Transfering fish to a new aquarium

[Sanj]

hello,

well this is it ive got a case of tank bug and well its reasonably serious. I have only recently bought a 380 litre at the begining of the year and now i am contemplating upgrading and replacing my Juwel 240 litre with the Juwel 400+ litre.

I can barely afford it, but I can make it happen, I feel a bit guilty actually.

I want to move the 400 into the position ofthe existing 240. Also i need to transfer the existing occupants to the new aquarium.

I might not be able to transfer all the water into the new aquarium (where would i put it?), but I gues i lowerthe water to a few inches in the 240, will I be able to move it then?

Maybe I leave the fish in the few inces of water, move/walk the aquarium aside, put the new one in position, add substrate etc add some of the water, add some of the 240 filter media to the 400 (even though size difference) , top up with treated tap water, run for a few hours, then add the fish ?

or leave over night then add the fish and remaining old water?

Hmmm its a bit of a pickle. can somone help out on how to do this? I guess Smileandnod you have done this with your upgrade to rio400.

I would like to keep the rio240 running , but i think it will be pretty costly running three sizable tanks, so i might sell it.

Anyway how do I go about a peaceful transfer

thanks

 

[G_Sharky]

That's going to be tough man, you should get someone to help you out, a 240 L tank would probably weigh close to 400 pounds and draining it almost halfway would still be heavy. Set your new tank using the gravel and the filter media from the 240 so that you don't have to cycle it all over again and I think as soon as you put the water in and match the temp from the old tank then you could put your fish in(This would probably take a couple of hours). Just my 2 Cents, Good luck and post some pics

 

[CFC]

You will have to drain the tank completely and remove the substrate before you can move it, you will be suprised how heavy a few inches of water and gravel in the bottom of a tank is.

In the past when moving tanks i have transfered the fish and all the water into the bathtub while i have moved the tank!!! Of course i have rinsed the bath several times with lots of cold water before hand to remove any traces of soap or cleaning products.
If your fish are not huge then you can just place the fish into buckets for the time it will take to drain the tank move it and refill the new one and store the water in whatever containers you can get your hands on, you only really need to keep about half of it.
Remember to keep the filter media in water with some aeration to keep the bacteria alive so that it can be used to jumpstart the new media, unfortunately the filter on the 400 will be bigger than the one on the 240 so you cant just transfer it, if you are using the same substrate then keep the gravel/sand wet too as this contains most of the good bacteria in the tank, if you are changing substrate then you will need to keep a few handfulls of the old stuff to re seed the new, this can be done by filling the foot of a old stocking/pair of tights with the old substrate and placing it on the new for a week or so.
The last thing to remember is when filling the new tank place a plate on the substrate to pour the water onto, this will prevent the sediment from being stirred up and making the tank cloudy.

 

[smileandnod]

Hi Sanj.
Warning, long dull post comming up.

I went from a 300 to 400 just three weeks ago, and did exactly the same as you. Even put the 400 where the 300 was.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST THE WAY I DID IT. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY. IF YOU LOSE FISH, IT IS NOT MY FAULT.

Don't feed your fish for about 48 hours prior to the operation.

First thing I did, was buy a whole bunch of plastic tubs from a diy centre. They held about 75 litres each.
Next, a visit to the lfs for some bags. They gave me twelve bags of various sizes for £1.

Turn off your heater, and filter.

Ok, now the work starts. Start syphoning off the water into one of the tubs. Once it gets to about half way, start transfering bogwood, ornaments and so on. Don't wait for the first tub to be full, as these items will displace water all over your carpet.

Do the same with more tubs, until you have just a few inches of water. (you should also of moved your filter media by now), moving plants also.
It should be fairly easy to catch and bag your fish now. One large fish, two medium or three small to a bag as a general rule of thumb, although obviously 3 neons in a large bag is a bit of a waste. Put the bagged fish into a cardboard (or poly if you have one) box, so that they fit snugly together. You can pack it a bit with newspaper if you need to. There is no need to make them too tight.

Now cover the box with a dark towel, and then a sheet. Idea being to keep the fish in complete darkness.

