmer inside their IM 20? I don’t really want a HOB I’m trying to get a clean sleek look. If anyone has an IM 20 and knows the filter section is too small for one that would also be nice to know. Thanks in advance and thanks again for all the previous recommendations and help.

[aclman88]

I have never read a skimmer and I don’t have that tank so I can’t help there but is there Any reason why you want a skimmer other than “clean water?” Unless you already are planning on over feeding or having a heavy bio load, you might not even need a skimmer or worse, having one may strip too many nutrients from the tank. 
 

My recommendation would be to let the tank run for a bit to see if you even need a skimmer before buying something you might end up not using. 

[aclman88]

On 11/12/2021 at 6:21 PM, Gagej12 said:

I can keep the fish at my old place for as long as needed so not too much of a concern.

In this case you’re golden. Get the new tank set up and running then throw the rock in buckets with heaters, bag any coral and fish that aren’t attached and get to driving. Bring as much old water as you can and have an extra 10 gallons or so made up at the new place just in case. It should be a pretty easy transition. 

[Gagej12]

4 hours ago, aclman88 said:

I have never read a skimmer and I don’t have that tank so I can’t help there but is there Any reason why you want a skimmer other than “clean water?” Unless you already are planning on over feeding or having a heavy bio load, you might not even need a skimmer or worse, having one may strip too many nutrients from the tank. 
 

My recommendation would be to let the tank run for a bit to see if you even need a skimmer before buying something you might end up not using. 

Hey sorry for not clarifying why I need and want one. But you’re reasons were spot on… I tend to overfeed and I also want to push the tank to its limits. The final reason is my water change schedule. Between work and college I only have a day off every two weeks or so which I know isn’t the best routine. I didn’t set my tank up for ultra low maintenance, nor do I have the knowledge to create a system like that to be honest. I was hoping a skimmer would help the tank in between those stretches. It’s also why I’m upgrading the tank as whole to get better filtration. You probably are right though I should wait and see how it goes. I’m just a preparer. If you have different advice with this in mind I would love to hear it, thanks.

[Murphs_Reef]

And use @brandon429 post to update us!  

 

 

 

[mcarroll]

I think excellent aeration is one of a "protein skimmer's" main benefits.  

 

Also, I think the skimmer from Tunze's Reefpack (either the small or the medium) is one of the more popular fit-in skimmers for a tank like the IM20.  I think that's the Tunze 9001 or 9004....check their dimensions vs IM's dimensions to see which skimmer will fit.