Tank moving question

L

LuHockey2

Premium Member
I am setting up a tank at my parents' house while my new house is being built to house what is in my current tank. I have a couple questions about what would be the best way to handle a couple aspects of this process.

1) The new tank has sand that I have cleaned very well, but obviously is not "alive" anymore. How much sand should I take from my old tank to seed it ? Also, I assume that I dont clean the sand I am using to seed with, which would defeat the purpose, but the detritus in that sand is ok?

2) I dont really have the time to cycle a completely new setup. So, if I use 25-30% of the water from my current setup to mix with freshly made water along with my currently live rock could I just simply move everything from tank to tank in the same day? Since I am seeding the sand and the live rock will only be out of the water for 1-2 hrs and it will have some "dirty" water will I avoid the cycle?

Any comments or suggestions about how to do this the safest way for my livestock would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Brian
 
For seeding the new sand bed you only need a cup or so of the old sand. As far as putting your items in the new tank I would suggest not doing it directly. No matter what you do you will probably have some cycling unless you do a really good job of keeping the rock in saltwater. I suggest that you set up the new tank with your new sand, seed it, throw in a raw shrimp and take about half of your rock and put it in for about 10 days before putting anything in it. Monitor your ammonia, nitrite and if they are zero you should be safe to move the rest of the livestock.
 
I dont really have the time to let it cycle, so if I use more of the old water and go directly from one tank to the other does the LR need to be completely submerged or just wrapped in wet newspaper in a cooler during the move?
 
I've done this a couple times. If you're using your current LR, some old tank water, and seeding your sand, you'll be fine. Just keep the Prime on hand and keep an eye on your critters as much as possible. I would dose Stability according to the bottle directions for the first week as well. When I've done this I've kept my LR submerged in a 5-gal bucket with a lid, but if you're not able to do this you'll probably be okay; just be sure to rinse the LR very well before putting it in the tank.
 
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