moving to a new tank cycliing question

tgrenier · 11-02-2005, 10:50 AM

If I make 73 gallons of new water and add my 37 gallons of established water along with my rock and sand bed to the new tank, is it cycled? Or do I have to make 100 gallons and cycle it, and then move into the tank? In order to keep my wife happy I really need to limit the time that the two tanks are set up. The new tank is replacing the old and will be in the same spot.

Thanks

Tom

rangerfan · 11-02-2005, 11:28 AM

good queston to me you ratio of old water to new water is quite a discrepancy maybe try taking your 37 and add 20 and let it run for a week and add 20 more and so on until it is full that way you arent adding a ll that new water to the system at once. anyone else have any ideas???

skeety · 11-02-2005, 12:03 PM

the answer is: You shouldn't see any cycle if you use existing (cycled) LR and you don't have it out of the water for too long. ALSO, the new water your putting it in should be as close as humanly possible in Temp and pH.

What causes a cycle is critters (large, small, microscopic) dying. If no critters die, there is no reason for a new cycle to start. However...if there's no critters at ALL (base rock) then you need to START a cycle.

HTH

Geoff · 11-02-2005, 12:13 PM

the most common reason for a cycle when moving tanks is not paying attention to which side of the LR was facing upwards. if you keep the LR in the same orientation you will greatly lower the chance of having a small cycle. if you put a rock upside down that had heavy sponge growth you could kill it and that would mess with your levels.

SB's are also a problem.

G~

tgrenier · 11-02-2005, 12:44 PM

Thanks so far. What is the Sb problem? Just that i have one and shouldn't? I plan on vacuming it prior to moving which will make me loose some but I am planning on supplementing with some Garf Grunge and generic live sand from Petsmart or whatever. Heck, maybe I'll drive to the beach and get some nice fine sand for free. the grunge and sand I will be able to cure for a while in the sump beforre going live.

Tom

Geoff · 11-02-2005, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgrenier

Thanks so far. What is the Sb problem? Just that i have one and shouldn't? I plan on vacuming it prior to moving which will make me loose some but I am planning on supplementing with some Garf Grunge and generic live sand from Petsmart or whatever. Heck, maybe I'll drive to the beach and get some nice fine sand for free. the grunge and sand I will be able to cure for a while in the sump beforre going live.

Tom

i would just get rid of the SB. either not put one in the new tank or replace it with a new one. there a lot of problems that can occur if you try and move a SB from one tank to another. depending on the depth of the SB there are layers that should not be mixed. it has done its job. it may already be full of phosphates so start over with a clean bed. mixing up the SB woulld cause a huge cycle. mixing the layers releases all kinds of critters that did not want to be mixed up. these will prolly die. also the dark layers at the bottom do not want to see the light of day. they are anoxic critters. they will die if you expose them to the upper levels. if you really want to save some sand to start things up than just save the top 1/4-1/2" of it. you do not need much maybe a scoupfull or two. all the critters in the SB are also in your LR, they will repopulate it soon enough.

if all you are doing is transfering from one tank to another and nothing new (bagged sand does not count) is being added, then there is not reason to have both tanks setup at one time. make sure you have plenty of ASW made up to exactly match the water from the old tank.

G~

Geoff · 11-02-2005, 04:03 PM

something i need to mention. when moving up to a bigger tank you have to remember that you after the move the bacterial filtration can only handle the bioload that it has been controlling in the smaller tank. you should wait a month before adding anything new to the tank. this will allow the bacteria to colonize all of the new surfaces in the tank. i would also wait this long before adding more LR.

G~

tgrenier · 11-02-2005, 04:11 PM

I don't think I'l be able to afford to make the mistake you suggest avoiding.

Thanks

Geoff · 11-02-2005, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgrenier

I don't think I'l be able to afford to make the mistake you suggest avoiding.

Thanks

this move should not cost you anything, except the added volume of SW you will need to make. are you looking for more sand? check out this thread. there are very inexpensive options out there. the cheapest being, no SB at all. let me know exactly what your concerns are. i know this is an expensive hobby.

G~

Loverotties · 11-02-2005, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff

the most common reason for a cycle when moving tanks is not paying attention to which side of the LR was facing upwards. if you keep the LR in the same orientation you will greatly lower the chance of having a small cycle. if you put a rock upside down that had heavy sponge growth you could kill it and that would mess with your levels.

G~

I agree with this.Justtake your time and do your test to make shure your ready to add!