2XAl
Salt Addict
Hi All! First and foremost thanks for reading my thread. My wife and I picked up a 125 off Craigslist this week for pretty cheap money including a stand, heaters, HOB filter (ditched already), and some glass hoods. I plan on building a canopy for it but wanted opinions on how to do the actual changeover from our 90. Couple things to note in the beginning:
-Our 90 gallon probably has 100# of LR in the display with 20-30# of rubble in the sump. I think I will need 20-30# of new LR to make the 6' tank not seem so empty.
-We have been planning this for the future so the sump and skimmer are both sized for a 125. My DT flow will be low so a couple more powerheads are in order (thinking about trying the knockoff MP40 to work in conjunction with our Koralias powered through our Apex)
-I could only afford a 4' light when we set up the 90 so we are looking for recommendations for the 125- I have been kicking around the idea of the LED's linked in the '125 gallon lighting recommendations' thread.
So we have already decided on a few things:
-we have crushed coral in the 90 which hasn't given us a single nitrate problem but they are ugly as sin, we will be using white sand in this one with a shallow sand bed
-The back will be painted black, the only spot in our house a 6' tank will fit with the structure to support it is centered in front of a window so I am trying to keep the UV exposure down.
Here's where I need the Living Reef Community to weigh in. I want to change everything over in one day, mostly because I want to use the profit from the 90 when it sells to fund new lighting for the 125. Since we are using 'live sand' and water/rock from the 90 I don't think we will have a problem with a cycle, but my question is with the new rock. If I buy 25# of base rock will I cause a cycle, even if it will only be 20% of our rock? I want to save some money and get base rock and let it seed from our existing stuff, but not if I risk cycling and killing my fish.
Thanks in advance and welcome to opinions, comments, pitfalls, etc.
Wish us luck!
-Our 90 gallon probably has 100# of LR in the display with 20-30# of rubble in the sump. I think I will need 20-30# of new LR to make the 6' tank not seem so empty.
-We have been planning this for the future so the sump and skimmer are both sized for a 125. My DT flow will be low so a couple more powerheads are in order (thinking about trying the knockoff MP40 to work in conjunction with our Koralias powered through our Apex)
-I could only afford a 4' light when we set up the 90 so we are looking for recommendations for the 125- I have been kicking around the idea of the LED's linked in the '125 gallon lighting recommendations' thread.
So we have already decided on a few things:
-we have crushed coral in the 90 which hasn't given us a single nitrate problem but they are ugly as sin, we will be using white sand in this one with a shallow sand bed
-The back will be painted black, the only spot in our house a 6' tank will fit with the structure to support it is centered in front of a window so I am trying to keep the UV exposure down.
Here's where I need the Living Reef Community to weigh in. I want to change everything over in one day, mostly because I want to use the profit from the 90 when it sells to fund new lighting for the 125. Since we are using 'live sand' and water/rock from the 90 I don't think we will have a problem with a cycle, but my question is with the new rock. If I buy 25# of base rock will I cause a cycle, even if it will only be 20% of our rock? I want to save some money and get base rock and let it seed from our existing stuff, but not if I risk cycling and killing my fish.
Thanks in advance and welcome to opinions, comments, pitfalls, etc.
Wish us luck!
