Elaborate Plan For Starting My Tank Again...

[LiamC]

Hi guys,

When I first got my tank, I kinda threw everything together in a hurry. I am very happy with the collection of fish I have, and also the water seems nice and healthy now, however I'm not at all happy with the decoration. I used sand for a start, which I personally hate. The ornaments also badly need replacing and I'd just love to start again with everything.

Anyway my tank is still in very good condition, and Pets at Home still sell them, so could I buy a brand new one, set it up and cycle the water etc, transfer fish and filter pads etc over to the new tank, deep clean the old tank so it looks like new, put it into the box the new one came in and take it back and say it didn't fit in my house?

Could I get away with that?

Thanks.

 

[ChrisCook]

It's a bad plan rather than an elaborate plan.
Firstly, you are committing fraud.
Secondly, you will never get the tank looking like new again.
Why not take the fish out and put them in buckets along with the filter and heater whilst you clean the tank and change the substrate? Keep the water that you remove from the tank in other buckets and then just reintroduce everything?

Sounds much simpler, right? And you don't risk being left with two tanks when your plan doesn't come off

 

[frogmarch1987]

I'm sure that probably would work, although I'm also sure you're probably aware of the illegality of your plan.

Just keep the old tank as a quarantine/hospital tank or sell it second hand

 

[BigIan]

Its pets at home so you could get away with anything. But its not exactly the honest or right thing to do.
Why not just bag up your fish, strip the tank down clean it and re set it up?

 

[LiamC]

Hi guys,

Would that be okay to rehouse the fish for a few hours and then transfer them back into the tank if I kept the same water and filter media? I am planning to get a small tank to keep a betta and shrimps, so I could buy that, use it to keep the fish in for a few hours before I set it up.

And yes I am aware that my original plan isn't legal, but the idea of doing something like that seriously wouldn't bother me, especially given how many fish I've purchased from there that haven't survived. I wouldn't do it to a small supplier.

 

[BigIan]

Well stop buying from pets at home.

and yes housing the fish in buckets or a second tank for a few hours will be fine,

 

[ChrisCook]

Yes, that would be fine. Everything is the same except the aquarium, and that isn't really going to affect the fish.

Oh, and admitting to illegal acts on an open forum isn't really all that clever

 

[LiamC]

Okay, thanks very much for the advice guys, I will start the hunt for some really nice gravel and ornaments.

And I think you'll find that I didn't 'admit to illegal acts', I merely suggested the possibility of committing one.

 

[fluffycabbage]

Okay, thanks very much for the advice guys, I will start the hunt for some really nice gravel and ornaments.

And I think you'll find that I didn't 'admit to illegal acts', I merely suggested the possibility of committing one.

oh crikey

yeah keeping them in a separate tank is fine, you dont need to put substrate in, just the fish. pref in a dark spot so theyre less stressed by the move (maybe put a towel over the tank?) put your thermometer in there to keep an eye on the temp too. good luck! (and stop buying from PAH!!!)

Oh what fish do you have? Coz some dont suit a gravel substrate

 

[LiamC]

Okay, thanks very much for the advice guys, I will start the hunt for some really nice gravel and ornaments.

And I think you'll find that I didn't 'admit to illegal acts', I merely suggested the possibility of committing one.

oh crikey

yeah keeping them in a separate tank is fine, you dont need to put substrate in, just the fish. pref in a dark spot so theyre less stressed by the move (maybe put a towel over the tank?) put your thermometer in there to keep an eye on the temp too. good luck! (and stop buying from PAH!!!)

Oh what fish do you have? Coz some dont suit a gravel substrate

The current fish I have are:

6 Neon Tetra (I've had lots of these in the past. I started out with 8 this time, but lost a couple somehow and this latest 6 have lasted ages)
6 Black Widow Tetra (These guys have done really well and I love the way they shoal)
1 Black Molly
1 Silver Molly
1 Algae Eater (I had two of these, but sadly one died. They are fairly large now).
3 Apple Snails (I got these on eBay and now they're huge.)

And I don't really buy anything from PAH now, except for accessories like food if it's the nearest shop I'm going to. There's a rather new garden centre not far from me now with a nice variety of fish, so I have been buying from there. Their pricing isn't too bad either. They're just not great on giving compatibility advice, so I do my own homework rather than ask them any advice.