[reefgirl189]

Originally Posted by subman

The main problem (besides getting it downstairs!) is it's going right where my current setup is so it looks like I'll need to tear down, move and re setup the current setup so I can place this tank and take my time getting the carpentry and plumbing done right.
I'm sure it will all come together just having big tank jitters!

I'm far from an expert but I'll tell you what we did, or you can read it in my build thread.

I had to set up the tank in the same spot as the old one, just like you. So I set up the sump and moved all the corals and livestock and a few live rocks into it with a powerhead and a heater and set up my light overtop of it. I moved the live rock into a rubbermaid BRUTE and stuck a heater and a couple powerheads in there.

Then we took our time. 3 days to move the old tank out, clean it, and help the buyer load it onto their trailer. We moved the new stand and tank into the spot and positioned it properly. Then I filled it, moved all the livestock back in and set it up with the heater, lights and powerheads. I didn't fill it to the drain though. I only had it circulating with a few powerheads. This buys you plenty of time to plumb everything properly. You can run without a skimmer for a few days, it's not a big deal, just do a couple water changes if you are worried about water quality or have a mdoerate to heavy bioload. Then when your plumbing glue cures and you do the leak test and everything's good you don't have to bother transitioning everyone again. They are already in your tank! We had no casualties and no mini cycle after doing it this way. Total days from tear down to having the plumbing finished was a 6 days. It was actually surprisingly easy. I wasn't expecting it to go so well.

Of course if you could set up a temporary tank that would be better but we didn't have one or want to spend the money on one and also we didn't have any other reefer friends up here who could lend us tank space in their set ups, so this was kind of the only option for us.