Need some help deciding what to do with tank

[Weicowireman]

Hey guys,
I have a 95 gallon wave tank, 20 gallon sump & 30 gallon reservoir. I have 2x175 watt halides suspended from the ceiling along with a rke and tlf reactor. I am moving into my basement apartment. My tank is upstairs where I currently live with my parents. I can't decide whether or not to break down t he tank and bring it downstairs or leave it where it is upstairs with my parents.. Input please...

 

[JT101]

Weicowireman,

Let's look at the pluses and minuses here:

Minus: It's a major PAIN IN THE ASS to take down and move a tank.
Plus: Once it's down there you can do anything you want with the tank anytime you want because you no longer have to worm around mom & dad's schedule.

Minus: If you need to carry anything heavy UPSTAIRS it just got more difficult.
Plus: If you have a laundry ("slop") sink downstairs you can have easy access to water for cleaning, water changes etc.

Minus: It's that much more inconvenient to show off your tank if people come over to see your folks.
Plus: If your tank ever had that "fish tank smell" now it's in the basement instead of upstairs (on the other hand, this is also a minus!)

 

[thirty6]

Get bigger tank for basement, sell of tank as breakdown, or keep for parents to enjoy while set up another

 

[Weicowireman]

Get bigger tank for basement, sell of tank as breakdown, or keep for parents to enjoy while set up another

That would be nice but if I was to buy another tank it would be a 240 rimless. Except I don't have the funds to purchase and that would be a huge upgrade which I would want my own house to put my dream tank in.

 

[Weicowireman]

Weicowireman,

Let's look at the pluses and minuses here:

Minus: It's a major PAIN IN THE ASS to take down and move a tank.
Plus: Once it's down there you can do anything you want with the tank anytime you want because you no longer have to worm around mom & dad's schedule.

Minus: If you need to carry anything heavy UPSTAIRS it just got more difficult.
Plus: If you have a laundry ("slop") sink downstairs you can have easy access to water for cleaning, water changes etc.

Minus: It's that much more inconvenient to show off your tank if people come over to see your folks.
Plus: If your tank ever had that "fish tank smell" now it's in the basement instead of upstairs (on the other hand, this is also a minus!)

If I break it all down and put everything in large containers with the existing water that I would drain from the tank. Clean the tank, change out my return from a single jet to a dual. Have someone setup the stand as I clean the tank. Bring the tank down stairs and setup. Possibly add a 30 gallon sump with Refugium. Is this possible?

 

[dubs]

bring the tank downstairs the good out weight the bad imo the only bad i see is the pita to do the breakdown and move the tank after that u will only be enjoyning it more and more and u will have alot more option with the tank been in the basement

 

[thirty6]

If I break it all down and put everything in large containers with the existing water that I would drain from the tank. Clean the tank, change out my return from a single jet to a dual. Have someone setup the stand as I clean the tank. Bring the tank down stairs and setup. Possibly add a 30 gallon sump with Refugium. Is this possible?

yes, this is possible. make sure you plan it all out and dont sell yourself short on time. it always seems like a fairly quick transition and usually is not. if you could get an extra set of hands or two it would really help you out. if you are going to make any changes like changing sump, or something else make sure its all mapped out and you have all the supplies you need ahead of time. i think moving tank to basement is good call

 

[tomtoothdoc]

if the tank is hard plumbed with pvc, you may need to re-do some plumbing. make sure you have extra of everything.... bulkheads, pipe, valves, unions, connectors, glue, etc. just in case.
start the day early.....like 8 am. that way if you run into a snag and need parts/tools, stores would still be open.
i helped a friend up graded from a 45 to a 90 including a new sump and skimmer in the same location. even though we planned everything out, we had to make a couple of runs to the lfs and home depot for parts. there were three of us and it ran into the wee hours....something like 1 or 2 am!!!

 

[Weicowireman]

Ok, I will be doing the move in about 1 month. I will need glass baffles for the new sump, new protein skimmer, dual jet for my return. Can I change the sand from black to white? Or maybe add about 20-40lbs more of fine white sand on top of my existing black sand without causin a cycle?

 

[HealthyTanks]

I would move the tank downstairs. Have you ever moved a tank before? It can be a real pita. But if you do a good job of planning it should go smoothly. Have a contingency plan for your livestock. If something should happen to their home while you are moving it, you need to have a place for them to go. Try to do it on a day when your LFS and hardware store is open, in case you need supplies. I would wait and add the additional sand after you are sure the tank is stabilized.


Don

 

[Weicowireman]

I would definitely want to do it in one day. No, I have never moved a tank before. Ive transported contents from a 55 gallon to my tank when I first started. I would do this on a Saturday morning so I have the full day to complete it. What I am concerned about would is not causing a cycle in the tank. What can i do to avoid this?


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[HealthyTanks]

I have heard of people having cycling problems when they moved a tank but that has never happened to me. I reuse all the same water and filters and try to keep the inside of the tank from drying out.

Don


http://www.HealthyTanks.com

 

[dacaptain78]

IME to avoid a cycle you should:

-keep your live rock submerged in a spare tank/container with a power head and a heater.

-Use new sand while seeding it with some of your old sand. You could use your old sand but you would have to rinse it well and that could take up precious time if you are trying to do this in one day.

- Make sure you have ample fresh salt water to add to the tank to make up for the added volume from your new sump, and water discared from the move.

 

[Weicowireman]

Seeding the sand? When I started the tank I bougt live sand in a bag. Can I use the same type of sand? It said will not cause cycle on the bag. I forgot who makes it, bought it at Pet warehouse on copaige. Seeding the sand means what? Mixing old sand with the new sand?


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[thirty6]

Yes, seeding is adding older sand to new sand. I've read the cycling issue as well, many people here have done this,some with no loss others with a few casualties. Do you have a spare tank or ca you borrow one? You could set it p in basement ahead of time put livestock in. The your covered for the move, you could actually not kill yourself doing it. I think this will be my plan in June. I won't have corals though, makes bit tougher id think

 

[Weicowireman]

No spare tank. I could get a spare 55 gallon, but Id rather not setup a entire system to break it down unless I have to. I have a 44g brute pail that I can use.


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[thirty6]

brute should work just as good. i know some people have extra tanks in garages or whatever. im sure youll get it done with no problem, planning is key

 

[Weicowireman]

How about fish and livestock in large tote container and rock in a 44 gallon pail. Clean out 75% of old sand, ill use 25% of old sand to seed 100lbs of new white sand. Im sick of the black sand. Ill clean the tank, replace the single return jet with a dual and redue my aquascape and put everything back in.. How does that sound?


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[HealthyTanks]

Something you may want to consider.
Put all the black sand back in and start removing it when you know your tank is stable. Once it?s all removed, then you can start adding new white sand. You can seed the white sand with a bag of preseeded sand.
It may be a pain to remove the black sand but I think you would have less chance of a cycle if the ?downstairs? tank was biologically as close as possible to the ?upstairs? tank.
Don