Upgrading To Larger Tank

[JezTaylor]

Exciting news!! I've just got myself an Aquanano 130. This is quite an upgrade from my 64l fish box.
 
At first I assumed I would have to keep my old tank running whilst I ran a fishless cycle, but I've read that if I simply move my old filter and ornaments into the new tank during the first few weeks then that should bring enough established bacteria with it.
 
In other words, I can move all of my fish over straight away as long as the filter goes with them. I wanted to get people's views on this before I go for it?
 
Of course, this also means that I can now get excited about more fish!
 
In my 64l I haven't dared add anything more than my 3 platies and 8 neon tetras, but I suddenly have a host of new possibilities! I'd definitely like to add some cories and guppies, but how about a pair of larger fish as well? Would that be pushing it? Gourami's seem the obvious choice, but are there any less obvious choices? Are there any reasons the fish I've mentioned wouldn't mix well?
 
Thanks for your advice and suggestions,

 

[Tuxyu3]

Get your new tank to the same temperature, de-chlorinate the water, and just transfer the fish and filter materials over, they'll be fine assuming there is nothing else wrong. In fact, if you transfer filter materials without the fish, your filter bacteria would die of starvation unless you fed them something else.
 
I would wait a week to add new fish to make sure the bacteria are caught up from any potential damage from being transferred and to allow the fish to settle.
 
For Cory's remember to have a smooth substrate, sand is the best, but smooth stones will be fine, just so their barbels don't get damaged.
 
Be careful with Gouramis and Guppies, some Gourami species can be nippy. Look into Honey Gouramis, they aren't huge but are pretty peaceful and you could maybe have a trio of them to spread attention between the two females. It is also a game of chance with how aggressive the male is. You could always just get two females if you're happy with that.
 
The tank would be pretty full (I'm assuming you won't have absolutely masses of Guppies) but with a capable filter and pretty peaceful fish, I would think it should be okay.
 
You could also get a pair of (Bolivian?) Rams instead of Gourami's but they tend to be more temperamental and in my experience less hardy. I would stick with Gouramis for now.

 

[JezTaylor]

Thanks for the advice, that's all helpful stuff.

I've got the new tank set up and ready to go. I'll give it a few days to settle and then move the fish and filter materials over at the weekend.
 
In terms of fish, I'll add some guppies and cories after a few weeks. I'll have a think about the gourami's and decide a little further down the line. I'm aware that would make for 5 different species in the tank and I don't want to push it.
 
One thing I have noticed with the larger tank is bigger fluctuations in temperature. In the space of an hour last night, I saw it go from 23.9c to 24.9c. Is this normal for a larger tank? Will the fish be ok with these fluctuations?

 

[Tuxyu3]

It wouldn't be great for them in the long term to have temperature fluctuations if they are constant and large enough but I wouldn't worry about it if it's only a degree.
 
Were you measuring the temperature in the same part of the tank and is there a flow of water over the heater to distribute the warmth somewhat equally? What kind of thermometer? If it's a traditional glass one with liquid inside then I'd bet it is just a thermometer discrepancy and the water isn't that much different.

 

[JezTaylor]

It has the filtration chambers built into the back of the tank so the heater is placed just next to the pump. It's a digital thermometer so it should be quite accurate. I'll keep an eye on the temperature over the next couple of days and hopefully it's just the one degree.

 

[JezTaylor]

Some strange goings on!

So I moved the fish (along with the old filter and ornaments) into the new tank on Saturday. I'd also had one of the new bags of filter media in the old tank for the previous week so it could start to build up some bacteria.

All seems to be going well (everyone is still with us at least) but there's a bit of a strange mini-cycle going on.
 
On Sunday ammonia was up at 0.25. The next day it looked like it was back at 0 but nitrite had risen to 0.25. On Tuesday nitrite had risen to 0.50 so I did a 25% water change which brought it back down to 0.25.
 
Tonight, it looks like ammonia and nitrite are both at 0 (or close enough that I can't tell otherwise from the colour chart), but what's confusing me is that nitrate is still at 0 (or very close to it). Is that even possible? Surely for the nitrite to have been removed there must be nitrate?

 

[Tuxyu3]

Sorry for my late reply.
 
The best I can guess is that it is lower than you are used to because it is spread out over much more water.
 
Don't forget also on many test kits nitrate can have a very subtle colour, making it hard to read the levels.
 
Again, sorry I'm late, but you seem to be doing alright

 

[Gruntle]

Also remember if you're using the API Master Kit that you need to shake the living wossname out of the 2nd bottle for the Nitrate test. It has a powder reagent that settles out of the liquid, so it needs to be thoroughly agitated (shake the thing til your arm is about to fall off, bang the bottom of the bottle on a table, shake with your other hand until it's ready to fall off too...)