Words Of Wisdom

[La.La]

So I have a 55g tank that has been running smoothly for roughly almost a year and I am going to be upgrading to a 105-125g within the next couple of months as soon as I find 'the right' tank and stand!  Honestly i'm so excited to finally have a sump and get rid of the HOB skimmer and the carbon filter.  Here are my 312847892734 questions
 
Does anyone have any advice on how to do the transfer from the 55 to the bigger tank and what prep work (aside from a leak test) that is going to have to be done?  
 
How does cycling work in this instance/do I need to cycle?  I know i'm going to be putting in new sand and possibly some base rock rather than buying more live rock.  
 
How do/did you transfer all of the rock with the corals attached to them?  Now, obviously some are more difficult than others, for instance i have 4+ rocks covered in jasmine polyps (the weed of the tank) and a leather that's attached to two by the base and the side.  
 
Also, being that all of the rock was placed in the tank when it was originally set up and I had no experience, it isn't a very stable structure.  Meaning, all the rock is piled on top of each other and if I had the chance to do it again, I would definitely drill holes and have them stacked with acrylic rods.  I've lurked around and i've seen that some people have done this with success after the fact as well and being that i'm changing everything over, it may be the perfect time to get this done.  Any advise on doing this or is it as simple as working quickly and getting everything back in the tank ASAP?
 
Now will all of that said, I do plan on detaching any corals that I can that were recently put in and haven't overgrown where the plugs were glued.  So hopefully that will make it a little bit easier.
 
I think that's all and I know it's a lot but I just want to be prepared because I have a feeling the upgrade is going to happen sooner rather than later.  AND i'm just excited! (I've probably forgotten something and will post 20 more questions later, so sorry!) 

 

[Donya]

Will you be able to have both of these tanks set up concurrently for a brief period, or does the 55gal need to go before the other one can come in? If the tanks can coexist there is nothing to it really. It's more of a pain when you have to remove one and the install the other.
 
 

Does anyone have any advice on how to do the transfer from the 55 to the bigger tank and what prep work (aside from a leak test) that is going to have to be done?

 
If the tanks can't coexist for any length of time, then get as big of a plastic tub as you can, drain a bunch of tank water into it, move the rock over, a pump or two, etc., and livestock. That will basically give you a cycled smaller tank as a temporary measure for a few days or even a couple weeks with frequent WCs if things get desperate (i.e. if the new tank doesn't pass a leak test and you have to bother about getting a new one). But, you will want to get things moved over quickly of course once the tank is water-ready: rock first, new sand, and then livestock after the dust settles. If you want to reuse any substrate, scoop it out into a separate bucket and keep it submerged. Keeping a few scoops of the old substrate probably wouldn't be a bad idea to use as a seed for the fauna, which will go a bit faster if it doesn't all have to be seeded from the rock again (it won't go loads faster, but it's still something I like to do when setting up new systems since it does kick start it just a bit). Base rock should be cleaned and soaked in a separate tub. Once you're sure there's nothing decaying on it and it isn't a fouling risk, you can either add pieces to the tank slowly over time to colonize (not all at once as a safety precaution) or make a curing tub to colonize a big bunch of it with some live rock as seed and then move it over for a big re-scape later.
 
If the tanks are set up at the same time, it's a whole lot easier since you have no time pressure and can get the base rock and new substrate going in one lump in the bigger tank and then move everything over later.
 
 

How do/did you transfer all of the rock with the corals attached to them?

 
Just like any old rock but with livestock acclimation if the water is different. Usually there's no issue. If it's something like that corals are welding multiple rocks together in precarious ways, can you post a pic of the situation?
 
I can't help on the drilling as I've not done it.

 

[La.La]

Will you be able to have both of these tanks set up concurrently for a brief period, or does the 55gal need to go before the other one can come in? If the tanks can coexist there is nothing to it really. It's more of a pain when you have to remove one and the install the other.
 
Well, I don't technically need to get rid of the tank in any amount of time because the tank is the only thing in the room, however it is in the place of where the new one will go because there is limited space despite there being no furniture.  My initial thought was to take out about 50% of the water from the existing tank to lighten the load a bit and slide it out from the wall to place the new tank behind it (with a walking gap between the two) while the new tank cycles/when moving things over.   
 
But, you will want to get things moved over quickly of course once the tank is water-ready: rock first, new sand, and then livestock after the dust settles. If you want to reuse any substrate, scoop it out into a separate bucket and keep it submerged. Keeping a few scoops of the old substrate probably wouldn't be a bad idea to use as a seed for the fauna, which will go a bit faster if it doesn't all have to be seeded from the rock again (it won't go loads faster, but it's still something I like to do when setting up new systems since it does kick start it just a bit). 
 
If the tanks are set up at the same time, it's a whole lot easier since you have no time pressure and can get the base rock and new substrate going in one lump in the bigger tank and then move everything over later.
 
Please forgive me if i'm not understanding properly.   Now, being that I can have both of the tanks coexisting at the same time, after the leak test and making sure everything is working properly is where I get confused.  Originally when I set up the tank I cycled with live rock.  I know I am going to absolutely be getting new sand and had planned to put a little of the old substrate in the new tank for the exact purpose of seeding it.  Now, at this point am I doing a full cycle minus the rock?  In your experience how long does the process usually take.  I'm sure all tanks are different but you think like a month or two, or less?
 

How do/did you transfer all of the rock with the corals attached to them?

 
Just like any old rock but with livestock acclimation if the water is different. Usually there's no issue. If it's something like that corals are welding multiple rocks together in precarious ways, can you post a pic of the situation?
 
Hopefully i'll get all of the params the same(ish) so its not a great issue as not all the corals are removable.  As for photo's i'll try after the lights are out and they've closed.  
 
I can't help on the drilling as I've not done it.
 
I may or may not try to do this.  I'm scared i'll break everything.  

 
Thank you for all of your help, I hope everything I just said/asked makes sense.

 

[La.La]

can you post a pic of the situation?

 
Here's two pictures with the lights on.  The leather looks weird in this picture but it grew onto the rock awkwardly so it's hard to get a picture plus they're bad pictures