replacing 65 g

[lanacane214]

i will be replacing my 65 g perfecto , with a new 65 g overflow.whats the best way to transfer all contents of tank?i have 4" of live sand ,100pounds of live rock ,1 powder blue tang,2 anthias,1 clown fish,1 wrasee.id like to get rid of some of the live rock maybe 20 pounds ,and some of the sand maybe 2".would that be ok? tank is 2 years old.

 

[Deanos]

Moving

 

[Henrye]

Lot's of extra hands, buckets, and towels. Some battery powered air pumps are handy, as are some small heaters if livestock transfer is going to take a long time.

I'm not sure about moving a DSB. I think there are some issues with that as it's likely integrated into your biofilter, especially in the hypoxic/anoxic zones for denitrifying bacterial growth. That's one for someone familiar with DSB experience to weigh in on.

Henry

 

[tomzpc]

I would remove everything to brute pails and coolers then when the new tank was in place I would add the sand and rock(after swishing each piece around in some old tank water to remove detritus). Then I would add 100% fresh saltwater mixed to the same S.G. and close to the same temp. as the old water. Then I'd acclimate all of the animals to the new system.

Personally, I wouldn't use any of the old sand, but that's just me. I think that it can do more harm than good being that your sand bed has absorbed two years worth of nutrients. Others would certainly debate me on this though. Just my opinion.

That's basically the procedure I used when going from a 55 to a 90 several years ago.

 

[meschaefer]

I have in the past moved a complete system, including a full 4 inch DSB straight from one tank to another. You will get a small, very short lived cycle as the sand bed re-establishes itself over a couple of days. Of course the sand bed should be the last thing removed, if only because it is at the bottom. Right before you remove the sand bed, siphon out all but 1/4 of the water. Then scoop the sand bed out and discard the left over water as a good amount of detrius will get kicked into the water as you remove the sand. I have done this three times with little impact on my reef.

The fourth time that I moved by tank, I took the opportunity to replace 1/2 of my sand bed, just in case those who claim that a sand bed soaks up nutrients are right.

That being said, I have never seen objective and quantitative proof that sand beds soak up anything, and if they do, that they then release it back into the water. It's always subjective proof, such as "my tank crashed after X number of months/years, and since I keep a perfect tank it must have been the sand bed" If somebody has a link, or a scientific explination as to why I am wrong, I would be happy to read and consider it.

 

[PalmTree]

I wish I knew you attempted this Matt! I replaced my enitre sand bed thinking that moving it would created a nitrate mess! How did you deal with the smell?

 

[meschaefer]

I wish I knew you attempted this Matt! I replaced my enitre sand bed thinking that moving it would created a nitrate mess! How did you deal with the smell?

It is sort of unpleaseant when you are scooping it out, but its not like you don't have to deal with the smell if you are completely removing it.

 

[PalmTree]

It is sort of unpleaseant when you are scooping it out, but its not like you don't have to deal with the smell if you are completely removing it.

Yes that is true. It's still on the top of my list of most horrible odors though.