Changing tanks

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Gina

New Member
My hexagonal 5 gal tank has been running for about 1 month. So far everything is going well. I've got 2 peppermint shrimp, 5 blue legged crabs, and 2 snails plus 2 yellow tail damsels.
I really didn't want the damsels but my husband did and I feel there are too many fish in this small tank. I have a 10 gallon and I'm wondering if I can change everything over to that tank and use the 5 gal hex for something else. What would be the best way to do this so as to not hurt any of the critters. I have about 10 lbs of LR in there as well as approx. 2 in. LS. I'd still have to get a filter/heater/powerheads etc for the 10 gallon but before I do this I want to be sure it's feasable.
In a few months I'm hoping to get something bigger but can't do it now and don't want my fishies to suffer.
Thanks.
 
ripcurrent

ripcurrent

New Member
You shouldnt have a problem doing the change. Just siphon a good amount of the water out into like a rubbermaid tub. Add your rock, fish, and inverts to the tub. Then siphon out the rest of the water leaving only your sand bed in the 5 gallon. After that transfer your sand bed to the new tank. Put in your rock and start putting some of your water into the new tank. Once you have a good 4-5 inches of water add your fish and inverts. When that's done add the rest of your water and the new water to make up the differential between the old tank volume and the new and your done. Just make sure your salinity, temp, and PH are the same in the new water. Hope this helps.
 
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Gina

New Member
Wow! That was a quick reply. Thanks so much ripcurrent. Guess what my weekend project will be? :cool1: :cool1: :)
 
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amf82380

New Member
The only thing is do you know about how long its going to be before you plan on going to something bigger? because if your only talking about 2-3 mos then I would just wait and use the money you were going to spend on the stuff for the 10 and use it for the bigger tank not to mention it would put less stress on the fish and other critters then making 2 moves with in that short of a period of time so it wouldnt only benifit you but the animals also IMO the choice is up to you.

Aaron
 
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Gina

New Member
Aaron, good thoughts there. I don't have a lot of room for a large tank so the largest I'd probably go would be about 30 gallon. Could I use the equipment I buy for the 10, on the 30? (except for lighting)
It will probably be about 6 months before I buy my large tank unless I come into a bunch of money. lol Oh...and the other thing is, I don't want to kill my damsels. The 5 gallon should have only 1 tiny fish at the most I think.
 
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amf82380

New Member
Gina,

If you were to go with a Aquaclear 70 (I think it is) you could use that on a 30 and it would give you excellent flow in a 10(thats what I am using it on now) and as far as the heating if you got the right size heater you could probably get away with it but then once moved into the 30 it would be doing triple the work so I would get the biggest possible heater I could for the 10 so once moved to the 30 it wouldnt have to work as hard as some of the other smaller ones would but other than that yeah the only thing diffrent you would need for the 30 is lighting. and I would get a small power head just to make sure there are no dead spots but thats not needed because the filter will put out alot of flow. and the only other thing that I would add would be some more live sand and a little bigger clean up grew I mean I have a 10 now and I have the same clean up crew as you and I could use a bigger one I think they estimate like 1 snail per gallon but I have a pretty heavey bioload I have a marron clown and 3 green chromis but I make up for it by running a protein skimmer because I also have coral in mine that I have to worry about but it sounds like your on your way and at least your taking the right steps I switched and went from a 5.5 to a 10 and only used the equipment from the 5.5 until I found out the hard way it wouldnt work.any way good look
 
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Gina

New Member
Thanks much. Yes, the Aquaclear 70 is what I'll check out tomorrow. Can I add more cured LR later or should that be added now? Or, to save money, maybe base rock if I can find any. Also, can additional LS be added anytime or will that throw me into a new cycle? LOL I can't believe how hooked I am on this hobby. :shock:
 
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Jennie

New Member
An Aquaclear 70 would give you some nice flow in a 10 gallon, and they are pretty inexpensive. If you already have about 10 pounds of LR and want to add more then I'd suggest only adding about 2-3 pounds to what you have already. The reason I say that is because as you start to buy coral, alot of them will come on little pieces of LR and you'll want to make sure that you have the room. As for the sand, in small quanities (1/2 a cup at a time) it will be fine to add at any time.

As for being hooked, join the club :lol:
 
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amf82380

New Member
yeah I made the mistake with the 10 of having to much rock in the begining but I orginally started off with only wanting fish ten I was like ok maybe one coral and then before you know it I dont have any more room to add any thing so I am going to be upgrading. so I wouldnt add to much more live rock then what you already have like jennie said maybe 2-3 lbs and as far as when to add it I would do it before you introduce any life in the new tank because even though its cured your still going to have a little die off so it could very well through you into a mini cycle which may not hurt anything on its own but ontop of switch tanks could be deadly for some and like she said any live sand you want to add can be done at any time just in small amounts but I would add most of what you want when your doing the transfer that way everything is settled and your not clouding up the display while trying to watch your fish or anything. hope this help and like jennie said welcome to the club with being hooked I have alot of neighbors around me that have larger reef tanks and I have more time and money invested in mine then 95% of them do and their all much larger then mine.

Aaron
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Intead of one large heater you could use one smaller heater with the ten and then simply add another heater to make up the wattage. I would recommend keeping the 10g to use as a sump for your 30g and place all your equipment in the 10g. You don't have to have alot of chambers and such in your sump, just keep the 30g clear of heaters and filters. Just something for you to chew on. HTH.
 
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Gina

New Member
Tim, yes that is a great idea. I kind of thought about that but have no idea how to set it up due to limited space, but I'll cross that road when I come to it. :) I love the idea of having a tank without all the junk hanging in it.
 
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Gina

New Member
Well, guess what I did? I bought a 29 gallon tank, the Aquaclear 70 filter, a 150 watt heater, more sand and a strip light. They were out of the glass tops, thanks goodness or I'd be in the poor house. LOL
I'm thinking I'm going to have to start from scratch regarding cycling here before I can add the critters from my 5 gallon. Is that right or can I just add the LS and LR plus critters soon? Again, I don't want to kill anybody.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
I'd play it safe and let the fish stay in your 5 gallon while your 29 gallon cycles...but that is just me :cool1: If you don't want to run a sump maybe you could put in a piece of black acrylic in one corner and have holes all through it to hide your heater? Not really sure if it's feasible but maybe.
 
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Gina

New Member
I'm not sure what happened but within the past 3 days both fish died. They seemed fine the night before but when I turned the lights on in the morning, they were white and the crabs were having a feast on them. Also, one of the shrimp is missing. I tested everything and although the nitrates were a little high, about 15, everything else was at 0. I am trying to figure out what is going on. I've tested and re-tested to be sure. The nitrates have been >5 all along so I figured the dead body is what raised them. Help!! I'm really devastated.
I'm going to start setting up the new tank today but nothing will go into it until I'm certain it's fully cycled.
 
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