Tank transfer questions

[tinman]

ok so i will be upgrading but want to use the same rock in the new tank also so will be adding pieces to it but most of the scape remains same.

Below is the procedure im thinking of following and then questions ..

only problem is the live rock in the current tank has flatworm problem which needs to be taken care off before it goes to new tank

Please speak up if you see anything that might go wrong. i dont want to loose any coral.

1. Take 10 gallons of water and fill a different tank
2. set it to same temperature and move all the corals in tank to that 10 gallon which will be equipped with the same light and a powrhead and heater
3. then pull out all the live rock and dip it fresh water for 5 mins ( flatworms dont stand a chance in freshwater) and then put it in a bucket with saltwater with a powerhead
4. Treat the 10 gallon tank with flat worm exit and change 5 gallons of water.
5. empty the biocube and move it to the side ..
6. set up the new tank in its place

the above 3 setups have to stay that way for a week or so.

7. then treat the 10 gallon and the live rock bucket again with flat worm exit to make sure any new born flatworms are taken care of.
8. move the rock to new tank.
9. let the new tank run for a couple of days with just water and rock.
10. Drip acclimate the corals in 10 gallon tank all at once.
11. mount all the corals in new tank.


Questions.

1. Do i need live rock in the 10 gallon that houses corals for about a week to 10 days ? how long can i leave them in there with out issues ?
2. Do i need live rock in the biocube which has only fish and no corals for a week to 10 days? if no live rock how often do i need to change the water ? there will be plenty of live sand.
3. there will be a skimmer running on the new tank so would a small cycle (cause of dipping the live rock in fresh water ) harm the corals in anyway ?

 

[The reefer]

Y don't u get the new rock and cycle the tank with the new rock. Then transfer ur corals and fish over. And after dip ur rock from the tank now in freshwater. And after add slowly to ur new setup. U don't want al that die off in ur tank right away. But remember to dip ur corals when u transfer them or else u will have flatworms in the new also. And get urself a wrasse for the flatworms.

 

[Smitty]

I personally wouldn't dip the rocks in freshwater, it'll change your live rock to dead rock, and it'll only cause a major spike from all the die off. Try treating with flat worm exit twice, and with water changes. As long as you keep the live rock wet, the transfer won't be a problem. The temp doesn't even have to be exact, just close.

 

[tinman]

Thanks Jaime

Y don't u get the new rock and cycle the tank with the new rock

Cause i like the shapes and scape of the existing rock and know for sure that FW are the only pests in there. New Dry rock would mean a wait time of about a month at least and then early cycle problems like diatoms, if i go with live rock, there is really no way of telling its pest free.

U don't want al that die off in ur tank right away

yea the first die off will happen in fresh water and atleast 10 days before i put it in the tank. the second die off from fw exit a day before i put in the tank wont me that much i guess. Will monitor for Ammonia before i add corals in. but wouldnt a skimmer take care of the die off ?

But remember to dip ur corals when u transfer them or else u will have flatworms in the new also. And get urself a wrasse for the flatworms.

yea ill use flatworm exit on the corals also 2 times. with no rock in the 10 gallon i assume the poison from dying flatworms to be minimal so no affect for the corals. i got the sixline but it didnt really do much for the flatworms. i sure will get a wrasse (either a melanarus or a leapord )

 

[tinman]

I personally wouldn't dip the rocks in freshwater, it'll change your live rock to dead rock, and it'll only cause a major spike from all the die off. Try treating with flat worm exit twice, and with water changes. As long as you keep the live rock wet, the transfer won't be a problem. The temp doesn't even have to be exact, just close.

so bacteria in live rock cant survive fresh water for a few mins ? in that case ill just use flatworm exit twice as you said. and hopefully the die off from worms wont affect the live bacteria in the rock

 

[The reefer]

yea the first die off will happen in fresh water and atleast 10 days before i put it in the tank. the second die off from fw exit a day before i put in the tank wont me that much i guess. Will monitor for Ammonia before i add corals in. but wouldnt a skimmer take care of the die off ?

Are u willing to risk it? I believe corals and fish need some kind of biological filtration. What u plan on doing for the corals is basically starting a cycle in a new tank also. I could b wrong but wouldn't ammonia spike in the tank? To me the safest way would b to cycle the new rock first and then transfer. U got some nice corals that u don't want to lose for not being patient and cycling.

 

[steveo9043]

I don't know if you will have enough time to build up beneficial bacteria but I would at least try to get a sponge filter or something in your current tank that will allow bacteria to grow and then put that in the coral tank. Kind of like people would do for a temp QT.

 

[tinman]

makes sense ...

may be if i just use flatworm exit like smitty said on the rock .. then it would stay live and avoid cycle in the new tank, im pretty sure everything will be fine in just a couple of days.

well if there will be a cycle in the 10 gallon with just coral is what im not sure .. but arent frag tanks always setup this way with out live rock ? can someone please comment on this ..

and you are right ill kick myself and cry out of pain if i loose any of those corals.

yea the first die off will happen in fresh water and atleast 10 days before i put it in the tank. the second die off from fw exit a day before i put in the tank wont me that much i guess. Will monitor for Ammonia before i add corals in. but wouldnt a skimmer take care of the die off ?

