Best Way To Go About Transferring To A Bigger Tank?

[jaffacake]

I will be picking up my new marine tank tomorrow which I am too excited about!
I've had my nano running for over half a year now which I think has made me want to do things "properly" ..meaning a bigger version! I'll be picking up the few things I need to be ready for the transfer such as some more aragonite sand and may have to upgrade the lights as I'm not sure what the T5 lights are like in this new aquarium as of yet.

I've never transferred fish.. shrimps or anything else before as I've never taken them out of the tank so hopefully you guys can suggest the best way to go about it.



My plan at the moment is to get the aquarium, get the aragonite down in it, place my foundation ocean rock in the main places I want it. I will then be using LR glue to make a arch shaped area out of reef bones as the tank is bullet shaped and I have this image in my mind of what I would like it to look like (lets hope it turns out that way!)
Once the glue has dried over a day or two, I'll get my RO water in and the new heater.
Once things are at the right temperature, I'll put my new powerhead in and gradually add salt throughout the day so it has time to mix and I can measure the SG.

Now here is where I am stuck!
Is it best to
A - (back to my nano tank) catch the fish, which may be hard as they have a lot of LR to swim into in there, then put them in a temp plastic box with their powerhead and a small piece of rock to occupy them, then put all of the main LR in the new tank on top of my ocean rock.
My theory was that if all of the fish where out of the way, I could get a plastic bag an get the LR into it to transfer it into the new tank meaning it never actually has to come out of the water.. so I wouldn't have to wait for the tank to cycle again. But would the water be mature enough to be able to do this?

or B -
Take out half of the LR from the nano using the same "submerged in plastic bag" method, placing it where I want in the tank and read stats over the next week? Then if all is safe add the current livestock to their bigger home and then the other large LR pieces can be put in and I hope I don't get a spike in the water of some sort..




Well that is about it! I feel like a complete newbie when it comes to transferring, hopefully you can answer my questions and even suggest something else!
I won't be starting the transfer for another week or so and will happily make another post with pictures if anyone is interested in seeing how it goes!

Many thanks for your times and cookies for reading this far!

 

[ben1987]

Is the tank goin in the same place as the old one?


If its in adifferent place then this is better as you can take a bit of time over it. Id remove the live rock from your old tank first, then cathc the fish. This will make it a lot easier for you and less stressful for them

 

[jaffacake]

Hi Ben, the nano I had is now in another room temporarily as my bedroom has had a makeover meaning all furniture had to go out.

I'm in no rush to do things, just as long as it's safe! If I take the LR out (should I do the bag thing I mentioned or would this even make any difference?) and put it in the new tank, my livestock will be ok in the nano with just sand in the bottom? If they are how long can they stay like that and do I need to wait for the new tank to "cycle".

Thanks again!

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

1. remove fish and place them in another tank or bag them up. If you bag them up leave the bag with 1/3 water and 2/3 air. If you place them into another tank in the meantime, place your filter and heater in there too.

2. If you put the fish in bags, take a bucket of your current tank water and place your filter media in the bucket with the tank water to prevent any loss of beneficial bacteria.
(Note: Fish can safely stay in the bags for a couple of hours.) I would personally try to get anther tank in the meantime or a bucket for the fish. Agree that bucket or tank is a better option than bags

3. take out all decor and siphon out water from old tank. I would try to save about 1/3 to 1/2 of the water in the old tank. I would save half the water

4. Fill new tank with 1/3 dechlorinated water at about the temp you want it. I would not add any water to the tank yet

5. Remove substrate from old tank.

6. Add substrate to new tank. Before adding to the new tank, rinse it well to remove any debris, waste, trash, etc. Don't do this if it is an UGF and going into another tank with a UGF as the gravel is where your bacteria is.

7. Continue filling new tank with dechlorinated water, or add some of the water form your old tank that you saved. This is where I would put the saved water back in. The tank is now half full.

8. Add decor.

9. Add heater and wait until the water temp is near the desired mark.

10. Add filter.

11. Add fish, following the proper acclimated procedure. Since there is nothing in the tank but old tank water, the same water they came out of, simply put the fish in. Then finish filling tank. It's the same as a 50% water change. No acclimation required.

12. Add your extra accessories.

 

[seffieuk]

I will be picking up my new marine tank tomorrow which I am too excited about!
I've had my nano running for over half a year now which I think has made me want to do things "properly" ..meaning a bigger version! I'll be picking up the few things I need to be ready for the transfer such as some more aragonite sand and may have to upgrade the lights as I'm not sure what the T5 lights are like in this new aquarium as of yet.

I've never transferred fish.. shrimps or anything else before as I've never taken them out of the tank so hopefully you guys can suggest the best way to go about it.

Grab a friend and many towels

My plan at the moment is to get the aquarium, get the aragonite down in it, place my foundation ocean rock in the main places I want it. I will then be using LR glue to make a arch shaped area out of reef bones as the tank is bullet shaped and I have this image in my mind of what I would like it to look like (lets hope it turns out that way!)





