Tank upgrade / swap help needed!

[TonyGio]

Hi there. So I have a 60 gallon cube mixed reef that is heavily stocked with coral (reason for the upgrade) and it’s tied into a 24x24x8 frag tank. I recently got a 120 gallon upgrade with all new equipment (sump, skimmer, lights etc). The only problem is the new tank has to go in the same spot as my current tank. I also will have to add a bunch of rock to it to fill the aqua scape.

What is the best way to go about this. I’m assuming I will go through a mini cycle from the new dry or live rock I add. And I can’t figure out the best way to house my livestock until the new tank is ready to go since it will have to go in the same spot. Has anyone dealt with this? Any tips for success? Thank you in advance!

 

[ryanjohn1]

Your old rock will have enough to sustain its current bioload. You may see a mini cycle

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If there's any way you can get your hands on a temporary third tank it will makes things a lot easier. Otherwise you will need a lot of buckets.

it will also be easier if you have new sand. If you intend to move your existing sand over, it will take you hours to clean the sand thoroughly enough for re-use. You can't use your old sand without cleaning, or it may release enough ammonia to possibly kill your tank. So get new sand and sacrifice the existing sand.

With new sand and a third tank (or lots of buckets), you should be able to get it done rather quickly and easily. I say that, but have lots of towels on standby.

As mentioned above, your existing rocks 100% will support your fish in the new tank

 

[C_AWOL]

Premix and match the salinity + temp of new water in excess of what you will use for your new display (in this case I suggest 150g)
Move the rock+glued coral into one large bin and then drain clean display water into that bin + one additional large bin for livestock (I suggest those 30g black costco ones) and make sure they're placed out of the way and/or put them on carts
Make sure theres some form of surface agitation and heating (if needed)

Then proceed with the removal of the old tank + moving in and plumbing of the new tank and triple check everything before adding the new matched saltwater (you can use some of the old if desired and reserve excess new for a future water change)

 

[TonyGio]

Thank you for the help that cleared up some of my main questions. I plan and completely replace the substrate. I just wasn’t quite sure how the rock situation was going to work. Thanks again!

 

[TonyGio]

Actually one more question is a have a few very small spots of turf algae. I’ve been really good at keep it at bay but I don’t want it at all in the new tank. If I scrub the affected rocks with light peroxide and rinse before putting in the new tank will I kill the effectiveness of the bacteria?

 

[C_AWOL]

Unless you submerge the entire rock in peroxide, you'll marginally affect the amount of bacteria overall for your tank considering it's established and already handles the current bioload. Any loss of beneficial bacteria from you using a small amount of peroxide will easily be mitigated by the fact that your aquarium has 2x the water volume and will likely have additional (possibly seeded) rock.

 

[TonyGio]

Unless you submerge the entire rock in peroxide, you'll marginally affect the amount of bacteria overall for your tank considering it's established and already handles the current bioload. Any loss of beneficial bacteria from you using a small amount of peroxide will easily be mitigated by the fact that your aquarium has 2x the water volume and will likely have additional (possibly seeded) rock.

Perfect, thank you!