I would like for you reefers to give me your opinion. I'm in the process in buying a house and don't have a place to put my reef tank anywhere but my buddy's house while in the process of moving and getting the keys to the new house. I have to be out of my place by the 30th and won't get the keys to the new place till the 5th of next month. I had my 45gal tank and sump with corals, rocks, 1 fish, and sand. I transfered my corals and only a few rocks with my fish to my friends house in a 20gal tank. They're a bit cramped but is doing good. I saved about 60% of my sand bed and put it in a running 10gal tank. The rest of the live rocks I left out. Now when I get the new place I'm upgrading to a 60gal cube. This is where I want your feed back if it's safe or not and want your advice or recommendation. My plan right when I get the place is to set up the 60gal tank, put the sand I saved, mix salt and ro water, put the rocks I had taken out and put them back in (by this time rocks are dry/3 weeks out of tank), put my corals with the 20gallon of water they are in and the few live rocks I had in there as well and let it run. Yay, nae, or pray
Safe or not safe reef move
- Thread starter Jeffreef
- Start date
Let the dry rock cycle first with the live rock in the new tank for a few days and add a bottle of dr. Tims one and only to jumpstart the cycle. Once things stabilize then add your corals and fish. Everything else seems good. How long was your sand/system running? Stirring the sand up that much will bring out a ton of nitrates.
since it is 2 years old system and you are about to upgrade. I think you should start fresh with sand and rock. The sand and rock you saved, clean them very well to removed all detrius and dead stuffs on the rock. you can power wash/bleach/ acid wash.
Start at new place and add Dr. Tim's one and only.
Start at new place and add Dr. Tim's one and only.
I would go with new sand if it were me. Sand builds up lots of nutrients over time and it's not a huge investment to replace it. New live rock would also be great but it's not cheap. If it were me I would go with new sand and use the old rock. Why are you not cycling the rock right now while your waiting for the new tank?? Is there a reason you want it to dry out? You could cure the rock before you put it back in the tank In a plastic been. You just need a power head, heater, and maybe some sort of bacteria booster to get the cycling done faster.
The only reason why I took them out is because they would not all fit in the 20gal. Didnt want to ask more from my friend. Reason why I'm not cycling is because literally everything is in storage. This Sunday I'm staying at my mother n laws and the only thing I'm bring is cloths, and next week on Thursday I should begetting the keys. The week I get keys I'll cycle the rocks in a bin. It's funny cause I was asking in the thread you post "60gal build" what temp you'd say is good to speed the process for bacteria when you said warmer water, cause I'm going to try this. How long would you recommend for the rocks to stay in the bucket cycling before placing it in the DT
I would think that you cycle the rock at the same temp as the tank. I'm not sure about this but it's what I did. Adding some bacteria booster will help a lot in the process. The way i cycle rock is to test the water and do water changes on it until the ammonia is all gone. Stuff on the rock will break down and feed the bacteria and it will colonize on and in the rock
Like a couple others said, I would definitely toss the old sand and dry rock and get new live sand and live rock. You're guaranteed a big spike with nitrates and phosphates using the old stuff, it's not worth the risk. Get an 8 oz bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only and start dosing when you set the new tank up. I just got done doing the same thing. I dose minimal doses daily for 2 weeks and it always works like a charm. I downsized from a 60 to a 15. Added my coral and 5 fish immediately and everything is super happy 
Like a couple others said, I would definitely toss the old sand and dry rock and get new live sand and live rock. You're guaranteed a big spike with nitrates and phosphates using the old stuff, it's not worth the risk. Get an 8 oz bottle of Dr. Tim's One and Only and start dosing when you set the new tank up. I just got done doing the same thing. I dose minimal doses daily for 2 weeks and it always works like a charm. I downsized from a 60 to a 15. Added my coral and 5 fish immediately and everything is super happy
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