Folks, I just ordered a larger tank for my modest coral addiction. I am not as capable at all the plumbing and piece fitting etc that a lot of the tanks out there seem to utilize. My first tank is an "all in one" Red Sea Max 130D, which is a 29G display, with a small 5G sump in the back. I really enjoy it, but I have already outgrown it.
I am getting the larger sized Red Sea Max 250. This is a 66G total water volume tank. Their literature is always a bit of a leap of faith, but I would assume a similar proportion of Display to Sump. Ergo, probably about a 55G display area. There is really only one location in my house suitable for a tank, and accessible to all, this tank will fill it very completely.
So, now I have some questions...
1. The new set up comes with sufficient sand to put about 2-3 inches on the bottom of the tank. I DO like the look of a sand bed, so I will be using it. Should I use the existing sand that I have, and just add ~half of the new dry sand? Or, should I go with ALL NEW sand for the bed?
2. I have 28lbs of LR in my current tank. When I drain the existing tank, I will put the LR in one Rubbermaid container of SW, and the corals and fish in another. I plan to add about 30lbs more LR from an existing (already cured) set up. Should I have any real concerns of an algae bloom if the LR is going from one tank to another - all in the span of a couple hours?
3. I plan to use all of the old water - plus the ~30G of new water I will need. When I introduce the fish back into the now larger tank, I will probably need to "re-acclimate" them with slow steady drips of the "new water". Do I need to worry about the corals in this regard? The water in both tanks will be withing a degree or two of each other. The pH and salinity should be pretty close as well.
4. What about (acclimating) the CUC? I have a few turbo snails, a couple sally crabs, POSSIBLY a strawberry crab (that is never seen), and a cleaner shrimp. Various other cirtters are in there, I know I see them from time to time. But, they came in as stowaways, so I don't really know/care.
5. Anything else I should really worry about in advance? This is my first (and possibly last) upgrade...