need advice on combining tanks

[ZOOT098]

i have a 90 gallon and a 72 bowfront
i bought a 175 bowfront and want to combine the two

there are a few fish i will have to find new homes for but everything else should be ok

a few preliminary questions

1- can i combine the substrates of the two tanks without problems?
2- whats the best way to make the move, i will be using the combined water of the two tanks to fill the 175 + whatever new water i have to mix up
3-my 90 gallon has a small hair algea problem that my 72 doesnt, i thought about just drying out the rock that has hair algea on it from my 90 to eradicate it and using it for base rock in the 175
4- should i just get a few rubbermaid containers to put livestock and corals in while making the move??

these are some of the questions off the top of my head
please feel free to interject things im not thinking of
i plan to do this move in 1 day

 

[ndepratt]

i have a 90 gallon and a 72 bowfront
i bought a 175 bowfront and want to combine the two

there are a few fish i will have to find new homes for but everything else should be ok

a few preliminary questions

1- can i combine the substrates of the two tanks without problems?
2- whats the best way to make the move, i will be using the combined water of the two tanks to fill the 175 + whatever new water i have to mix up
3-my 90 gallon has a small hair algea problem that my 72 doesnt, i thought about just drying out the rock that has hair algea on it from my 90 to eradicate it and using it for base rock in the 175
4- should i just get a few rubbermaid containers to put livestock and corals in while making the move??

these are some of the questions off the top of my head
please feel free to interject things im not thinking of
i plan to do this move in 1 day

A lot people will tell you to cycle the 175g as its own before you do this... I don't agree.

Don't dry out your rocks... a hair algae problem really isn't that tough to deal with. If you dry out your rocks, there's a good chance you'll still have die off when you put the rock back in the tank, and that won't be good. I would just combine all the rock, and go to your LFS and grab a seahare to devoir the algae in a few days (it's amazing). Scrub the rocks a bit in spare saltwater to get most of the hair off.

The big problem with this move is your substrate, as disturbing a sand bed, especially a DSB, can cause an ammonia spike and destroy tons of stuff.

So you might try combining all the rocks and water from the two tanks without messing with the sand, and then thoroughly rinse the sand until it runs clear, drain as much of the water out, and then add it into the tank.

You can use a PVC pipe cut on the bias to direct the sand exactly where you want it, and not get sand everywhere in the tank (as long as it's not sugar sand).

This way, less risk of a nuked tank, and your rock sits on the glass instead of on the sand, so a burrowing fish isn't going to knock your rockwork over.

Just an idea, I'd love to hear some others.

 

[ZOOT098]

thanks nde
that sounds like a good idea
i have no intention of cycling again
im going to make the move in 1 day

my biggest question was with the sand

i would also like some more input
i have the tank so the move will be in about a week
i need to make the stand

 

[Bifferwine]

I moved everything in my 55 gallon to a 240 in one day, and that is with adding 400 lbs of new rock, a whole bunch of new sand, and using all new water, and I didn't get a cycle. Keep the rocks wet, and do as Nathan said about the sand, and you should be fine.

 

[acerhigh]

you can use the top 1/2" - 1" of the sand in the old tanks to seed your new sand without hurting anything... it's the sand that isn't exposed to oxygen that will cause you issues in the new tank if you used it...... I have always used new sand and spread a thin layer of the old live sand across the top of the new.

 

[daugherty]

when i switched tank i just put every thing in the new one execpt the sand but what i did was take the top 1in of sand and used it as live sand to seed the new dry sand any more than an inch off the top you can run into trouble

 

[ZOOT098]

ok
so an inch of the old over new sand
then pitch the rest of the sand????

 

[yote]

Every bodies got the right idea.
Dont toss the sand though.Just put it in a clean bucket and wash it out with fresh water.Rince it untill it runs perfectly clear,then add it to the tank using the PVC method.Once the rinsed sand is in,add the layer you didnt rinse.

 

[ZOOT098]

ok im good with the substrate

now ive never had a tank that had two drains and two returns

i am trying to use as much of my existing equipment as i can

can i run two return pumps??? 1 to each return???

 

[acerhigh]

I wouldn't.... you don't really need a ton of flow thru the overflows into the sump..... stick with 1 pump...... split the return pump if you want more than one outlet, but I would not use 2 separate pumps

 

[yote]

+1 Acer