Transfering An Old Tank

[Rafael Dilone]

Well I have a 10 gallon tank that I have had for a few years now. The tank has gotten a few scratches that really irritate me. I am wondering if I can get a new 10 gallon and transfer everything from that tank to the other exactly how it is. If you dont completely understand just say so and I will further describe.

 

[fishlette]

Well I have a 10 gallon tank that I have had for a few years now. The tank has gotten a few scratches that really irritate me. I am wondering if I can get a new 10 gallon and transfer everything from that tank to the other exactly how it is. If you dont completely understand just say so and I will further describe.

basically yes, you can transfer everything. you may have to watch your water for a while as even though you may be moving your substrate etc you may lose some of your bacteria in the move as i would imagine that you will do a gravel clean etc before transfering it. just clean everything as you would if doing a thorough clean of your tank. dont be surprised if you get a bit of a spike for a while though

 

[Rafael Dilone]

I was thinking the same problem with the bacteria. But then I came up with an idea. What if I transfer everything(including gravel) during a time which I don't clean the tank. Like that I can loose less beneficial bacteria. Then after doing the transfer I will clean the new tank a few days later. Would that make the bacteria problem any better?

 

[fishlette]

I was thinking the same problem with the bacteria. But then I came up with an idea. What if I transfer everything(including gravel) during a time which I don't clean the tank. Like that I can loose less beneficial bacteria. Then after doing the transfer I will clean the new tank a few days later. Would that make the bacteria problem any better?

might help things out a bit but that will be one icky looking tank for a while. when you stir up all the grit that gets caught under the gravel it really makes a mess. why not clean your gravel in the tank water? take 75% out to add to new tank. take all the ornaments etc oput and put them in the new one. siphon the gravel with whats left then you can rinse the gravel in tank water still

you should be ok either way

 

[PRW1988]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't most of the bacteria reside in the filter itself?

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't most of the bacteria reside in the filter itself?

You are right. But there is also beneficial bacteria in the gravel. So you still want to make sure you don't destroy the bacteria within the gravel. Then you will get a spike in your tank. So i am trying to see a way where I can avoid that spike in water stats.

 

[Socks]

I have moved tanks a few times.What I find works best is:
I recommmend doing this on water change day...too keep things as normal as possible.
Take out a bit more than half of your water and put it into a clean bucket.Now remove all of your decorations and/or plants,try not to stir up the gravel to much,maybe put a few or your decorations in the bucket aswell and then catch all of your fish and put them into the bucket.Take some of the very topmost layer of gravel and put it in the bucket with your saved water and fish,if you have an air pump throw the stone in the water just to keep the water aerated,also remember to keep your filter wet and aerated if you will have it out of water very long.Now suck out the rest of the water into a different bucket vacuming all the while to get as much stuff out as possible.Now that all your water is gone it's a good time to give your remaining gravel a good rinse.I use a noddle strainer and rinse it a strainer full at a time,when rinsed put in right into the new tank.Now add some of your (saved) water and then replant and put in your decorations back in,add a gallon or 2 more of new water and then the fish,finish off filling it with the rest of your saved water,get your filter in and take the little bit of saved (unwashed) gravel and spread it around the tank.top off the water and your done. I always add a doseing of stress zyme when finished.

Like i said i've done this a few times and never lost a fish.......

 

[billy0510]

ive set up a 20 gal with no problem just by running the filter in my 125 for about 4 weeks. I think if u clean ur tank like u always do then transfer everything over you will be fine. I would use a water change cleaning for a good transfer time, vac ur tank, strain the gravel out, move every thing over including some of the old water just like u would do with a water change. I have moved a tank this way and 8 hours later set it back up with minor minor spike. Good luck

 

[fishlette]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't most of the bacteria reside in the filter itself?

it does yes but there is also beneficial bacteria on your gravel, your ornaments etc

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if the tank is mature there should be plenty enough bacteria in your filter to cope, the amount of bacteria that lives in your substrate and on ornaments etc is really really minimal. what would cause a spike is when you mvoe things you stir up a load of fishy waste and then the bio load becomes too high for your filter to cope with, you just need to make sure that over the few weeks before you do your change over you clean your substrate really really thoroughly on several occasions.

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Well I have finally transferred the tank and everything went well. The tank did look a bit cloudy for a few days but cleared up after a few weeks. Also I am proud to say I did not loose any of my fish in the process. The new tank is looking quite nice.

 

[australia]

i have used thse methods alot of times they work great

 

[rdd1952]

Unless you are using an under gravel filter, you could discard all the gravel and not have any effect on your bacteria colony. Unless you really love the gravel you have I would change it all to get rid of all the trash in it.