70l Tank To A 200l Tank..

[loubega]

hi all,

im getting a 200l tank next week, but currently havea 70l tank that is fully cycled and has ammonia levels of 0 so all is good, however when i get my new tank, can i just use the substrate, filter sponges and water from my old tank? Will this mean it doesnt need cycling? or will it just speed up the amount of time it needs to be cycled for?

If it still needs cucling, what do i do with the fish i currently have in my 70l tank?

thanks for any advice

 

[loubega]

BUMP
any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[andywg]

If you move all the fish and all th filter media over then it won't need cycling. Provided you do regular water changes you won't need to worry about moving any water over so long as the new tank has about the same pH and temperature.

 

[bricko]

Hi Loubega,

I personally would not bother transfering the substrate from one tank to another as the benefits are negligable. You will also require a lot more substrate to fill your new tank so you may as well go and get the whole lot new. This way meens you can also keep your current tank running while you set the new one up.

Once the new tank is filled with declorinated water I would let it run for a day to heat up to the desired temp and then just transfer your filter media and fish into the new tank the next day. The existing media should help speed up the colonisation of bacteria in your new filter thus avoiding the need to cycle the tank as the current bacteria should cope with the bio load until the new filter becomes established.

Make sure you test the water frequently for the first few weeks incase there is a die off in your old bacteria which may cause a mini cycle.

HTH,

Good luck

Bricko

 

[loubega]

Hi Loubega,

I personally would not bother transfering the substrate from one tank to another as the benefits are negligable. You will also require a lot more substrate to fill your new tank so you may as well go and get the whole lot new. This way meens you can also keep your current tank running while you set the new one up.

Once the new tank is filled with declorinated water I would let it run for a day to heat up to the desired temp and then just transfer your filter media and fish into the new tank the next day. The existing media should help speed up the colonisation of bacteria in your new filter thus avoiding the need to cycle the tank as the current bacteria should cope with the bio load until the new filter becomes established.

Make sure you test the water frequently for the first few weeks incase there is a die off in your old bacteria which may cause a mini cycle.

HTH,

Good luck

Bricko

cheers pal,

yea so i could just put in new decholrinated water, let it settle and heat up for a few days, then transfer the old media? where would i put this? into the actually tank or into the new filter? how long for? that would mean that my old tank would not have a filter? would i have to put the fish in there as well then?

 

[bricko]

Yes mate, as soon as your new tank is up to the same temp as your existing tank then just move the fish over. As anywig says you may also want to check the PH is within similar parameters to your existing tank also. If its not you may want to bag the fish and float / drip aclimatise as you would from a shop.

What sort of filter do you have in your new and existing tanks? What media do you have in there? The best way would be to put your existing filter media into your new filter as this will ensure water and oxygen are being passed by the bacteria and will discourage any die off and encourage the colonisation of the new media.

Regards,

Bricko,

 

[loubega]

Yes mate, as soon as your new tank is up to the same temp as your existing tank then just move the fish over. As anywig says you may also want to check the PH is within similar parameters to your existing tank also. If its not you may want to bag the fish and float / drip aclimatise as you would from a shop.

What sort of filter do you have in your new and existing tanks? What media do you have in there? The best way would be to put your existing filter media into your new filter as this will ensure water and oxygen are being passed by the bacteria and will discourage any die off and encourage the colonisation of the new media.

Regards,

Bricko,

old filter is just an internal filter, not sure the type as im at work at the moment, the new filter is an external filter, but i dont know the type, the tank im getting is an Amazon, 200l looks really good, and got a good price about £150, surely i can just put the old internal filter media into the new one? even if it doesnt fit as well?

does the substrate not hold much bacteria? also the bogwood and plants will be moved across will this help too?

 

[bricko]

I am sure the media (whatever type) can be made to fit into the new external which will probably have various compartments. The subsrate doesn't hold much of the beneficial bacteria in your tank (probably less than 2%) so transfering it for that reason would be a waste of your efforts TBH. I would move the plants and bogwood if you are decommissioning your old tank but again they will provide little benefit in the form of bacteria. More than likely you will transfer algae and snails into your new tank! Make sure you rinse the plants and bogwood well first to ensure you are not introducing anything you don't want to.