Next, empty any remaining water into the tubs, and then remove as much substrate as you can.
Now you can move the old tank out. The 400 is a very heavy tank, and you will need help lifting it. I'd make sure you can do it before you even start the job.

Once the new tank is in place, put your substrate in, and start adding the water back. Keep an eye on the water temperature, but it doesn't matter if it drops a few degrees. (Oh, maybe you want to make sure your heating is on, and you keep the room temp up to about 20 degrees). My water temp went down to about 75 degrees.

Start putting plants and ornaments etc back in, and keep filling with old water. Once you have as much water in as you have, you can repatriate your fish. Personally, I didn't bother about floating the bags, as the temperature will of dropped at the same rate.

Now just top up the tank as if you had done a water change. Set your thermometer to whatever temp you want, and switch it and the filter on.

Now, cover up the tank with towels and sheets, so that the whole thing is in total darkness, and leave it this way for 24 hours or so. For the next 24 hours, don't use the tank lights. After that, business as usual.

I lost one fish, which was already old, when a cat jumped into the cardboard box containing some bagged fish.

I checked the water params morning and evening for two weeks. Everything remained at zero.

Where abouts in the world are you Sanj? I can let you have a number to call if you are UK based, and think you could use a bit more help.

Cheers.
Ian.

 

[Sanj]

Well thank you guys very much for the information.

This is going to be a big job lol.

Well I have ordered the 400 and well I dont know why but I get this guilty feeling when I spend that amount of money, like im not being very sensible, save money for a rainy day etc. But hey this is my hobby since I was 10 and im now in my mid well ehem late 20's.

Ok well Ive got the justification bit over and done with (almost).

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS JUST THE WAY I DID IT. I AM NOT SUGGESTING THIS IS THE CORRECT WAY. IF YOU LOSE FISH, IT IS NOT MY FAULT.

Dont worry Smileandnod i wouldnt blame you lol, its just good advice.

I was pretty much thinking of doing it the way you said, I think I will have to remove pretty much nearly everything from the old aquarium to be a ble to move it. i will make sure my friend is around to help lift/drag heavy stuff.

I havent got an air pump, but i could buy a cheap one (from wilkos lol) and put it in a bucket with the filter media. Is this necessary or will the bacteria be ok in a bucket of old water for a couple of ours?

I do have a poly box for transporting fish from a previous mail order, what if i fill it with water and put the fish in straight? Does the poly box hold water? I could even put the heater in there??

Just wondering about the covering up of the tank, is that for helping the fish to settle in and /or combat algae growth in the new aquarium??

Another thing I wanted to ask was about the lighting. The rio comes with pretty poor lighting i think if you wanted a densley planted aquarium, do you have plants in yours??

I was going to buy some arcadia t5 lighting ballasts and use narva t5 freshwater tubes, instead of getting another juwel t8 lighting set.

Also what have you done with your Rio 300, will you run it or sell it?
Im not 100% sure what ill do atm, but I might sell it or keep it for the future just incase i set up another lol.

Thanks again

Oh yes im in Coventry in the UK

 

[smileandnod]

Hi Sanj.

I know Coventry well. I'm from Hinckley Originaly.

The not my fault comment was aimed at anyone reading it, not specificaly you.

Right, firstly, I didn't bother to aerate the water my filter media was in. I don't aerate my tank, so I didn't see the need.

The towels ond the tank afterwards, are just to help the fish settle. I was given the advice by someone who has moved close to 100 tanks, so I decided it was probably sage advice.

I know the poly will hold water, but I'm not sure how much or for how long. And don't heat any of the water, it all needs to remain at the same temp, so as the stored water loses temp, so should the water the fish are in.

The lighting isn't great, and I'm going to add reflectors soon, but planted isn't a priority for me in there. I have plenty of low light plants which seem to do very well, with some CO2 injected.

I'd love to keep the 300, as it would make a terrific South American Biotope, but I don't have anywhere for it, except where the telly is and the missus won't let me get rid of that. I'm letting a friend have it cheap, as she needs a bigger tank for her fish, and will lose them otherwise. Never hurts to have some good karma in reserve.

Oh, and the only justification you need is that it will be better for the fish. Their life is in your hands, so you owe it to them to provide the best environment you can afford.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Ian.