Setting Up Second Hand Rio 180 With Fish Included.

[Darius]

Hi

I'm a newbie here and I have agreed to purchase the following:

A second hand Juwel Rio 180 Aquarium

1x Eheim External Filter
1x Eheim Internal Filter
2x 300watt Heaters
1x Aeration Pump

Cichlid
1x Yellow Caeruleus small
1x Blue Malawi medium
1x Brown/yellow Malawi medium
1x Yellow Severum (Large Male)

Non-Cichlid
1x Siamease Catfish
1x Synodontis (5-6 in)

All of the above is the setup of the present owner. I am due to pick it up tonight and he is giving me the fish as well for free.

My main concern is cycling this correctly.

Do any of you have any hints or tips as to the best way to transport and set up the tank at my house. (It's about half an hours drive away).

I'm reading the newbie stuff but I don't want to miss anything obvious and I haven't seen much about setting up a second hand tank with the fish included.

Also are there any particular issues to be concerned about the fish included?

Thanks

David

 

[hollanda88]

Just empty the tank with a gravel vac so you are cleaning all the gravel at the same time, bag the fish up 1:2 water to air ratio in the bags. You shouldn't need heat pads if its only half an hour away. You should bag up all of the filter pads too so as not to kill all ofyour bacteria colanies off.

When you get to yours set the tank up quickly, but don't cut corners; make sure the tank cabinet is level...

fill with dechlorinated water as close to the correct temp as possible and start up all the electrics, float the fish like you would for releases from the LFS

thats a bit garbled but it made sence to me

Andrew

 

[Macko1968]

Are the filters currently running in the tank with the fish in?

If so (& the tank is already cycled) you should be able to keep the bacteria alive in the filters, providing you move quickly. I think the bacteria will live, provided you keep the media wet, for a couple of hours or more after you turn the filters off. If that is the case, providing you can break down the tank, move it, re-fill it (with de-chlorinated water) & restart the filters within that time frame you should be good.

Once the water is up to temperature you can add the fish in the same way you would add new fish to any tank.

 

[Essjay]

I've never been in this situation, but wouldn't the procedure be the same as if you were moving house? Have a look at this thread.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=268550&hl=

 

[Darius]

Thanks for the quick responses! I think I've found the right place for advice...

Yes the filters are currently running with the tank and the fish. So I will be using exactly the same setup, so it's just like moving house (thanks for the link).

Can I keep the filters as they are for the journey or do I need to bag the filter pads to keep the bacteria alive?

I feel much more confident about this now already.

Thanks again

David

 

[markandhisfish]

couple of point regarding the fish the tank is too small for the severum which shouldnt be mixed with african cichlids anyway . so i would re-home the severum

if its only half hour drive just keep the filter media wet with tank water and it should be fine

 

[paulbr1]

Ditto all that has been said already, the filter media is the most important thing* try and keep it in water the movement of water when travelling will keep it alive for a good while.

(*joint with dechlorinated water(do you have dechlorinator) as this is very important) if you don't have any the normal tap water will kill the good bacteria and then you will a problem - it is cheap.

Ask if they have a water test kit you can have also as you will need one to test for Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte and Ph

Good luck.

Paul.

ps. forgot to mention - after you fill up the tank with "dechlor" water run the filter without the media (sponge) for trenty mins to make sure it is mixed properly (IMO)

 

[Darius]

Thanks Paul for the mixing tip.

-- Mark, about the Severum, is the tank too small for him even if less fish are in it?

Also about the fish, which are the best ones to keep and what if any could be recommended to add to the tank in future, (the owner said that the Siamese Catfish is rare).

I originally wanted to create a community tank, but I'm willing to try out these fish as he's basically including them for free.

If I wanted to trade the fish in for community type of fish, how would I go about that?

Thanks everyone.

 

[markandhisfish]

yes darius im afraid so a severum needs a minimum of 75 gallons its a big chunky fish that will reach 8 to 10 inches and needs lots of swimming space . if you wanted to swap for community type fish you could try the buy/sell/swap section on this forum or aquarists classifieds and post what you have etc. cant tell you anything about the catfish im afraid, not really my area

 

[Darius]

Looks like I'll have to get rid of the Severum then.

If I wanted to get rid of all the fish and start a community tank could I just introduce a bunch of new fish to the tank as soon as I've taken out the current batch?

Thanks