Are u willing to risk it? I believe corals and fish need some kind of biological filtration. What u plan on doing for the corals is basically starting a cycle in a new tank also. I could b wrong but wouldn't ammonia spike in the tank? To me the safest way would b to cycle the new rock first and then transfer. U got some nice corals that u don't want to lose for not being patient and cycling.

 

[lunacris]

imo , i would treat the whole tank before moving everything , if they are on your rocks they are prob on corals and such as well . better off treating , watching and dipping to make sure the pest is gone before moving into new tank imo .

 

[tinman]

imo , i would treat the whole tank before moving everything , if they are on your rocks they are prob on corals and such as well . better off treating , watching and dipping to make sure the pest is gone before moving into new tank imo .

im gonna do all of the rock and corals but just separately so that the poison die off from the worms in rocks wont affect the corals. i doubt if there are any in the corals as all of them are very happy.

 

[lunacris]

good thinking , i was suprised i had them when i started dipping , tank holding all my corals didnt have rock they were all on the corals

 

[trackfast]

If this were me I would do like Cris suggests. Flatworm Exit at least twice before transferring anything. I'd add a little bottled bacteria to the tank daily too.

 

[SkullV]

imo , i would treat the whole tank before moving everything , if they are on your rocks they are prob on corals and such as well . better off treating , watching and dipping to make sure the pest is gone before moving into new tank imo .

+1, use extra carbon, follow directions, add air stone, will be fine. You are way more likely to transfer worms to your new tank if you don't treat the corals.

 

[tinman]

If this were me I would do like Cris suggests. Flatworm Exit at least twice before transferring anything. I'd add a little bottled bacteria to the tank daily too.

Good idea .. I'll add a dr Tim's to the cart. Might not help much but puts me a little on the safer side

+1, use extra carbon, follow directions, add air stone, will be fine. You are way more likely to transfer worms to your new tank if you don't treat the corals.

I'll treat the corals with flatworm exit in the 10 gallon. Yea I purchased a hang on back canister filter with hopes of running carbon when I do that

 

[SkullV]

I'll treat the corals with flatworm exit in the 10 gallon. Yea I purchased a hang on back canister filter with hopes of running carbon when I do that

You are more likely to kill them that way. You are making this process significantly more difficult than it needs to be. Treat the tank with good biological filtration and stability, not a freshly set up tank with the hopes that magic bacteria in a bottle won't kill your $1k+ chalice collection.

 

[tinman]

You are more likely to kill them that way. You are making this process significantly more difficult than it needs to be. Treat the tank with good biological filtration and stability, not a freshly set up tank with the hopes that magic bacteria in a bottle won't kill your $1k+ chalice collection.

no no .. not trusting the dr tims but still when i treat the 10 gallon with just corals in it, its same as dipping them isnt it ? the flat worms will die and i run carbon to take care of their toxins and change water.

and once i treat the live rock then i can add a piece in there which makes it a bare bottom tank with little rock and ton of corals. problem might be their alk and calc consumption which ill monitor and change water accordingly.

dr tims is just a add on to be safer, not trusting it in any way

 

[SkullV]

It's not the same as dipping because you aren't immediately putting them into a very stable system. You are gaining nothing by treating the corals separately. You are only increasing the risk of killing them. Especially because a 10g tank has an even smaller water volume and will be far more susceptible to temp, ph, alk, cal, ammonia, etc. swings.

 

[tinman]

It's not the same as dipping because you aren't immediately putting them into a very stable system. You are gaining nothing by treating the corals separately. You are only increasing the risk of killing them. Especially because a 10g tank has an even smaller water volume and will be far more susceptible to temp, ph, alk, cal, ammonia, etc. swings.

Ok answer this

Is it ok to put a couple of pieces from my tank in a 10 gallon tank and put all my coral in there with a power head and heater for about 10 days ??

Let's take off the fw treatment out of equation for now

 

[SkullV]

Is it OK? Sure. Is it a MUCH greater risk than not doing it? Absolutely. Would I do it without any real necessity? Absolutely not. I've upgraded/transferred so many tanks now I can't even count. I just take everything out of one, and put it in the next. Never any problems, but when you start making things more complicated, the risk of livestock loss increases significantly.

 

[tinman]

hmmm i would have done it that way if there are no flatworms .. but dosing the existing tank with fw exit scares me cause the die off might affect the corals.


i have to figure this out somehow

Is it OK? Sure. Is it a MUCH greater risk than not doing it? Absolutely. Would I do it without any real necessity? Absolutely not. I've upgraded/transferred so many tanks now I can't even count. I just take everything out of one, and put it in the next. Never any problems, but when you start making things more complicated, the risk of livestock loss increases significantly.