Increasing water volume while keeping biological filter stable

[William Dennis Lang]

I plan to get a larger tank some time in the future (much larger than I have now), and I was wandering what the best way would be to transport everything from the smaller tank to a larger tank. I currently have a 26 gallon tank but I want to get a larger tank (maybe between 50-100 gallons) because I hear that with saltwater tanks, more water you have the easier it is for the tank to clean itself because there is a higher biological filter. When I get the new tank I will get more sand of course because the sand I have in my 26 gallon will not be enough but what about the water I have in the tank...is it possible to use this water with new water in the new tank? I ask this because the water in a smaller tank is not going to be enough to fill up the larger tank so of course I will have to add more of everything (i.e. water, sand, salt). Will it be okay to mix the old sand with new live sand? Thanks

[Reefing Madness]

I plan to get a larger tank some time in the future (much larger than I have now), and I was wandering what the best way would be to transport everything from the smaller tank to a larger tank. I currently have a 26 gallon tank but I want to get a larger tank (maybe between 50-100 gallons) because I hear that with saltwater tanks, more water you have the easier it is for the tank to clean itself because there is a higher biological filter. When I get the new tank I will get more sand of course because the sand I have in my 26 gallon will not be enough but what about the water I have in the tank...is it possible to use this water with new water in the new tank? I ask this because the water in a smaller tank is not going to be enough to fill up the larger tank so of course I will have to add more of everything (i.e. water, sand, salt). Will it be okay to mix the old sand with new live sand? Thanks

Use 30-45 tub containers from walmart to store your water, rock and sand as you make the move from one tank to the other. Use everything possible from the old tank. Don't worry about mixing sand or rock, because you are going from a relatively small tank to a much larger one, that tank will go through a small cycle, though not as long as the initial one you went through when you first wet up. Your sand and rock will carry its bio load bacteria with it and help your new water. Make sure you mix up enough water 24hrs before you plan on using it.

[William Dennis Lang]

Use 30-45 tub containers from walmart to store your water, rock and sand as you make the move from one tank to the other. Use everything possible from the old tank. Don't worry about mixing sand or rock, because you are going from a relatively small tank to a much larger one, that tank will go through a small cycle, though not as long as the initial one you went through when you first wet up. Your sand and rock will carry its bio load bacteria with it and help your new water. Make sure you mix up enough water 24hrs before you plan on using it.

When you say 30-45 tub containers, do you mean 30-45 gallon? And I have 2 Clownfish, 1 Decorator Crab, 1 Horseshoe Crab, 1 Sea Urchin, 2 snails, and a bunch of smaller snails that don't have shells. What I'm worried about is, while the tank goes through "a small cycle" like you say, will this cycle hurt any of my current pets?

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

I recently swapped my 75g AIO tank for a RR 75g and added a 30 gallon sump/ fuge. I reused as much water as possible but still had to add about 45 gallons of new water to my system. My situation went smooth as i didnt have to add any more rock or sand but i still had 75 gallons of new saltwater made in case i started a cycle. My tank never did recycle. If it had, i was prepared to do a series of large water changes to keep ammonia and nitrites as low as possible (for as long as it took). To minimize the chances of a recycle, be sure the new rock is well cured so there's minimal die off (from the new rock) when you add it. The die off on the new rock is what typically causes a new cycle. If you do everything right and have a little luck, the "mini cycle" should be undetectable. Although nearly impossible, try not to disturb the old sand too much. I would put the new sand in first and then put the old sand on top of it (assuming you dont have a deep sand bed). I used a large, wide Tupperware tub to scoop out sections of the sand bed and i tried to place it in the new tank without mixing it up (kinda like shimmying lasagna off of a spatula). With shallow sand beds, i dont think its critical but i didnt want to leave it to chance.

[Reefing Madness]

When you say 30-45 tub containers, do you mean 30-45 gallon? And I have 2 Clownfish, 1 Decorator Crab, 1 Horseshoe Crab, 1 Sea Urchin, 2 snails, and a bunch of smaller snails that don't have shells. What I'm worried about is, while the tank goes through "a small cycle" like you say, will this cycle hurt any of my current pets?

My bad, yea thats what I was getting at. But your containers would be much smaller of course. And no, the mini cycle should not be detrimental to the live stock that you already have. I've never lost a fish going from a smaller tank to a bigger one.

[Marinefish]

Snails without shells? Just FYI, horseshoe crabs can get up to 18" long.

[William Dennis Lang]

Snails without shells? Just FYI, horseshoe crabs can get up to 18" long.

Yea I think the snails without shells may be the offspring of the 2 snails with shells because they are real small snails and they didn't appear until I put the bigger snails with shells in the tank.