Time to upgrade, but need advice

[mushman]

Hi all!

This is my first time posting, hope you guys dont find me a bother.

I am currently running a 1ft cube. Tank has been cycled for 6-7weeks, and livestocks have been in for 4 weeks.

Being the obsessive individual, a 1ft cube is now too small!

Here's what i set up my tank with.

Equipment

1xAir driven skimmer (I know its not required for a nano, but I'm kiasu)

1xInternal filter (for creation of wave on surface and added current, at the same time provide some mechanical filtration)

1xDymax LED light

2xHOB filter(1x150l/hour used when i wanted to keep stocking low+ 1x300l/hour added when i realised i was too naive =P)

No Chiller (Water cooled to around 24'c daily and does not fluctuate more than 2'c)

Livestock

Zoa Frags from my bro =P

Various soft corals from Iwarna

1kg of dead rocks added early on

2 Orbiculate Batfish (O.O) I know they do grow large. But for now they are housed there. Not an impulse buy as I already have plans for an upgrade.

Potential coral nippers as well, but if well fed are supposedly ok, but will monitor.

My next tank, which will be kindly given to me by a bro here, is almost a 2ft cube.(Thanks again bro Jeff!)

It will be filtered through a 2x1x1ft sump, whereby the first compartment will be a filter socks, wool, and coral frags.

Second compartment will be chaeto + 3 skimmers (2 air driven+ 1 needlewheel [Yes, being overly kiasu till I get a better skimmer... Told you i was obsessive])

Final compartment will be return pump.

Here lies my problem.

I have an excessively small room, in an excessively warm house.

That being said, I have no other place that I can setup my new tank and leave it to cycle. The new tank will displace the new tank in its position (in my room and heart =P)

What i intend to do will be transferring all livestock + rocks + water + sand into my new tank.

The filters will also be transferred.

Here's my question about cycling.

I have read articles on cycling, and have had some experience of cycling throughout my years in freshwater aquarium and pond setups for livestock like stingrays, kois and arowana, and more recently my current tank. However, though the following theory works in freshwater aquaria, i am not too sure about marine cycling.

The method described below is a combination of seeding and transferring of active colonies.

Given that the bioload will be approximately the same in the new tank, given that I will not add any livestock, but only an there would an increase in volume, would the existing bacteria culture be able to sustain my water in a similar way it has been doing before the transfer? Taking into account the bacteria die-off (minimal, some might argue), I am intending to add more dead coral frags into my existing tank and dosing bacteria for the next 1.5-2 weeks to allow more bacteria to colonize in the current system. As the bacteria need more food, the fish will be fed more often to slightly increase the bioload. Though this would work in a freshwater system, would this be sufficient to negate the cycling process in a marine setup, bearing in mind that livestock thereafter will be slowly added in to allow the system to mature slowly.

Please share your views, any input will be greatly appreciated.

Will probably be posting some pictures of my current setup later on.

Thanks!

Brandon

[comycus]

Welcome bro

Just some thoughts:

1. Your new 2ft still won't be big enough to house 2 Orbiculate Batfish. You might want to consider letting them go.

2. Having 2 forms of mechanical filtration is redundant. I would suggest just using the filter sock. Whatever your filter sock is unable to filter out will still pass through the wool.

3. What are dead coral frags used for? bio filtration? With a limited space, I suggest just getting a pack of biohome. Efficient, and space saving. It is definitely more porous than dead coral frags, and thus a better media for colonizing bacteria.

4. If you have not bought your 3 skimmers, I would suggest just save the money and get a proper skimmer. Why waste $$ on 3 lousy skimmers when you are going to get a better one in future? Anyway, a decent skimmer isn't tt expensive, you can always purchase used at our pasa malam section, there are quite a few good deals out there now.

5. What water are you planning to use in your new tank? If using salt mix, you should still complete cycling of tank the normal way. I suppose you will be transferring the water from your old tank to the new tank, and suggest topping up with NSW. There should be minimal dieoffs, and you should dose bacteria into your new tank after the move.

Do replace the dead coral frags in phases to prevent system crash. I highly recommend using biohome, dead coral frags not only look unsightly, they will also probably dirty your sump with residual sand.