New Tank questions

[Yogatoy]

Hey there, I'm new to the whole world of salt water fish aquariums. I bought a 55 gallon about 6 months ago and have had really good luck keeping things alive and will. But yesturday I went out and bought a used 200 gallon with a bunch of coral and plants and things. I was able to take most of the water with me. I transported it in 50 gallon barrel but due to -30 degrees ceciels temps most of the water froze.
1) is the water still good?
2) The tank only has 1 power head, should I have the second.
3) Do I clean the 2 bio balls
4) I put the fish and some really cool corals/aneomes in my 55 gallon tanks due to being scared they would last until I got the water up to temp. How long should I wait to transfer the 55gallon fish/ live rock/ coral into the 200. I only want to have the one tank so i will be taring down the 55 gallon.

If some one out the can help me answer these question, thanks you in advance.
Thanks
Yogatoy

 

[little_fish]

I cant really see anything obviously wrong with using the frozen water, but i would worry about the 200 cycling after the transport. So i would wait at least a week to make sure it doesnt cycle before adding the livestock.

And you are going to need a lot more than 2 powerheads in the 200. you want 15-20X the volume of the tank turned over per hour.

And i would just get rid of the bioballs, they cause more trouble then they are worth unless you clean them religiously. I would use that area to make a good fuge or put a skimmer there.

 

[Yogatoy]

hey there, thanks for the reply. So if I get rid of the bio balls, what is a fuge? I have a protien skimmer in the other part of the sump.

 

[little_fish]

A fuge is place for macro algae, such as cheato, to grow. It helps remove nitrates and phosphates from your water, improving your water quality and keeping unwanted algae from growing in the main tank.

Also, hello and welcome to the forum!!

 

[Yogatoy]

So to make a fuge I just remove the bio balls and then what? Where do I go from there?

 

[little_fish]

you add a light (one of the squigly CFL bulbs works great, but has to be replaced every 3 months!) and then add cheato. if you pm bifferwine she can sell you some.

Its also a great place for pods to live and reproduce.