Please help! New to Saltwater World.

[Pennies2Cents]

Hello,

My husband and I are upgrading from a 20 gal to a 55 gal saltwater tank. We pretty much have everything thing we need its just I am kind of nervous making the switch.

We have the following inside the 20 gal tank:
1 Sand Starfish
4 Cleaner Snails
5 Green Chromis
1 Frag of Green Star Polyps
1 Frag of Green Buttons
1 Frag of Purple Zenia
Colony of Yellow Polyps
1 Frag of Cold Coral (sp)
3 Frag of Fronasia (sp)
Live Rock
Live Sand

How long will they survive in a 5 gal bucket while i take down their current home and setup the new one..Please Help.. We are very new to the saltwater world. Will they go into shock? We dont want to loose anything.

[tony]

remember, the corals probably spent a day or two on a plane to get to your store

they are pretty hardy and will do fine

[Kristy]

Our corals and fish sat around in buckets and tubs for most of a day when we recently upgraded our tank. None the worse for wear. Good luck on the upgrade. Feel free to write if / when you have more questions.

[mama]

I recently switched from 20 to 40 and was told not to use the same sand as I might hit an ammonia/nitrite pocket...is this a concern? I bought all new sand...

[Kristy]

We just upgraded from a 100g to a 210g. We used our old sand and just added to it (making sure to use the same grade.) No problems, as long as it is done timely and kept pretty wet.

[cowboy572]

I have a 55gal I move a couple months back and I had all my critter's in a 5gal bucket for a day or two. I added a cheap air pump and air stone. Everyone survived the move after i got my tank up and running. I used my same same. Only thing I did to mine was take out some of the crushed coral and shell a sleeper gobie brought up to the surface. I just added some sand to make up the difference to keep my 3 inch sand bed.

[ErikH]

DONT DO ITTTTTTTTTTT. Wait, umm just kidding.... As long as your heat stays ok, they should be ok. Just do not leave them for days while you aquascape :p

Breathe in, breathe out. :bigsmile:

[alton]

I would use a large Ice Chest to help control the temperature plus give your live stock more room. If your tank is normally at 79 and you keep your house at 72, in a couple of hours your water in the bucket will cool down.

[Pennies2Cents]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Today is the big day that I will be making the switch..

I will keep you posted as to how things are coming along.. Here is a pic of my 20gal. I will post a pic of my 55 when things are up and running..

Im so happy I found MAAST.:thumbs_up:

[mama]

I am just starting out too and have seen the ups and downs...that's why I joined MAAST...the best support group right here in town. Good luck and don't be too afraid!! They are a lot hardier than you think....

[roscozman]

I am Pennies2Cents husband. Which is better, buy cycled saltwater from the fish store to fill the new tank or mix it ourselves?

[tony]

I am Pennies2Cents husband. Which is better, buy cycled saltwater from the fish store to fill the new tank or mix it ourselves?


whichever is more convenient/cost effective for you is better

[ErikH]

If you fill and mix right away with RO/DI, double check your ph to make sure it's not low! :)

[Mr Cob]

When i upgraded from a 55 to a 120 I picked up a cheap $5 trachcan for all of my live rock and so that I could keep most of the water from the tank for the new tank and I added my corals to 2 ice chests with air stones and heaters in each. Monitored the temp and adjusted heaters accordingly.

My corals were in the coolers from Friday night to Sunday night....about 2 and a half days. I also pre-made about 20 gallons of water and added some of it to the trashcan and coolers.

I re-used the sand and added about 120pounds of new live sand. This was all complete late friday night. Saturday I added my rockscape (foam structure) all all of the established live rock right after. I let the tank continue adjusting and added the fish and corals late Sunday evening. I also added a bunch of chaeto to help.

Did not lose one fish or coral.