How to cycle a tank for public display?

[eyeguy]

Dr. Ron,
I asked this question on the main board some time ago, but didn't get much advice,other than "You really don't want to move a tank that size!" I plan to set up a 265gal tank in my office. Since this is going to be on public display, I'd really like to avoid the algae blooms that accompany a new tank. So, my plan has been to set the tank up in my basement with dead sand (Southdown), seed it with live sand, add the LR, circulation, sump, and lights, and let the tank mature for 5-6 mo. Then I would move it to the office. Albeit a big job, but I've moved smaller tanks in the past. My first question is, while I realize I will disrupt the sandbed significantly with some loss of life, won't I still be better off than starting "cold"? Do you have any suggestions as to how to appropriately feed the tank so that it could be ready for a sudden increase in bioload when the fish are added? I would prefer to delay adding corals/fish until the tank is in its permanent home, but it would be great if I could add most of the fish at once so people won't be staring at an empty tank for weeks. Any suggestions/advice you could give would be very much appreciated!

[rshimek]

Hi,

Well, you seem to have a masochist tendency.... :D

You can certainly do as you have planned and it will probably work just fine. In moving the sand bed you will have mortality, but the amount can be minimized by minimizing sloshing. When you move it, move the sand moist but not under water. You will be able scoop up and transfer large "chunks" without too much disturbance.

When you get to the office, remove the fish from the tank (if you have had it running as a FO tank) and put them in temporary quarters for a day or two. When you add the sand, allow it to fall through the water. This will allow the animals to be covered as if it were a natural disturbance (i. e. a storm). Probably you will want to do this on a Saturday as the water will be murky for a day or so. Put on a good mechanical filter to remove the finest particulate from the water a couple of hours after the last sand has been added (the delay will let much of the fine sediment settle out of the water). Minimize power head activity during this period. The sand bed should be well in place by Sunday morning and you could aquascape then and add the fish back.

As with all new tanks, the bioload should be kept light, so I would hope that the number of fish would relatively few.

There will be a brief cycling of the tank in any case, as there will be some sediment mortality. The cycling should not be a big deal.

When initially setting up the sand bed, I would feed about every four days or so. Watch the sand bed next to the walls of the aquarium, and monitor the appearance of the bed. You should be able to see patches of the fauna developing (by the presence of small bugs, and the appearance of worm burrows). As the fauna becomes more common, decrease the intervals between the feedings. By the time of the move you probably can be feeding every day.

I would feed food like Brine Shrimp Direct Golden Pearls, the smallest and maybe the next to smallest sizes. Go lightly at first until you have a good fauna visible. This is very concentrated food (see the results of my food and additive study for the particulars) and it will be really easy to over feed, causing plankton blooms. However the small size of the food will mean that it is acceptable by just about everybody in the sand bed.

This sounds like an awful lot of work to me.... :D

[eyeguy]

Thanks for the advice!!!! No, I'm not a masochist. Do you have any suggestions for ways to accomplish this with any less work?

[rshimek]

Hi,

Personally, I would do it all at the final destination. Consider it a work in progress for your office mates/co-workers. It would be a LOT less hassle. And less trauma on all the critters involved. ;)