should I do it?

[Moonstream]

I have lived w/ my 20g long w/ 29g fuge for several months now, and it hasnt been very fun. I have found that it was setup in a way that makes everything a pain, and I have decided to fix it. my ideas are to drill the 29g and make that the display tank, build a new, taller, better stand (now I am using an ugly AGA iron stand that I hate), and to make a canopy as well. I am also planning to put baffles into the fuge, get some new rock, and stock the tank away.

so, first the stand. the bracing will be made out of 2 by 4s and it will be skinned in 3/4" plywood on the sides, top, and bottom, and the back will be left open. I am planning on having it be a little larger then the tank itself, maybe 32" long, 14" deep, and 33" high. my plan is to use the 29g as the display tank and a 20 long as the fuge/sump. any help w/ building the stand would be very welcome (hint, hint).

second, the rock. Im planning on getting at least 40 lbs, and aiming more for 50. in the fuge Im planning around 20 lbs (including rubble) and having lots of cheato.

third, the lighting. I am planning on having mostly hard corals in this tank, and have a 4 24 watt T5HO light (nova extreme w/ lunar lights), will this be enough to keep LPS and some SPS? I would keep shrooms, rics, and yumas in shaded areas and have some zoas as fillers.

finally, the other equipment. I am planning on getting a better pump for moing water from the fuge to the display tank, as what I have now isnt working, and will be moving my koralia 1 into the fuge, and keeping the koralia 2 in the display. I am planning on a 4" sand bed in the fuge, and a 1.5-2" sand bed in the main tank. I will be using both very fine sand under some courser grade sand for the fuge, and courser grade sand in the display. I also have a coralife super skimmer rated for a 65g tank that will be hooked up after the move. will this be okay?

how should I go through the move? was planning on keeping my shrimp, fish, and my 2 favorite hermits in a 5.5g w/ 5-10 lbs of the rock, and keeping my corals, most of my rock, and my other inverts in a larger storage container w/ a 50/50 65 watt PC.

any input is very welcome!

[everl0ng]

i am in the process of upgrading my tank at the moment as well. i think you have the right idea of keeping things in a storage container. that will eliminate the shock of switching them into different water for the time being. that will also help with reducing any cycle that may occur since everything will stay cured and be right on hand for the move.

[reefman13]

I would complete the whole process, as quickly as possible. Thus to make it as stress free as possible.

[ckprax]

I would build everything before hand and have all of the new rock cured before the move that way it can be done in a matter of hours. transfer the livestock into the 29 and then you can finish your sump the same day and not worry about the livestock, the rock that you would put into the sump could just stay in whatever container till the entire system is ready to go. I hope that made since.

[Moonstream]

I just had the idea of upgrading the display to more around the 30g to 40g breeder size range. I also have an extra 30" 65 watt PC, and was thinking about putting the 30" PC and 24" T5 centered on an eggcrate top, then maybe even replacing all of the 4 T5 bulbs w/ 40 watt ones, I would be keeping some leather corals, some LPS, some zoas, rics yumas, and maybe a monty cap or 2.

[ckprax]

well bigger is always better if you have the space and the $$