HOLY CRAP!!!!! my tank just split....Help

[garydm]

yep the cross bar just popped when I was changing water......it was cracking for while and I have been keeping a eye on it for some time but it went about 5 minutes agao.....so as soon as I hit submit Im running out to get another tank, Im going to be moving one tank to the other and need some help with the move
1 can i just scoop out the old sand and put it in the new tank or just start with fresh and seed it with the old
2 can I just syphin the water from one tank to the other
3 how do i avoid loosing fish and kicking up a cycle(I just bought a fragon goby and a lawnmower blenny
4 Im going to by 3 10 gallon totes to put fish and rock in is this ok
I could search on moving a tank but dont have time.....please post any helpful hints and ill read through them as I set up the new tank.....God this sucks but I dont want the thing to blow out the glass is bowed pretty good
IM FREAKING OUT

 

[wontonflip]

Oh wow! Yeah, good luck! I think someone on here also had the same problem, but luckily the tank was still under warranty, and put all the livestock in buckets (including corals) until she got her replacement tank.

Do you know what caused the break?

 

[Smitty]

Wow, sorry to hear that, yeah, your idea will work, just transfer everything over...SLOWLY, to reduce the chance of kicking up a lot of dirt. Take the rocks and corals and the water out first, without stirring up the sand. Then u you can take the sand out...it will be best if you could rinse it in saltwater before you place it in the new tank. Good luck!

 

[project5k]

first thing to do if your worried is to reduce the water level in the tank, thus reducing the stress on the tank...

secondly, its gonna depend on just how deep your sand is, if its less than, oh, maybe 2 inches, then i would think that you could transfer most everything kinda all at once, let the dust settle for a couple hours, (make sure your keeping your fish happy, temp, air, and so forth in thier buckets) and then you can re-acclimate them...

my fear is if your sand is more than about 2 inches deep, there may be anarobic regions, and thoes, when stirred up, can cause some pretty major problems in tank...

if you "seed" a new tank, then your gonna have to wait the weeks that its gonna take for it to cycle... you can speed that up cause you have a seed tank, but still... your talking about keeping your fish in buckets or totes for that time...

 

[garydm]

Ok back with the tank...$200 later
well my sand is about 2 inches and I did pick up another bag of sand while I was out.....Ok so Ill fill the new tank half way up and try transfering the sand and putting the new sand in as I go as well

 

[project5k]

good luck, and if you can take some pics, i love pics of stuff...

 

[ccCapt]

If you use your old sand, I would suggest thoroughly washing it out before adding it. Disturbing all the crap the accumulated in it can start a cycle.

 

[garydm]

what do I need to wipe this tank out first I dont want to add water to it before I clean it.....god knows wat was in it from the store

 

[ccCapt]

A 50/50 water vinegar solution would work good.

 

[garydm]

well if I wash my sand wont it kill whatever is live in it and start a cycle right from the start......also do I need to do a water change for the next couple days or let it alone

 

[Bifferwine]

I would move your rocks and animals into buckets or totes. Then remove the old sand and give it a quick rinse. There will be a lot of crap trapped in the sand that you don't want to move into the new tank. Fill up the new tank with some saltwater (you can also re-use your old water, it will be fine and that will help reduce the likelihood that the tank will go through a cycle), and add the sand and rock back in. Wait until the temperature and pH is good, then move your fish back in.

Good luck.

 

[garydm]

ok Im taking pictures as I go so stay tuned......God where the fish hard to catch

 

[VAreef]

When you say crossbar split do you mean the center piece of plastic that goes from one side to the other?

 

[dcantucson]

Good luck garydm. Sorry for all your troubles. What a way to spend a day. :grumble:

 

[garydm]

yep it made a pop noise and split and gapped about a 1/4 inch and you could look at the galss down thw side and it was bowed.....

 

[garydm]

Good luck garydm. Sorry for all your troubles. What a way to spend a day. :grumble:

Your telling me I was going to finally start work on my 29 ford coupe....but noooo:frustrat:

 

[Bifferwine]

Gary, at least it happened when you were home and there to handle it! You can look at that as a positive!

 

[VAreef]

heck I cut the center brace out of my tank on purpose. Some threaded rod, washers, metal clips, and some thumb screws work just fine to fix that problem. Drain the tank down half way to relieve stress then work on the fix. Sorry I didn't notice this thread till you already bought a new tank.

 

[wontonflip]

heck I cut the center brace out of my tank on purpose. Some threaded rod, washers, metal clips, and some thumb screws work just fine to fix that problem. Drain the tank down half way to relieve stress then work on the fix. Sorry I didn't notice this thread till you already bought a new tank.

Got a pic of what you did, VA? That'd be interesting to see.

 

[dcantucson]

How did it go?