What fish do you currently have?

Cheers,

Bricko

 

[loubega]

I am sure the media (whatever type) can be made to fit into the new external which will probably have various compartments. The subsrate doesn't hold much of the beneficial bacteria in your tank (probably less than 2%) so transfering it for that reason would be a waste of your efforts TBH. I would move the plants and bogwood if you are decommissioning your old tank but again they will provide little benefit in the form of bacteria. More than likely you will transfer algae and snails into your new tank! Make sure you rinse the plants and bogwood well first to ensure you are not introducing anything you don't want to.

What fish do you currently have?

Cheers,

Bricko

well this is the issue, i aquried the tank off a mate who was getting rid of it, so i took it on as a favour, it has neons, black neons, copper tetra and also a common plec, who is growing too big for the tank, so instead of getting rid of him, i would like to expand! as im quite fond of him now!

i may well keep 2 tanks, but i worry it may be too much effort and i will lose interest....etc...due to time/money

 

[loubega]

I am sure the media (whatever type) can be made to fit into the new external which will probably have various compartments. The subsrate doesn't hold much of the beneficial bacteria in your tank (probably less than 2%) so transfering it for that reason would be a waste of your efforts TBH. I would move the plants and bogwood if you are decommissioning your old tank but again they will provide little benefit in the form of bacteria. More than likely you will transfer algae and snails into your new tank! Make sure you rinse the plants and bogwood well first to ensure you are not introducing anything you don't want to.

What fish do you currently have?

Cheers,

Bricko

also, could i only put half the media in the new filter and then still keep the old tank runnig or is that not possible?

once the new tank has been up and running can i take the old media out and place it in the old filter (now that the new filter media has matured?) and still have the old tank running again??

its all a bit confusing

what are your views on filter start and adding bacteria artifically in tanks?

 

[bricko]

I would hang onto the smaller tank and put it in storage for emergencies. Or you can leave it setup with some snails in to maintain the bacteria and use it as a Quarantine tank if you purchase new fish.

A QT tank would have saved me a lot of trouble (and fish loss) in the past and I wouldn't dream of purchasing fish in the future without fish quarantining for a few weeks. It also helps you keep a closer eye on new fish in a smaller lightly decorated tank to ensure they are in optimal condition before being introduced to your main tank.

the small tank will not take up much time to maintain really, probably 10 mins per week for water change and an algae scrape and thats about it really, unless you do water changes with a jug or something which would take longer.

I use a gravel vac on my 260l tank on a friday / saturday performing 25% water change every week and all in all it takes 30 mins, once a month I clean out the filters aswell which takes an extra 15 - 20 mins. Same routine on my 190l tank. I also have a small 60l QT / fry tank which takes about 10 mins a week to maintain.

All in all it takes around 1 - 2 1/2 hours per week to do the maintenace for 3 tanks, on the money side then it really depends if you want / can afford to run 2 or more tanks heaters, lights, pumps etc, cna't help you there mate as my electric bill has gone through the roof over the last 12 months

What are your stocking plans for the new tank? If you don't want to move all the fish into the new tank then, yes only take 50% of the filter media over to the new tank. If you leave media in the old tank without a source of ammonia (fish poo, food etc) then the bacteria will die off within a few days, thus rendering the filter useless upon the intoduction of new stock.

If you intend on taking all your fish into the new tank then take ALL the media to the new tank setup and then reverse what you have done with the filter media to clone bacteria back into the old tank filter when / if required.

I have never used any of the bottle bacteria and believe they are not really up to the task if effective at all.

My GF used bactinettes in her biorb and still suffered a mini cycle a couple of months later!


