Tank Upgrade

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I currently have a 12 gallon biocube and hope to upgrade to a 24 gallon nanocube soon. My tank is about 2 years old and has live rock, various coral (mushrooms, favia, zoas, a percula clown, a scooter blenny, and a chromis. I want to get new sand and more live rock for my 24 gallon and I'm going to keep everything else. I just need some advice on how to go about transferring everything from  one tank to another. Thank you so much

ANSWER: Hi Amanda,
Transferring your current system to a larger one isnt as hard as you might think. You'll wwant to be sure that the new live rock is cured and cycled. I would suggest getting it from your local fish store rather than ordering dry live rock. Or you can get cured/cycled live rock from many retailers online, but the risk of die off in shipping is there. Whatever source you choose, make sure that it has cured and cycled. Test for ammonia to make sure the rock has completed cycling. The new sand can be added to the bottom of your new tank, the old added on top and then mixed a bit. Never add new substrate over the top of the old. It will kill the critters living there and the biological filtration(bacterial colonies, pods, etc) and can created huge problems. You will want your water parameters to be as close to the existing tanks as possible. I do this by starting the new tank and filling it 75% of the way full. I then take the remaining water to fill from the existing tank. Then refill the existing tank as I would after any water change. You will need to watch the new system and test to make sure it is cycling, the live rock especially. It may take awhile to get the new systems water quality to match the old, so make sure you have plenty of tests for your test kit. Once cycling has completed and the new system is ready(you may need a bucket or 2)The fish can be transfered first or last. Give them 30 minutes to an hour acclimation in a bucket and they're ready. The best way to transfer your corals is to take out the rock they are on and place them in a bucket under water from the existing tank. You can add water from the new tank every 10 minutes to acclimate the corals to any changes in water parameters you may have.Acclimation may take an hour or 2 depending on the range of difference in water parameters between the 2 tanks. This way you have time to rearrange your new system with the rock and substrate from the old. A piece of pvc pipe works great to get the old substrate to the bottom of the new tank without mess and clouding, and allowed me to stir a bit and mix the substrates well. After rearranging and acclimation you can place your corals in the system. It's always tedious, but be patient and you'll be just fine. Let me know how it goes or if I can help further!

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QUESTION: Wow, that was really helpful thank you very much. My only issue with adding my existing substrate to my new tank is that I currently have crushed coral substrate and in my new tank I want to go with the fiji pink live sand. I'm worried that it's going to look strange with pieces of crushed coral substrate mixed in. What do you think?

Answer
Hi Amanda,
It may not have the exact appearance you desire. But a mix of different substrates is ideal for biological filtration. You can take some of the old substrate and put it on the bottom of the new setup first. Mix in a little of the new fiji sand and let it cycle for 3 or 4 days. It will take longer this way but you can slowly add the fiji sand every 3 days from there on, with a little mix into the substrate and get closer to the appearance you want. You may just end up using less of the existing crushed coral substrate. I personally like the appearance of the mixed substrates but that is a personal prefference.