Changing Tanks

[moonraker]

I went mad at the weekend and bought a 500 litre + tank to replace my 240 litre (mainly) Cichlid tank. I am planning to make the changeover at the weekend, and would appreciate any advice on how to make the change smoothly, with minimum disruption to the fish.

My difficulty is that I need to locate the new tank in the position of the current one which will require some juggling.

My plan as it stands is:

1, buy a plastic bin. I can use this first to clean the new substrate, (moving from gravel to sand despite some reservations about cleaning).

2, syphon the existing water into the bin, and locate my fish there also.

3, Remove existing tank and stand, install new tank, add new substrate, put in "old" water with fish from bin. I've got to do this qiuckly because the tank is in a shed, and it's not too warm in UK at this time of year.

4, Install heaters

5, Install filter from old tank (a fluval 404), install new filter (Rena XP3 that came with the new tank).

6, Add the extra water over a few days. (This is one of my main concerns, I will have to add I guess 270 litres (60%) to fill the new tank, which is one hell of a water change).

7, I guess that the (re)cycling of the tank will then be an issue. Would it be worth putting some of the old substrate, into a old stocking, and leaving it in the tank for a few weeks? Would it help the new filter if I take some of the media from the old filter, and install it in the new filter? I plan to do daily 10% water changes on the existing tank until the changeover to make sure the "old" water is in good condition.

I will use my old rocks, but as this tank is a lot deeper, I plan to make cave/shelves with old slate, and maybe flowerpot spacers as I think I can build that quite high with stability.

8, Then my aim will be to get mates for my existing singles, and to replace my recently departed Red tail shark who did such a good job of keeping the house in order. I feel I owe it to my existing fish to sort them out satisfactorily before considering different types.

My only "problem" fish are the Brichardi who defend their territory a bit too well when they have fry. I am hoping that the bigger tank will give them the space they need. The fish being transferred are:

1 Bristlenose M 3.5"
1 S. Multi 4"
1 S. Eupterus 5"
2 PS. Demasoni M, 3.5", ?, 2" (They get on fine)
4 PS. Acei yellow tail, + fry, + 1 holding.
2 Rusties + 2-3 juveniles, + holding
1 Red Empress M 5"
1 A. Jacobfriedbergi M 4"
2 n. brichardi and their brood from hell
2 Ps soccolofi Albino 2"
1 Yellow Lab 3"

Any suggestions, traps to beware, or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Kevin

 

[SamUK]

i think youve got it covered dude and the answer is yes to basically everthing!!

only thing to do is to put the heaters in the bin with the fish too but you probably jus forgot to type that.


putting some gravel in a stocking does help so id say do it cos id also say you could add some more water aslong as you use aqua safe or something.

i dont know the technical side but i kno theres not much beneficial bacteria in the water so it shouldnt matter too much.


you mite have to test the PH of your tap water (think your meant to let a cup of it sit for an hour to get an accurate reading) and make sure its not too bigger difference to the PH of your tank.



oh and jus another thought. maybe get 2 bins and fill one with water and add dechlorinator. heat it up over night before you do the change and then the water in there will be good to add too (depending on that ph thing).

cant think of anything else... sure someone will add something but it is a bit slow in here.

good luck

 

[moonraker]

i think youve got it covered dude and the answer is yes to basically everthing!! ..............


Thank you for your comments SamUK,

In fact I hadn't thought of putting the heaters in the bin with the fish. In theory the changeover should be quick, but theory always takes longer than it should in theory if you know what I mean.

As I live on the edge of the Mendip hills, tap water here comes out with a pretty much perfect PH for the purpose. I still think I'll add it slowly over a few days just to be safe.

Best regards, Kevin

 

[SamUK]

well it definately wont hurt will it and it is probably best to be safe!

youll have to post pics when its all done.

 

[moonraker]

Well, the new tank is installed, the fish survived and are feeding. I still need to sort out the rocks, but it looks good.

In case it helps anyone else to avoid, I made two stupid errors:

First, I allowed enough room between wall and back of cabinet for the hoses, but I forgot about the filter electric plugs (Plugs are quite big in the UK). So, having half filled the new tank I had to syphon water out again so that I could move the cabinet out a bit more.

I then compounded the error. I had already installed a heater in the half filled tank which I forgot about in my impatience to get the filter plugs sorted. Once it was exposed to the air by the syphon, it smashed. Fortunately, I had not at that stage transferred the fish.

Moral of the story, don't rush.

Kevin