Upgrade advice please..!

[brettdyer80]

Hi Reefers,
Sorry in advance if this is a dull repeated question.!

In the past when i have swapped tanks etc i have done the normal process keep live rock, water and top up etc etc..
I'm upgrading from my Redsea Nano max over to the Redsea reefer 200XL G2... Now normally i would get fresh sand keep live rock, my bio balls and water and top-up with fresh add some new bacteria and test for few days. Only this time around i can't keep the live rock as it has over 15 RBTA attached lol {don't ask lol}.

So the only thing i can do is transfer the water approx 65-70 litres, My bio balls and the rest wold be fresh mixed salt water to top up the 200XL..,Livestock wise i have the following.... about four zoa plugs and RFA.. Fish wise.. 2 clowns, Royal gamma, tri colour blenny, small tomani tang..

This is where im getting mixed advice, some LFS and mates say just pop bio ball, water from old tank in and top-up..! And others are saying because im using new dry sand and rock, i might need to freshly cycle it to be safe.????

I'm stuck this time around lol any advice appriated guys.

 

[Bruttall]

Water from old tank does nothing to help establish Nitrification process in new tank. ONLY your old Rock and Bio Media will have that bacteria on it. So if you are using New Live Sand and New Rock in the tank, you need to run the NITRATE Cycle again to establish the beneficial bacteria.

Again there is absolutely NO BENEFIT or Detriment for that matter, to using your old water. It just does nothing for you.

 

[brettdyer80]

Water from old tank does nothing to help establish Nitrification process in new tank. ONLY your old Rock and Bio Media will have that bacteria on it. So if you are using New Live Sand and New Rock in the tank, you need to run the NITRATE Cycle again to establish the beneficial bacteria.

Again there is absolutely NO BENEFIT or Detriment for that matter, to using your old water. It just does nothing for you.

Yeah I know the water has no benefits, I will be using all fresh water predominantly, it's the fact this time I'm taking none of my live rock over to new tank..only thing I'd be moving over is the bio balls..

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Can you take some of the new rock and put it in your current tank/sump for a few weeks? That’s what I end up doing and it works well. I would also try and use live sand as well. It has bacteria in it that will help.

 

[brettdyer80]

Can you take some of the new rock and put it in your current tank/sump for a few weeks? That’s what I end up doing and it works well. I would also try and use live sand as well. It has bacteria in it that will help.

Unfortunately mate it's a custom scape and won't fit into the nano max ‍. Sand wise I could get the dry out and get the live sand, however watching vlogs from Reefbuilders and Dr tims the live sand can at times delay cycle. I could add the live sand though..

 

[MERKEY]

Is your new sump large enough to fit the rock with the BTAS in it for a couple weeks to help establish the new tank?

Just a small fuge light would suffice for that period of time for the nems.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Do you have any spare rocks you can throw in? You can then add them to your new tank for a few weeks.

Also not sure how live sand will delay a cycle.

 

[brettdyer80]

Is your new sump large enough to fit the rock with the BTAS in it for a couple weeks to help establish the new tank?

Just a small fuge light would suffice for that period of time for the nems.

Good shout that..! I was thinking about that I suppose I could get a temp light in sump for couple weeks or so

 

[brettdyer80]

Do you have any spare rocks you can throw in? You can then add them to your new tank for a few weeks.

Also not sure how live sand will delay a cycle.

According to the Dr Tims fishless cycle video on YouTube its something to do with Ammonia levels and adding then adding the ammonia chloride drops. Have a look