Moving Livestock From 1 Tank To Another

[1entra]

To cut along story short I have got a leak in my current recently set up nano reef so have ordered a new one to replace it and move all my livestock into it. My current tank is a 25gallon and the new tank is going to be approx 40G.

I plan on putting the tank in the exact same spot my curent tank is placed, so I will have to empty my original tank out before I can move the tank shell and thus add the new tank to the spot. I plan on using loads of buckets to place all my livestock and water in whilst swapping the tanks about.

What I want to know is how should I go about adding all my livestock back into the new tank? As the new tank is bigger, should I add and mix saltwater in it straight away, let it settle for an hour or so before adding my old water to top it up and then add my livestock???

... or should I add my previous/old saltwater in the tank straight away, let that settle and keep adding new made saltwater over several hours?

At what point should I add my fish and coals?

Also what about my live rock and live sand? Should I add them straight away to the new set-up soon after adding water or should I let the tank water, SG and temperature settle first?

This is really starting to confuse me! Lol

Can others please tell me if ever they've upgraded to a bigger tank and how they went about moving their stock over please.

Thanks

 

[pengy666]

Someone told me a good action plan once, Here it is hope it helps

1 Empty the body of the main tank into 2 large water butts

2 start emptying the tank of water into the new tank as I do place the LR in the tank step by step

3 once most of the water is out and all the LR and corals are in the new tank Have a breather!

4 transfer the live stock to the new tank and keep the water circulating with PH's

5 slowly refill the new tank with the new water out of the water Butts which will probably take the rest of the day

6 Once its full Flick the main switch and hold your breath. it may have a small cycle after this so you will need to keep your eyes on it. hopefully you wont loose any stock but there is always a possibility.


HTH

 

[1entra]

Thanks for that pengy, the only thing is as my new tank is going to be placed in the exact same spot as my current one, I have to able to move it out of the way in order to replace it with my new one. And I cant do that with it having anything in it so have to completly empty it first!

It would be alot easier if the other tank was going to be put in another location as I could slowly transfer all my livestock one by one, but with this way I need a bit of a differnt approach!

 

[pengy666]

Hmm sorry I cant help much more than that? Good luck with the move!

You could get lots of barrels and buckets, use the baths and sinks too!!

 

[1entra]

LOL, do you wreckon that would work? As baths and sinks are normally high bleeding grounds for bacteria and also a lot of chemical are used when we bath and sower etc so might affect the livestock.

Although it would be good if it was fullproof, i dont think I really want to be risking it unless someone can tell me for defo it would be safe... would safe me a bit of money buying buckets and containers!!

 

[SkiFletch]

Nothing a quick bleaching and rinsing couldn't sterilize... But at the tank volumes you're suggesting I wouldnt bother with sinks/baths, just use rubbermaid plastic bins or similar. Basically transfer livestock to the bin(s), somewheres else in the house, remove the tank, put the new one up. Make sure you have an ENTIRE day to do this, as it WILL take longer than you think. As for the water, as long as the "new" tankwater is of the same temp and salinity as the old, you should be fine with setting the tank up with new water, placing some old in, as you slowly empty your bins of rock.

Things to have on hand:
-An EXTRA 40g of mixed salwater on-hand in case something bad happens (if you have it you won't need it, but if you dont... )
-Siphons/pumps/filtersocks/women's nylons (in case the water/sand is REALLY dirty)
-Towels, LOTS of towels

 

[1entra]

Thanks ski, so should I add the new mixed water in first, get it to the right temp and SG before adding all my livestock slowly back into the tank or should I add my LR, old water and rest of livestock first and then add all the new mixed water as if doing a big water change?

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd pre-mix the new water in a big bin or two and have it ready before you start draining. Then it's easy to drain the tank and fill with the new water, don't have to wait for it to heat up

 

[1entra]

Thanks ski