new vs. old tank

[mickb]

Hello!

I am new to this forum. I joined because I need some help and advise.

I currently have a Red Sea Reefer 250 that I purchased in 2016. It has a 55 gallon display tank. I recently had some plumbing problems. I tried to find parts to fix it but my tank is generation 1 and they are on generation 3 now. The new part did not work. I managed to get it working again despite not having the Red Sea part. This difficulty prompted me to order a new system, a 100 gallon Innovaative Marine. I am looking forward to having more space for fish that I couldn't stock in my current tank. The new tank is coming next week.

The new tank will go in the same spot as the old tank. So I need to break down the old tank before setting up the new one. Considering how long that might take, including getting the whole system stable and able to support fish, I have been debating what to do with my fish. I have a Cole Tang and 2 Goldflake Maroon clown fish. I have a 20g long that I could keep them in temporarily, but I am worried that an extended stay would especially stress out the Tang. I have decided to give the fish to a good home. Do you know anybody that would like to have these fish?

Then there is the old tank. I don't have room for 2 tanks, so do you know anyone who would like a free marine tank? As much as I modified the sump, that should probably be replaced. The plumbing isn't perfect but it is working now.

Then I am wondering about all the other stuff. I have had hair and bubble algae, but nothing else. The fish never had a disease. Should I replace the rock? It is the purple MarcoRocks. If I keep it, what should I do with the rock until I fill up the new tank? What about things in the sump like media I have in there, should it be discarded or kept?

Anything I should do to the new tank before putting water in? In the old tank I put in a piece of starboard in the bottom to cover the glass, but I went sandless to reduce maintenance burden. I am leaning toward using sand in the new tank but should I still protect the bottom glass?

The new tank is 1 ft wider than the old one. I have a 3 ft light to cover the old tank, a hybrid fluorescent/LED fixture. Should I get a pendant to cover the extra 1 ft, or bite the bullet and replace the lighting altogether?

Anything else I should be considering at this stage in the tank replacement?

Thanks in advance for you advise!

- --mick

 

[SynDen]

Welcome Mick
A lot to unpack here, but to start out I would keep everything and transfer to the new tank. This will help you eliminate most of the cycling period required if you were to replace everything, and will make it almost instant.

Since it doesn't sound like you have much coral to worry about, the Easiest way to do this is to borrow/acquire a larger temporary tank (40g or another 55g would work fine) that is big enough to house the fish and rocks together. Many of us have extra tanks around we could give or loan you for that task. You can set the tank up temporarily on the floor near the existing tank and then just transfer everything over to it, including the water. Add a flow pump and some light and you'll be good to go for quite a while. Once everything is transferred and settled, you can break down the existing tank, and setup the new one at your own pace.

(I have a frameless 40g tank I built myself years ago sitting in my backyard that you can have if you want it, although I would test it before hand to make sure it still holds water fine.)

If you are going to add new sand and new rock, you can put that in the 20g tank with some new saltwater and let them cycle ahead of time too. Don't even need a light or anything on that, just a small flow pump to keep the water moving and let it for a few weeks. Add a few pieces of your cycled rock to make it go even faster

Then once the new tank is setup and ready you can just transfer everything into the new tank without worrying to much about the cycle. Move rocks in first and get those situated, and then move the sand. Let everything settle for a few hours and then add the fish.

One alternative way to do this too, is drain the existing tank down enough that you slide a furniture mover under the corners of the tank, (you'll want to temporarily take the rock out for this too) and then you can carefully slide the existing tank to a different spot. Put the water and rock back once its situated and your good to go. This takes a bit more strength to lift the corner of the tank on the the furniture movers but makes everything really easy if you can do it. (works best on hardwood floors but can be done on carpet too)
Be extra careful when sliding the tank that you don't accidentally push to hard and tip the tank over though

As for the protective board under the tank, I would just with innovative and see what they recommend. Although generally okay to add if you feel like you need it. However I have never felt the need to add stuff like that to manufacture tanks. Most tanks are designed to sit flat on the surface of the stand and don't really need any more protection

The light you have will work fine for a time, but if you are wanting to get more into corals you likely will want to upgrade the entire light system. Decide what you want to ultimately keep in the tank and the plan to upgrade the light to suit that plan.

Once you get everything transferred and moved into the new tank, then make and post on here to sell or give away your old tank.

Good luck