Need advice on moving fish to a new non-cycled tank...?
I am moving this weekend and set up a 46 g tank at my new place. I need to move 3 10 gallon tanks of fish into this 46 g tank within the next few days. The problem is the 46 g was just set up yesterday. What is the best way to get my fish and bacteria in the new tank without causing a large chemical spike. I originally thought I had a couple of weeks to have the new tank set up but...oops. I was thinking of taking out my filters and bringing them and also vacuuming some of the gravel and pouring that into the tank.... Advice please... Thanks!
Let me know if you need more details...
Patches2008-09-23T06:26:52Z
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Take the filter media from the old tank and use it in the new tank. If it won't fit, chop it up and stick it in there with the new filter media. Also take some decorations, gravel and avything and stick it in the new tank for at least a month or so.
You can throw the gravel into a bit of old pantyhose if you don't want to mix it with your new gravel.
This may cycle your tank in as little as a week or two. Or it may not have to cycle at all.
Try grabbing a good bit of water from one of the old tanks as well so the bacteria will have SOMETHING to eat right away.
Keep up on water changes and testing and you should be fine to put your fish in right away this way.
Make sure you bring along all the filter media from your existing three tanks and place them in the new tank. You should also bring along some of the gravel or substrate from your old tanks to help build up the bacteria. Water from your old tanks would also be a help. Don't worry too much about keeping it clean, you can clean it a few weeks from now once the bacterial colony in the tank has been established.
#1 85% of your beneficial bacteria live in your filter. So move all the media/sponge to your new filter.
If you can't fit a majority of stuff into your new filter, I say, run more than one filter at a time. A gradually remove the old filters over time. '
#2 The rest of your bacteria are living on gravel/ornament's surface. So move all of that in your new tank too.
#3 Remember to use water conditioner. Beside removing chlorine/chloraime, you also reduce their stress.
#4 Add Cycle (beneficial bacteria product). I have used that before, and it works perfect. Cycled 2 of my tanks within 2 weeks. They are hibernating, it only works 24 h after in contact with oxygen, you might want to pour them in the night before you move. Remember to shake before use, else your cap will have almost none.
#5 Keep everything wet during the transition of bacteria, you want to reduce their death as much as possible.
I think that is the most you can do. There's still some risk, so i say avoid putting all fish all at once. If it's possible, i say one tank at a time, every month, or few fish per week. So that your tank has time to recuperate for the bacteria difference gradually.
Good luck!! Handle with care!! It's a big transition. Try to bring as much water as possible from your old tank, so the parameter fluctuates less (ph/etc).
take a bucket (clean, never used for cleaning or anything like that, you can get 5g buckets at home depot) and fill it half way with water from the tanks. then place in some gravel from each tank and all three filters. take this to the new house and put in all three filters and the old gravel. this way the bacteria stays wet and alive :D
that should do a nice job of jump starting the cycle, good luck!
Keep the gravel and the filter media from both old tanks and keep them wet as you transport them. Put them into the new tank. This will transport the majority of the benificial bactiera to the new tank.