[Reef Man]

Hi !
My actual Tank is a 20"x20"x20" tank and I will upgrade to a 40"x20"x20". I have LR, LS, 4 fishes, a Royal Gramma, a Lawnmower bleny, a tomato clown and a Yellow tailed damsel.

I only have some feather dusters and a rock with about 15 Buble Mushrooms that are propagating fast.

My New tank will have a sum, a refugium, a Red Sea Berlin Skimmer with a Mag7 and another Mag7 as return pump.

My question is about my animals.
I will add all that I already have to the new tank, but I will add more dead sand ( dry) and more live uncured rock.

Will my animals suffer ammonia or nitrite spikes in that tank?
Will I have that?

What is the best way to make this proccess without problems?

I don´t have space to keep the old tank working when the new one will be cycling. My apartment is small.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Reef Man:

My question is about my animals.
I will add all that I already have to the new tank, but I will add more dead sand ( dry) and more live uncured rock.

Will my animals suffer ammonia or nitrite spikes in that tank?
Will I have that?

You won't have a problem adding your existing animals to the new tank with the dead sand in it, but you cannot add uncured live rock. You will have to cure the rock before putting it in the tank or you will have to cycle the new tank with the dead sand and the new live rock before adding your corals and fish. Uncured live rock will definitely cause ammonia, nitrites and eventually nitrates. If you add your animals to the new tank with uncured live rock you will kill everything.

Ninong

[Reef Man]

and what about using dry base rock? will be the same process?

thanks Ninong

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Reef Man:

and what about using dry base rock? will be the same process?

Totally dry, absolutely dead base rock might be OK but you really can't be sure until after you put it in the tank and wait a day or two before testing the water. The problem is with live rock that has dead and decaying animal life, not something with absolutely nothing biological that is dying off.

Why can't you just transfer everything from your old tank to your new tank and then gradually add cured live rock later on. You could just buy a few pieces at a time and cure them in a bucket with saltwater, a heater and a powerhead until they are safe to add to the new tank.

Ninong