Cheers,

Bricko

 

[loubega]

I would hang onto the smaller tank and put it in storage for emergencies. Or you can leave it setup with some snails in to maintain the bacteria and use it as a Quarantine tank if you purchase new fish.

A QT tank would have saved me a lot of trouble (and fish loss) in the past and I wouldn't dream of purchasing fish in the future without fish quarantining for a few weeks. It also helps you keep a closer eye on new fish in a smaller lightly decorated tank to ensure they are in optimal condition before being introduced to your main tank.

the small tank will not take up much time to maintain really, probably 10 mins per week for water change and an algae scrape and thats about it really, unless you do water changes with a jug or something which would take longer.

I use a gravel vac on my 260l tank on a friday / saturday performing 25% water change every week and all in all it takes 30 mins, once a month I clean out the filters aswell which takes an extra 15 - 20 mins. Same routine on my 190l tank. I also have a small 60l QT / fry tank which takes about 10 mins a week to maintain.

All in all it takes around 1 - 2 1/2 hours per week to do the maintenace for 3 tanks, on the money side then it really depends if you want / can afford to run 2 or more tanks heaters, lights, pumps etc, cna't help you there mate as my electric bill has gone through the roof over the last 12 months

Cheers,

Bricko

hahaha

yea im sure electricity is no issue ,
just worried about the filter media really, that if i take out media from the old tank and put into the new filter, then my old tank will decay rapidly? and wont be of any use?

will the new filter media fit as well as the old media in the new filter? therefore the new media will mature (over time )and the old media can be put back in the old filter....meaning i can use the smaller tank?

sorry if this is confusing

 

[bricko]

No worries mate,

Yes, most if not all of the media supplied with the external filter will fit alongside you old media in the filter (not sure it makes a difference but I always use the first stage of the filter to house the old media). If you are not using the old tank then you don't need to worry about the filter until you decide to stock it again with something. Then all you need to do is repeat the process in reverse, taking some (max 30%) of the media from your 200l tank and applying it to the filter of the 70l tank. During this process always ensure the media remain wet and is not left exposed out of a tank without water / air flow around it as the bacteria can start to die off quite rapidly (1 - 2 hours). So ensure the tank is up and running and ready to take the media before removing from the filter.

Hope this clears things up a little for you, I have cloned my media for all of my tanks with 100% success no need to cycle.

As previously stated the bateria in the filter will need a constant source of ammonia to remain healthy so when you decide to restock the smaller tank I would get fish in there within 24 hours of setting it back up (Water / filter etc)

Cheers,

Bricko

 

[loubega]

No worries mate,

Yes, most if not all of the media supplied with the external filter will fit alongside you old media in the filter (not sure it makes a difference but I always use the first stage of the filter to house the old media). If you are not using the old tank then you don't need to worry about the filter until you decide to stock it again with something. Then all you need to do is repeat the process in reverse, taking some (max 30%) of the media from your 200l tank and applying it to the filter of the 70l tank. During this process always ensure the media remain wet and is not left exposed out of a tank without water / air flow around it as the bacteria can start to die off quite rapidly (1 - 2 hours). So ensure the tank is up and running and ready to take the media before removing from the filter.

Hope this clears things up a little for you, I have cloned my media for all of my tanks with 100% success no need to cycle.

As previously stated the bateria in the filter will need a constant source of ammonia to remain healthy so when you decide to restock the smaller tank I would get fish in there within 24 hours of setting it back up (Water / filter etc)

Cheers,

Bricko

cheers mate,

cracking advice, ill get on with it when i get back!

ill pm you if i need anymore advice if thats ok, i just worry if when i do all this, and the ammonia spikes all my fish will die?

but i guess if the filter media is the same as my old tank all the bacteria will be transferred across? should the fish go straight in once the its reached the correct temperature?

will the old tank and fish be ok for about a day or 2 with out a filter then whilst the new tank gets up to speed and temperature?

 

[bricko]

Yes as soon as the tank is up to temp then transfer the media into the new tank and then the fish.

Let me know how you get on mate.

Cheers,

Bricko