I’ve been lurking here for about a year, but I finally decided that I had a reason to log in.
In February 2015, we bought a used 24 gallon Bio-Cube at a local LFS. We set it up with live sand, live rock, and water. For the next 5 months, it was basically a fancy night light in my living room. In July 2015, we finally bought 2 clown fish for our son’s birthday. We went through the standard new-aquarist panics at diatom blooms and others, and sought advice from the LFS. After some very bad advice from them and purchasing some animals that had no business being in a small or new tank, we finally found another LFS, a bit further away. They seemed generally concerned about the welfare of the animals rather than just making a buck, and by November/December, we had things stable and healthy. In addition to the clownfish, we now have a one-spot blenny, a fire shrimp, and an assortment of snails and hermit crabs. We also have 3 very small frags of some soft corals that we started adding.
This summer, we moved about 30 minutes away, and one of the biggest concerns was how to move the tank. I spent a lot of time reading and asking the LFS for advice before finally deciding to buy a new tank for the new house. We asked the LFS for the most idiot-proof tank they had, and we left with a RedSea Max E-260 with a sump, totaling right around 100 gallons. We still had possession of the other home, so I was driving back and forth to care for the fish.
I initially added about 20 gallons of old water from the other tank that I had been saving during water changes hoping that would help the tank cycle and the livestock to acclimate. I also added 40 pounds of new live rock and 3 bags of sand. I then filled the tank with fresh-mixed saltwater and let it run for about a week while I got the water levels and salinity stable. On Monday, 9/19, I brought over about 10 pounds of live rock from the old tank, along with a bunch of bio-beads and ceramic rings. I dumped in a bottle of Bio-Spira and turned off the skimmer on the advice of the LFS. Yesterday, 9/20, we went to bring the livestock.
We were able to get everyone in bags except for the blenny, who disappeared inside a rock and refused to come out. We finally decided to bring the entire rock in a bucket of water from the tank, as we needed to get moving. When we arrived, I was able to drip the fish in the bags, and tried my best to acclimate the blenny by swapping water back and forth between the bucket and the tank for about 45 minutes. When we finally moved the rock into the tank, we didn’t see it for another 20 minutes. When I added some food for the rest of the animals, the blenny came flying out of the rock, frantically darting around the tank for a minute before collapsing unresponsive in the corner. I thought for sure it was going to die when it had a few hermit crabs crawling on it and it didn’t move, so we moved it BY HAND into a hole in a rock and hoped for the best.
This morning, it had found its way into another rock, and appears fine other than not eating. It’s come out every so often to swim around before darting back into its new favorite hole. Everyone else seems fine, though I have a bit of concern about the clown fish swimming rapidly from one side of the tank to the other, almost like they’re pacing. They’ve always seemed pretty lazy, and while they’re eating enthusiastically, flirting with my hammer coral, and going through their dominance/submission behaviors, the hyper-swimming thing is a bit out of the ordinary. Is it just stress, confusion, or are they just happy to have 3x as much room to swim in?
I’m basically looking for any insight or advice anyone has for monitoring the tank during this transition. I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong or missed some important step. What should I watch out for? How should I proceed with livestock? Should I add a few more fish right away to help it cycle due to the increase in volume? Or is it better to wait? I’m a bit paranoid and would love some reassurance or constructive criticism.
Thanks for being here!
In February 2015, we bought a used 24 gallon Bio-Cube at a local LFS. We set it up with live sand, live rock, and water. For the next 5 months, it was basically a fancy night light in my living room. In July 2015, we finally bought 2 clown fish for our son’s birthday. We went through the standard new-aquarist panics at diatom blooms and others, and sought advice from the LFS. After some very bad advice from them and purchasing some animals that had no business being in a small or new tank, we finally found another LFS, a bit further away. They seemed generally concerned about the welfare of the animals rather than just making a buck, and by November/December, we had things stable and healthy. In addition to the clownfish, we now have a one-spot blenny, a fire shrimp, and an assortment of snails and hermit crabs. We also have 3 very small frags of some soft corals that we started adding.
This summer, we moved about 30 minutes away, and one of the biggest concerns was how to move the tank. I spent a lot of time reading and asking the LFS for advice before finally deciding to buy a new tank for the new house. We asked the LFS for the most idiot-proof tank they had, and we left with a RedSea Max E-260 with a sump, totaling right around 100 gallons. We still had possession of the other home, so I was driving back and forth to care for the fish.
I initially added about 20 gallons of old water from the other tank that I had been saving during water changes hoping that would help the tank cycle and the livestock to acclimate. I also added 40 pounds of new live rock and 3 bags of sand. I then filled the tank with fresh-mixed saltwater and let it run for about a week while I got the water levels and salinity stable. On Monday, 9/19, I brought over about 10 pounds of live rock from the old tank, along with a bunch of bio-beads and ceramic rings. I dumped in a bottle of Bio-Spira and turned off the skimmer on the advice of the LFS. Yesterday, 9/20, we went to bring the livestock.
We were able to get everyone in bags except for the blenny, who disappeared inside a rock and refused to come out. We finally decided to bring the entire rock in a bucket of water from the tank, as we needed to get moving. When we arrived, I was able to drip the fish in the bags, and tried my best to acclimate the blenny by swapping water back and forth between the bucket and the tank for about 45 minutes. When we finally moved the rock into the tank, we didn’t see it for another 20 minutes. When I added some food for the rest of the animals, the blenny came flying out of the rock, frantically darting around the tank for a minute before collapsing unresponsive in the corner. I thought for sure it was going to die when it had a few hermit crabs crawling on it and it didn’t move, so we moved it BY HAND into a hole in a rock and hoped for the best.
This morning, it had found its way into another rock, and appears fine other than not eating. It’s come out every so often to swim around before darting back into its new favorite hole. Everyone else seems fine, though I have a bit of concern about the clown fish swimming rapidly from one side of the tank to the other, almost like they’re pacing. They’ve always seemed pretty lazy, and while they’re eating enthusiastically, flirting with my hammer coral, and going through their dominance/submission behaviors, the hyper-swimming thing is a bit out of the ordinary. Is it just stress, confusion, or are they just happy to have 3x as much room to swim in?
I’m basically looking for any insight or advice anyone has for monitoring the tank during this transition. I don’t know if I’ve done anything wrong or missed some important step. What should I watch out for? How should I proceed with livestock? Should I add a few more fish right away to help it cycle due to the increase in volume? Or is it better to wait? I’m a bit paranoid and would love some reassurance or constructive criticism.
Thanks for being here!
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