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Water Transfer HELP!

1K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  Mike 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

So i have got my rio 240 fully prepped for the new marine setup. however there is 1 thing i need to know.

So my Rio is empty and i need to add the water, can i use the water from my Lido 120 tank? and add the new RO after, and the fish and coral? or does it need to do the cycle process from new RO from the start.... Sorry its abit confusing but i hope you understand.
 
#2 ·
If I understand correct, you want to take water from the old tank to partially fill the new tank, and then fill the new tank the remainder of the way with new RO water.

There is no reason you could not do this, provided you have water quality in the old tank that is desirable to your needs.
 
#3 ·
Cheers Pas

yeah because the water in my old tank is 120l and my new tank in 240l so it will fill it half way and the other half will be RO premix.

will it be ok the add fish straight away or does it need to cycle?

Dan
 
#4 ·
I realize this is just an upgrade in tank size, but you are creating a new environment. I've not been following your setup closely enough to know the details. Fill me in on your current transition plan.
 
#6 ·
Given the small amount of live rock in the existing tank compared the new tank water volume, you will want the new tank to mature for a bit before doing the transfer.

Tell me about the new tank equipment, protein skimmer, extra sand (?) type, and rock source you will be using.
 
#7 ·
EDITED TO ADD: It looks like Mark posted while I was typing this (I was called away from the computer midway through). To summarize my post, I agree with him. :)

Based on what I know, I'm inclined to agree with Mark that there shouldn't be an issue so long as the water in your current saltwater tank that you'll be transferring in is good. Wouldn't it more or less be like doing a 50% water change? While that's a lot of water to change at once, I've done large water changes like that plenty of times in the past when I thought large water changes were the solution to the nitrate issues I used to have.

On the other hand, my concern is that even when you do a very large water change, the tank's glass, equipment, etc. are typically not cleaned as thoroughly as it appears you've cleaned your tank and equipment in your thread about the transfer, and the sand is still submerged in water and therefore doesn't dry out. Therefore, when merely doing a water change, you presumably still have the benefit of having all of the bacteria that facilitates the nitrogen cycle on the glass, on the equipment, and in the sand. In your case, though, assuming you've thoroughly cleaned everything and that the sand in the buckets in those pictures was allowed to dry out, you'll only have the bacteria in the water and sand you're transferring in (assuming you're transferring in the sand from your current saltwater tank). I don't know if that will be enough to avoid causing your tank to cycle again, although it could be.

If I were you, I might play it safe and keep your fish in your current saltwater tank and allow the new tank, water, sand, etc. to cycle. You could probably speed up the process by putting some of the water from your existing tank into the new tank, though, as if you were giving your existing tank a water change.
 
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