# Upgrading a tank - How to swap



## darcyr (Jan 24, 2014)

I am moving from a 29 gallon biocube to a 65 + 20 gallon sump. I will get some of the rock from the current owner but no sand. Any advice on how to swap everything over? I know ideally I would get the new tank up and running for a while and then slowly move things over but I want it to be in the same location that my current tank is in and dont have room in my condo for both. Can I just move everything over in one day or will I have to go through a new cycle. Running mixed reef, sps heavy so dont want to lose anything.


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## Cichlidrookie (Apr 6, 2014)

Good question....I am wondering the same thing.

Following along.


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## ruckuss (Jan 11, 2015)

What you going to do with the biocube? Your tank was awesome


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## darcyr (Jan 24, 2014)

I will sell the equipment that I can't use on the new tank once I've swapped. Hopefully the new tank will be awesomer haha


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

First step is to have a ton of new salt water (NSW) mixed and at the correct temp ready to go. 
If you can, get a 20g or bigger tank to temporarily house all your stuff. Transfer some of the old water from your 29g into said tank, top off with new water. Move livestock and corals into holding tank, and keep water flowing and temp up to keep everything happy. if you have a lot of corals, keep an eye out that they don't start sliming up, or you will get a tank crash. Don't move your LR into here. try to keep the water in here as clean and free of debris as possible.

Now, take your rock out of your old tank, and put it in a bucket (or two) of NSW making sure to blast away any and all crap off of and out of the rocks. Try to carry over as little detritus as possible.

Move the 29g out of the way, set up the 65g and fill with your NSW. Set up your rocks, add new sand (or very very very thoroughly clean old sand - I would just stick to new sand) and add mechanical filtration to catch dust detritus. Add corals/fish back in and keep an eye on everything. You're going to get a spike, but if you've managed to be careful and not track a lot of detritus into the new system and made sure to reduce stress on coral and fish as much as possible, you should have a relatively smooth transfer.

edit: buckets, lots of buckets or tanks. Never hurts to have a bucket or container handy to put stuff in temporarily during the move. And towels, because you're going to make a mess.


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

There are lots of options. Do you want the rock, sand ect from your old tank, or does it have pests in it? You can just start a new tank with dry materials and saltwater and use nitrifying bacteria to make it ready instantly. You can do the same with the old rock and some new rock.


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## ruckuss (Jan 11, 2015)

I have read that nitrifying bacteria doesn't really help much if you are using dry un-cured rock.. any truth to that?


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## imy112 (Dec 8, 2011)

Fish/ Corals:

The best method in my opinion would be to bag the corals/ fish individually thus, preventing stinging and stress. Place all the bags into closed Styrofoam boxes to retain heat. This will buy you a good deal of time to take down the old system and start the new one. Neat and clean approach (always a little messy though)

Rock/ Sand:

If you are looking to place the corals/ fish in new system ASAP, a good idea would be to stick to live rock and live sand(caribsea worked for me) as they already have the necessary bacteria to cycle the tank quicker than other methods. You will still encounter spikes but they should be manageable with weekly water changes.

Lastly, take your time  and do it right the first time. I find whenever things are rushed in this hobby, that when everything always goes wrong!

Extra buckets are always essential!

Hope this helps


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## goobafish (Jan 27, 2015)

ruckuss said:


> I have read that nitrifying bacteria doesn't really help much if you are using dry un-cured rock.. any truth to that?


Absolutely no truth to that. My system had 0 seed material, I even cut all coral off it's original live rock to place on dead material. My tank was fully stocked as soon as the water cleared, and I have never had any cycle, nor nitrate or more than trace phosphate. I am not talking low bioload either. Someone I spoke to last night had the same experience. We both used Colony. I maintained a strict carbon (vodka/vinegar) dosing regiment to work alongside it, but he did not.

I tend to use Rubbermaids for transfers. I throw in a fixed temperature heater, a small pump and strap a par38 onto the lip of the rubbermaid. If anyone visited in the last week my frag tank was being held in a 12"x12" rubbermaid with an AI prime hung on it while I drilled the tank. The clownfish and a whole bunch of corals were in there.


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## Nicole (Aug 2, 2013)

I just did exactly this a few weeks ago. I used a rubbermaid tote with a circ pump and heater to mix and fishless cycle with all my new rocks. then i put all my livestock in a bucket, tore down the old tank and set up the new one. and then drip acclimated everything to the new tank.
the only issue i ran into was the sand took a long time to settle in the new tank and i didn't plan properly for that so i just had my fish in small little buckets with no pumps or heaters planning to put them in immediately. i had to put them into a cloudy tank which i didn't feel good about, but everything worked out ok. i would recommend putting your live stock in a 5 gal or bigger bucket with a heater and pump and plan to leave them there for a day or 2 until the water clears and then drip acclimate them.


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## darcyr (Jan 24, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice! I bought my biocube currently running and moved it so have gone through a similar process, I knew nothing at the time. I cleaned the sand completely and reused it and didnt lose any corals or fish. I really would like to do this in one day and i think the "ameekplec." route makes sense. Unfortunately alot of my corals are fully encrusted onto my LR so I will have to move it all at once. Half old washed sand and half new live sand is ok? I am using all my rocks from my old setup plus some from the new setup that is also up and running. I hope all the bacteria get along.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Washing the sand will be fine.

I would transfer everything over, get it set and running, and then after a few days when everything is stable, tinker with the rock work if you can.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tank swap*

Congrats on the new tank....

When u did my wifes tank.. i made a rubber made tub with 
used water and new water ....and transfered all the rock into the tub
ran a heater and 2 powerheads... swapped tank out.. washed 
sand .put tank togeather and slowly added rocks and corals to 
tank...... fish were in a ten gallon.

Look forward to pics


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## Letigrama (Jul 6, 2008)

pretty much what everyone says, im going to do it again soon. My advice is make sure to put heater,and either a small powerhead, worse case scenario and aerator, and a light. this will give you plenty of time for the day to let stuff settle before putting the rocks and and fish in. One thing that takes the most time is to set up the sump, and equipment and test it. In my case, I'll probably just get the tank and plumbing, but i'll use my sump and equipment, so I am a bit scared of the plumbing and making sure everything works, before you adding the LR and fish. So be preventive and try to recreate your tank conditions as much as you can. Also, not sure if anyone mentioned.... I will most definitively put your old tank water in. So put new SW, then start to add the stuff and as you add add the old tank water. This water is already cycled. get lots of rubbermaid bins. there is always need for more, as you dont want to squish your corals on the live rock, this will mean you need one heater and powerhead per bucket. Good luck!


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