First place your ocean rock in tank to form your base
You can then add your sand
Put a large plate on the sand and fill up with ro water, either salted or not. heat up water and add salt to the required sg, if needed

Take out all the live rock and transfer over (just carry it)
Take a pint mug (if the fish will fit ) and catch fish, inverts - a plastic container will work as well, put in new tank
Take out that good sand you have in the old tank and put in the new tank, be careful, there may be bristle worms lurking

it is messy, make sure you have a lot of towels handy and a soldering iron for any aiptaisia you might find

Leave to settle for a week, then start to think about your arch

another option would be to leave a small amount of live rock in your old tank with the fish and inverts, make your arch and then transfer the rest over

I just carried my live rock from one tank to the next - no bags no nothing!

Seffie x

 

[TigerIssey]

1. remove fish and place them in another tank or bag them up. If you bag them up leave the bag with 1/3 water and 2/3 air. If you place them into another tank in the meantime, place your filter and heater in there too.

2. If you put the fish in bags, take a bucket of your current tank water and place your filter media in the bucket with the tank water to prevent any loss of beneficial bacteria.
(Note: Fish can safely stay in the bags for a couple of hours.) I would personally try to get anther tank in the meantime or a bucket for the fish. Agree that bucket or tank is a better option than bags

3. take out all decor and siphon out water from old tank. I would try to save about 1/3 to 1/2 of the water in the old tank. I would save half the water

4. Fill new tank with 1/3 dechlorinated water at about the temp you want it. I would not add any water to the tank yet

5. Remove substrate from old tank.

6. Add substrate to new tank. Before adding to the new tank, rinse it well to remove any debris, waste, trash, etc. Don't do this if it is an UGF and going into another tank with a UGF as the gravel is where your bacteria is.

7. Continue filling new tank with dechlorinated water, or add some of the water form your old tank that you saved. This is where I would put the saved water back in. The tank is now half full.

8. Add decor.

9. Add heater and wait until the water temp is near the desired mark.

10. Add filter.

11. Add fish, following the proper acclimated procedure. Since there is nothing in the tank but old tank water, the same water they came out of, simply put the fish in. Then finish filling tank. It's the same as a 50% water change. No acclimation required.

12. Add your extra accessories.

This is more suited to Freshwater. With salt water you want to leave the fish in there water for as long as possible, moving them into bags or another tank can stress them too much, I know, I lost a fish after an upgrade by doing this. Better if possible to catch from old tank, straight to new tank if you can. Less stress for the fish.

 

[AK77]

I'd do the folliowing:

#1 Place your ocean rock in the tank, making sure its firmly seated. If you can get some egg crate, even better, as this protects the bottom of the tank more.

#2 Add your aragonite sand.

#3 Place a small plastic container (clean washing up bowl or small bucket) onto the sand.

#4 Slowly pour your RO / Premixed salt water (better option) into the bowl and allow water to trickle over it. This will stop so much dust being kicked up into the water. You could also pre wash the sand to remove dust. Puncture lots of holes in the bottom of the bag with a pin (any bigger and you will start losing sand as the aragonite can be 1-3mm in some cases. Then flush through with RO water or some of the water from your nano.

#5 Once the tank is half full, turn on your heaters and circulation pumps and wait until the temperature is the same as your nano tank.

#6 Once the temperatures are equal, begin syphoning water from your nano tank into a clean container and transport it to the new tank.

#7 As the water level decreases and exposes LR. Transfer it to the new tank and continue until all your rock is gone. Leave a about 4 inches of water in the bottom of the tank for your fish and inverts. I found this much better to do than trying to chase the fish all around the tank with a net, as you can knock rocks over in the process as you lunge the net forward or it catches on the LR. The quicker you catch the fish and inverts, the less stressful it will be on them. No obstructions makes this process much easier. Other people may suggest catching the fish first as moving rocks around has the potential to squish those below. Personally I found that moving the rocks slowly and indiviually, inspecting them for inhabitants as you go, was a safer option.

#8 With all the rock gone and safely positioned in your new tank, catch your fish and inverts transfer them over.

#9 Syphon the remaining water from the nano and place in your new tank.

#10 Take the remaining sand and if possible, get a piece of 110mm soil pipe or other pipe of a decent size and place it into your new tank until one end is touching the new sand (ensure the pipe is clean). Spoon/spade the old sand into the pipe and slowly distribute it around the tank. Doing it this way will stop so much of the detritus and fine particles from blowing around the tank. Alternatively, if you have a sump, take the sand and make a nice 4-5" DSB with it

Job done.

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

woah sorry i didnt mean to paste what i did into here, that whas for tropical

 

[ben1987]

woah sorry i didnt mean to paste what i did into here, that whas for tropical

nice tank

 

[TigerIssey]

woah sorry i didnt mean to paste what i did into here, that whas for tropical

Did you by any chance look under new posts, if so it happens alot. Don't worrry

As Ben says, nice tank.

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

yeah i did an i was like, right then lets see what i can do.
thanks guys, i upgraded yesturday and will soon update my sig pic with the new tank