Need Advice

[craigmurray]

I currently have a 55 gallon and recently bought a 80 gallon tank and am considering two options and need advice on which way to go.

1) Set up as a new reef tank.

2) Transfer contents of my established tank to the new tank.

Option one:

- much more expensive
- will take several months
+ safer for current livestock than option 2?
+ opportunity for a second show tank

Option two:

- negative affects of move on livestock?
- negative affects on live sand bed if any?
+ much less expensive
+ provides immediate space for current show tank contents
+ utilizes current stand, sump, and refugium (pull 55 of stand and put 80 in its place)

How much risk is there in transferring entire contents from old aquarium to the new one? How can this risk be mitigated?

 

[Steven]

If you are going to do Option 2 here are my thoughts.

- Get new sand for the new tank. Use some of your existing sand to seed the new tank.

- Try to use as much existing water as possible. About a week before you set up the new tank do a large 30 gallon or 2 15 gallon water changes but keep the old water. That way you have seasoned water to put in the 80 gallon.

- Make sure the water temp in the buckets that are holding livestock does not get too cold.

- When you are aquascaping the new tank it does not have to be perfect. Just get everything in roughly where you want it and let everything settle down for a day or two.

- Plan on it taking all day.

Last march I moved my aquarium when we moved into a new house. I did lose my Mandarin Goby but everything else made the move without any problems.

 

[sunfun]

Hiya Craig,

Option 1!! Option 1!! Spend more money, get bigger, better and badder setup. That way you can spend more money on lots of new, cool, colorful corals so I can buy more frags from you!!

Course that's just my humble . . . ehmmm . . . selfish . . . ehmmm . . . opinion.

Have you thought of option 3, use your 55 for a fuge for your 80 and keep your existing equipment in place?

Aaron