Upgrading tank

[MDS99]

I currently have a 28 litre fish tank wanting to upgrade to a 90ish litre fish tank in January, however needs tips and guide on best way to do this, pretty new to tropical fish keeping, so need all help possible. Do I do a fish less cycle in new tank ? Read online that using the old filter in new tank would be ideal, however I have hood filtration in my current fish tank so transferring over the filter would be useless, unless I used the sponge in my current fish tank in the new filter maybe ? Any tips and guides will be appreciated thanks

 

[Sgooosh]

no the old filter helps with cycling since that filter is already cycled the bacteria can go inhabit the other places

I currently have a 28 litre fish tank wanting to upgrade to a 90ish litre fish tank in January, however needs tips and guide on best way to do this, pretty new to tropical fish keeping, so need all help possible. Do I do a fish less cycle in new tank ? Read online that using the old filter in new tank would be ideal, however I have hood filtration in my current fish tank so transferring over the filter would be useless, unless I used the sponge in my current fish tank in the new filter maybe ? Any tips and guides will be appreciated thanks

 

[MDS99]

Yes however the filter I have is built in to my fish tank, i have a hood filter, so the filter pours water into a little tray with all the media in it if you get what I mean ? Hence why I can’t use this filter in new tank as it’s made for this specific tank, the only thing I can think off is putting the current sponge that’s on my tray in a new filter maybe ?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Yes however the filter I have is built in to my fish tank, i have a hood filter, so the filter pours water into a little tray with all the media in it if you get what I mean ? Hence why I can’t use this filter in new tank as it’s made for this specific tank, the only thing I can think off is putting the current sponge that’s on my tray in a new filter maybe ?

Yes the sponge is what holds the good bacteria. just transfer the sponge/cartridge from the old filter to the new one. Transferring the gravel will help also

 

[MDS99]

Ah okay good, I was just wondering if that would work too as when I looked online it said to run both the new and old filter at the same time in new tank but obviously I can’t do that, would you recommend adding some of the current tank water in new tank aswell ?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Ah okay good, I was just wondering if that would work too as when I looked online it said to run both the new and old filter at the same time in new tank but obviously I can’t do that, would you recommend adding some of the current tank water in new tank aswell ?

The tank water will hold little to no bb (beneficial bacteria) and will just be unnecessary gross water haha. The bacteria lives on surfaces, so the filter media and gravel are the most full of it just make sure the water is the same temp and they are properly acclimated, and test the water and do water changes while the cycle gets going

 

[Essjay]

Transfer the current fish over to the new tank at the same time as the media. Wait a few weeks before getting more fish to allow the tank to settle, then add new fish a few at a time to allow the bcateria to catch up between batches.

Sponges can be cut up to make them fit a different filter. Is there anything besides sponge in the current filter - ceramic media, carbon, etc?
Do you intend using the substrate from the current tank? That also holds a lot of bacteria so if you intend using the same type of substrate, I would use all the old and add some more of the same.
Live plants, especially floating plants, will also help a lot.


Of course you could always do a fishless cycle in the new tank, but it is easier to move as much across as possible.

 

[MDS99]

Yeah, I’ve got some ceramic rings aswell, few live plants and some decor, also planning on moving all these over aswell as the substrate however will have to add some more as the tank I’m upgrading to is quite a lot bigger

 

[Essjay]

If you can squeeze as much of the old media into the new filter as possible it would be a great help. Ceramics can be put into a mesh bag. Fill any gaps with new media so the water is forced to flow though it rather than take a shortcut round the edges.

 

[anewbie]

I keep sponge filters in all my tanks and if you have an air pump you could add one to your current tank and then transfer it. Normally when i do an upgrade I get low level ammonia spike (around .5ppm); and i use a bit of prime to negate it. I tend to measure for ammonia once a day if it is below .5ppm and twice a day otherwise for the first week; after which it goes to 0. It would not hurt for you to check ammonia for the first few days and make sure it stays near 0; if not either do a bit of a water change or add some prime (or similar product) to neutralize the ammonia.

For various reasons I've had to do about 6 of these upgrades the last 4 years; having 2 aqueon tanks fail on me didn't help...

 

[MDS99]

Thanks for your help guys