Tank Upgrade Question

[Todd31]

Hello MR ...

So I'm planning on upgrading my 40 breeder setup to a 75 on Saturday.

The 75 tank has been running for over a month. Seeded it with a piece of live rock that was in the sump of the 40 and a couple large shrimp to kickstart the cycle. Ammonia and nitrites are gone. Im ghost feeding occasionally to keep things going.

The 75 is going in the same location as the currently running 40. In an ideal situation i know it would be best to move my 6 fish from my 40 over to the new tank slowly, but i wont be able to do that. All has to happen Saturday.

So, in order to keep a lot of the good bacteria/filtration i know i should keep a lot of the live rock from the old system. One issue, though, is asterina stars. Id like to move the smallest amount of the old rock into the new system to minimize the starfish situation.

How much/little of the old rock can i get away with using? Since the 75 has been cycled properly how many fish would you ever start a new system with?

Any thoughts would be great...

--todd

 

[edd]

if you dont want the asternias in the 75, then i wouldnt use any rock from the 40.
i would add all fish to 75 and use a bottled bacteria to help it along.

 

[Todd31]

i picked up the dr tims one and only in case i need it...

 

[House of Laughter]

depending on what kind of fish you have, get rid of the asterina's with a harlequin shrimp. Not only will they get rid of the problem, they are cool animals.

This will allow you to use all your rock.

First week or two plan on not feeding a ton and be prepare for weekly large water changes until the bacteria catch up.

FWIW

House

 

[Nandez13]

depending on what kind of fish you have, get rid of the asterina's with a harlequin shrimp. Not only will they get rid of the problem, they are cool animals.

This will allow you to use all your rock.

First week or two plan on not feeding a ton and be prepare for weekly large water changes until the bacteria catch up.

FWIW

House

Agreed. I'd rather keep my bacteria population intact than get rid of asterinas. Enjoy the Harlequin shrimp until it eats all of the asterinas and then pass it in to someone else.

 

[Todd31]

i would imagine i would have a lot of dead asterinas in my sump when i put the old live rock down there. New sump, no algae at all to eat. Do you think the asterinas will navigate their way to the display in the meantime?

 

[Nandez13]

i would imagine i would have a lot of dead asterinas in my sump when i put the old live rock down there. New sump, no algae at all to eat. Do you think the asterinas will navigate their way to the display in the meantime?

Yes.

Have you previously seen damage to your corals from the asterinas? There are certain types that will eat soft corals but it's difficult to distinguish which types will. I have plenty in my system but have never seen any effect on my corals. If the asterina population gets to be too great, then I'll probably consider getting a Harlequin as well