Stand upgrading

[HokieFish]

Right now i have a custom build 55 gallon stand that i made several years back. I'm in the process of upgrading the tank to a 75 or 90 and i want to keep the stand i have. It has 4 doors, one of which is a picture frame (false door) with a 10 gallon display tank behind it.
Since i don't want to scrap this stand here is my thought, I build another skeleton of a stand and finish it out the same way my current tank stand is, and then join them together to give it a larger footprint for the larger tank. Has anyone tried this? Most 55's share the same length as a 90 and a 75 right, depending on the tank? I really don't have room to keep the 55 if i upgrade to a larger tank, so this seems like the best option with the least amount of down time. Ideally i'd have the new tank, and the tank stand addition built in advance and then do the whole swap in one day.
Also, I have a question about cycling the new tank. Currently my Flowerhorn is in the 55, when i get the new tank, hopefully a 90, can i transfer the gravel from the 55 to the 90 and consider it cycled since i will be transfering the benefitial bacteria from one tank to the next? Thanks for your help!

 

[Turtlemaxxx]

The theory behind combining two stands to one sounds good. The execution of getting them to line up properly might be the problem.

As for the "instant" cycle between switching the tanks... I have had success with new tank, new substraight, and a seasoned filter. As long as your using the same filter I don't for see a problem. Extra water changes to make sure can't hurt either.
Good luck! And pictures!

-matt

 

[HokieFish]

Yeh, i'd thought about the lining up of the two stands, and i'm fairly confident it will be okay since i was very careful to make sure things were square and plum when i built the first stand. I really should get a full tank and stand shot posted. the intention is to keep them as two stands, join them with screws, and then use a filler strip to hide the seem between stands. That way i can seperate them down the road and go back to a 55 gallon if needed, or to make for easier transportation should i ever need to move the tank and stand in the future. Two pieces will be easier to move than one. I'll probably also make a canopy this time around.
Thanks for the insight. Any additional thoughts are welcome, especially on the instant cycle topic.

 

[HokieFish]

Here is a pic of the stand I want to upgrade.
View attachment 712329
I need to get a new compact florecent bulb for the lower tank. Right now it has a standard small tank bulb and I like the true color of the cf lighting better than the washed out yellow light of the standard bulb.

 

[HokieFish]

I think the deal for the 90 fell through. I haven't heard from them in a couple of days now and they aren't returning my emails. I went by petsmart today and saw a 110 tall (48inch width) that would be awesome. It's on sale right now for $199, but i was trying to stay right around $100 for this upgrade. I posted a WTB on craigslist, so we'll see if anything turns up.