Upgrade time???

[Kellyscoral]

Does anyone have a good reason to NOT upgrade to a bigger tank?? And - if I do go bigger, what is the process? Would I set up the new tank with new sand and rock etc and let it cycle and leave livestock in the old tank until said new tank is ready ??

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

Originally Posted by Kellyscoral

Does anyone have a good reason to NOT upgrade to a bigger tank?? And - if I do go bigger, what is the process? Would I set up the new tank with new sand and rock etc and let it cycle and leave livestock in the old tank until said new tank is ready ??

Upgrade time is always fun and a hassle all in one.
If you have the room to keep it all running that makes things a little easier but messy as you will have 2 systems running till the new one is totally setup.
In my case I did setup a 10 footer then build everything around it then added what I liked ,water, rocks, lighting, skimmer and all filtrations keeping in mind always with new setup you could plan ahead for what your old setup was missing.
then last thing transfer your live stock.
I could if you like give you a crash course at my place going over what I done to my setup.
If you decide to upgrade have fun with it.

[Kellyscoral]

Thanks! Oddly enough - it's the rock in my tank that's making me crazy. I feel like whacking it with a hammer and seeing what happens!

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

Originally Posted by Kellyscoral

Thanks! Oddly enough - it's the rock in my tank that's making me crazy. I feel like whacking it with a hammer and seeing what happens!

if you wack it it will break into smaller pieces
You could dry it then cook it to be used again or dry it sell it and get new rock with nothing on it from me.
1st I should ask what is wrong with your rocks? is it pest,algae or too heavy and non pourus.

I f you really decide to upgrade I could offer you a deal to replace what you have and I will take your old rock.

[Kellyscoral]

Thanks - if I upgrade I will definitely get in touch with you. The main problem with my rock is that I designed it to look like mountains- so the lower peaks are good, but the big peak is this monster size rock that ends up being very shaded on one side. Can never get anything to be happy there. Also I can never really get good flow to that area and there is about a million feather duster worms (they must be happy because they reproduce at an alarming rate!).

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

I could only picture it but maybe it would be best to post some photos and between the collective mind of Canreefers you might get a break.

[gregzz4]

I'll address what you brought up about the rock you don't like first

When I decided to change some of my 'scape, I just got wet up to the armpits and removed what I didn't like. I transferred the corals to different sections of the tank, sold what corals didn't fit, and put the removed LR into the sump for starters
Then I slowly removed/sold the rock from the sump until it was all gone. This gave the DT LR time to keep up bacteria-wise

If you do really want to do a tank upgrade, and it were me;
I'd ideally like to setup a completely new system and slowly transfer everything, but that may not work for you, so you'll have a busy weekend doing a 'tank transfer'

As far as size goes;
Going up or down in size will depend on your personal thoughts/space, and time/money budgets
I never really thought about what my tank was costing me for quite some time. Then one day I added stuff up and am glad I only have my current setup. I couldn't dream of the time and money spent on say a 300g system right now, but that's me.

Think about what you like and don't about your current setup and what you'd change
Then the planning starts and you don't sleep for days while you think about it

And what you stated is about it, if you have the space ...
"set up the new tank with new sand and rock etc and let it cycle and leave livestock in the old tank until said new tank is ready"