Best way to hook up my 100gallon tank to my "system"

[travis_]

I have 5 tanks in my basement (including 2 refugiums) with total volume around 100 gallons. I am now moving forward on hooking up my new (used) 100 gallon tank upstairs. I was wondering what would be the best way to "tie" the systems together?

I was planning to fill the upstairs tanks and arrange my live rock. But rather than letting the tank cycle, I was hoping to hook it immedately up to my basement system. Sort of like 1 large water change. Do you think it would be necessary to cycle this upstairs tank prior to doing this?

Also, I was planning on doing a couple of large water changes (10 gallons each every couple of days) and use this water to help fill up the new tank, therefore hopefully aready seeding it with the good bacteria and also eliminating the need to wait for it to cycle.

I could also start off with a very slow recirulation rate between the new tank and downstairs system to allow time to for my system to absorb all the new water? Now that I think of it, why couldn't I go ahead and fill my 100 gallon upstairs, ciculate and heat it, and then rather then just open the valves and start reciruating between upstaris and downstairs I could open the valve just for a short periods of time every couple of days. This would be the same as several large water changes over several days, and then let them recirculate.

Apprecaite input,

 

[Allenfamily]

Are you using cured rock or is it new? If the rock is coming out of the systems that you already have up and cycled I wouldn;t be too worried about it, if the rock is new then it is more likely to create a cyle.

 

[travis_]

Are you using cured rock or is it new? If the rock is coming out of the systems that you already have up and cycled I wouldn;t be too worried about it, if the rock is new then it is more likely to create a cyle.

The rock is cured and is currently in my tanks in the downstairs system. I also now don't feel that it will be an issue. Thinking through it while writing this post sort of convinced me.

thanks for your input,

Travis

 

[jezzeaepi]

I believe the easiest way to hook them all up would be to get another tank to act purely as a sump, then attach everything to that.

 

[travis_]

I believe the easiest way to hook them all up would be to get another tank to act purely as a sump, then attach everything to that.

thanks for your suggestion. I had actually already done this. Previously my Refugium was acting as the sump, but I now added another 30 gal tank that will be the sump. I connected the two together using a HUGE u-tube made out of 2" PVC. So big that I noticed my fish swimming up into it. Just a matter of time until they get gutsy enough to swin all the way into the refugium and requiing me to put up a screen.