How I Plan To Move My Reef.
Well, after two years of living in a 2nd floor apt, we are moving into a house.So of course I am upgrading!
I plan on having a 200g+, and with a flourishing tank already in place, moving it with no deaths is not just a goal, it is a necessity! The people we are getting the house from are friends of the family, so I may have a little over a month to get it all done, since they are all moved out. If all goes as planned, I sincerely believe that I can do this in a week, with no deaths. The new tank will set my pace though, so it must be very stable before the move. I know, I just said "very stable", and my timeframe is less than 1 month from my start date. Please do keep in mind that I have been planning and researching this for about 8 months. Also, I have been keeping SW for a mere 3 years, but as everyone here knows, my job allows me a ton of freedom for research. Research and Patience are the foundations of success in this hobby, so hopefully, I have done enough research! I wish I could be more patient, but it's just not possible, time is of the essence.
Wish me luck, and ALL suggestions and criticisms ARE ENCOURAGED. I brainstormed the wah-zoo out of this, but it's better to have y'all look it over as well! I broke the steps down by tank. I currently own a 75g.
My New Tank....
1.) Get new tank prepped (drilled, plumbed, leak tested)
2.) Fill it with NEW sand, dry as a bone. 1/2" sugarfine first, then a fine layer of Crushed Coral, and then 1/2" a tad bigger than sugarfine. My sump will be DSB running the entire length, with just sugarfine.
3.) Next, add salt, thinly atop the sand, and gently fill tank with water. Let the return mix it.
4.) Verify Temp, PH, and Salinity. All must be stable and match the old tank.
5.) Dose until CA is 440 and Alk is 11.
My Old Tank....
Before I cover the next steps, my tank is a 75g reef/29g baffleless fuge/sump. It has about 200 or more pounds of rock, and around 225 pounds of LS. It is naturally filtered, no skimmer, or other mechanical filtration. I run carbon 24/7 and phosban as needed. I have a dual-stage Hobo-made CA reactor for Alk and CA. Lighting is 2x250DE PFO MiniPendants, XM20k bulbs (HQI), and 4x48" Giesemann bulbs, with TeK reflectors. My Halides are on 12 hours per day, and the T5s are only on about 8 hours. It sounds backwards, but I like the halides as my dawn and dusk. The shimmer from the halides is much more pronounced without the T5s, which look great in the AM and late night.
The 29g fuge/sump contains 60 lbs of sand, end to end. On one half of the sandbed lies 60 lbs of rock, the other half is full of macro. The return pump is buried in the rocks, almost dead center in the tank. The fuge is lit 24/7 by a 70w Viper Halide.
This setup has been GREAT! With no skimmer to worry about, we can go on vacation with no worries. Jeremy does come by and fills my ATO and feeds the fish every 2-3 days. It seriously maintains itself, and because of that, I can honestly look at my reef to relax. On to the plans...
From My Old Tank.....
1.) Pull the rock from my sump, and drain it leaving it's sandbed intact with enough water to transport it. It's about 60lbs each rock and sand. Haul tail to the new tank, and crank up the A/C in my car to keep temps down.
2.) Add all of the sump rock immediately to the new tank. It will be transported in water. Also add 1/2 of the sandbed from old sump to new sump, testing twice daily. If second test comes out good, it's ready to add the other 1/2. Repeat until it's transferred.
-A sidenote here is that since I have filled my sump with macro, I have not seen any nitrogen(?) bubbles for several months . I also stir this sandbed during every water change since it is in my sump, and drain off all of the filthy dirty water. Since it is actively turned, I do not think that disturbing it will have any negative effect, as it has not for over 2 years. It should only help liven the new sand, and quickly since it is stirred often.
3.) In step two, I will be removing my macro algae. It will be placed into a bucket, which will act as my sump. I plan on keeping the macro away from the return with eggcrate and some rock. When I go to do step 4, I will move the macro, and it's light.
4.) Pull my tangs and add them all to the new tank. (2yellow,1PT,1ST) By this time, the tank should be able to handle the bioload, especially with the macro.
5.) Remove my centermost rock, remove SPS frags, except for my green slimer, and add to my new tank. I will have a borrowed halide for the new tank until I am done.
6.) Observe my frags, checking polyp extension the next day. If it is good...... step 7!
7.) Remove my two other main rocks, SPS and all. Place them into the new tank. The rocks that raised them higher in my 75 will also go into the new tank, but they will not go under my main display rocks, as to give the frags some down time.
8.) Move lighting, and CA reactor.
9.) Remove remainder of livestock, and add to the new tank.
If I Buy Used...
If I do buy a used system, depending on the condition, I may move it with the sandbed intact. If I do that, I will need to drain, move, and refill all in the same day. Overnight, if the levels spike, I will immediately pull the rock, and put it in a stable system the same day. Then I will drain the tank, and yank the old sandbed. I probably will not use it after that. I will however keep the water, and try to reuse it somehow.
THANKS FOR READING, ALL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS ARE ENCOURAGED!
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