16 Days Later

[GazJ]

Hi guys,just thought i would let you know my tank is going well,the 5 danios i bought are still buzzing around.
I bought water teat kit and all the readings are correct,time to look at getting some more fish,
but before i do I decided a bigger tank would be in order so i'm picking this up wednesday

 

[Chad]

Congratulations on the bigger tank. I am a fan of them myself. They allow you to be more flexible and the fish to be happier with less work on your part (as long as you stock right of course).

 

[Something'sfishy]

Sounds like you've been bitten by the bug! Have fun with your new tank!

 

[phishyphil]

Nice tank you have there

Just a quick wondering, have you cycled your tank prior to placing your fish in there?

PC

 

[GazJ]

Nice tank you have there

Just a quick wondering, have you cycled your tank prior to placing your fish in there?

PC

Picking this new tank up tomoz so this is my plan
I will be leaving it to run without fish for a week or so,do a water test then if alls well drain out 50 litres from my old 60 litre tank and replace in the new tank,wait another week or so then drain out some more add the old tank water and then the Danios,what do you think or is there a better way

 

[phishyphil]

Okay, here goes...

Firstly You need to read up on cycling your aquarium and what it means.

You cant just add fish into the tank and expect them to survive, its not as straight forward as this.

Please read over the information found here

LINK TO BEGINNERS RESOURCE CENTRE]

You need to cycle your tank first (fish out cycle as this is the humane way of doing things)

Then you will need to read up on how to stock a tank. Each fish species requires certain pH levels. Hardness (gH and kH) and temperatures, some prefer brackish waters, whilst others not, some are compatible , some are not due to aggression issues, all this you will need to learn, fortunately this forum will help you every step of the way.

YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES! We all have, you just need to learn from them.

Essential Equipment you need to own:

Water Test Kit (Liquid form for pH, Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite)
De-chlorinator

 

[sadguppy]

It is quite a tall tank, danios are very nippy and prefer longer tanks, just FYI. If that is the only kind of tank that will fit then go for it but if you can possibly get a longer, rather than a taller tank, I would always advise that.

 

[GazJ]

I would have prefered a longer tank but space is a premium in our house plus the mrs isnt switched on fully to fish keeping just yet,it took me a couple of days to convince her the upright tank would fit neatly in the corner
I bought a API master test kit and some stress coat,the water in my small tank matches the colour test charts that come with the kit so i am happy that my tank is cycled,plus i havnt lost any fish
moving forward to the new tank its a 180 litre according to the seller,can i take 50% of the water from my 60 litre tank to use as a starter for the new one,i dont intend transfering the fish until the new tank test readings are up to scratch by then i would be ready for another water change,again can i add this to the new tank and gradully transfer cycled water into the new tank untill its full this might take a month or so but im happy to be be patient

 

[cuda]

Nice looking tank! Once it is full of life the Mrs. will become hooked.

 

[phishyphil]

I would have prefered a longer tank but space is a premium in our house plus the mrs isnt switched on fully to fish keeping just yet,it took me a couple of days to convince her the upright tank would fit neatly in the corner
I bought a API master test kit and some stress coat,the water in my small tank matches the colour test charts that come with the kit so i am happy that my tank is cycled,plus i havnt lost any fish
moving forward to the new tank its a 180 litre according to the seller,can i take 50% of the water from my 60 litre tank to use as a starter for the new one,i dont intend transfering the fish until the new tank test readings are up to scratch by then i would be ready for another water change,again can i add this to the new tank and gradully transfer cycled water into the new tank untill its full this might take a month or so but im happy to be be patient

Okay from my understanding, you currently have 1 x small tank with 5 danios in? and you are now upgrading to the larger tank? Are you Transfering the fish over?

Gaz, How long has your small tank been going? Is this tank cycled?

If you are transfering fish from one tank (small) to the larger tank, you can just transfer your filter over to the new setup as it is this that contains all the beneficial bacteria (Providing it is cycled!)

The water itself holds little bacteria, and only used to keep the water parameters similar (pH, gH, kH ) However becasue you are using the same water (from your tap) these will be the same anyway.

 

[GazJ]

Thanks Phil,yes i want to transfer the fish over but not untill i'm 100% the new tank will be suitable
i got the new tank set up yesterday i used 30 litres of water from the small tank and topped up with tap water treated with stress coat
One thing before i move on i am not happy with the new tank for 2 reasons
1st the noise from the pump is over bearing (remember i have to convince the mrs we are doing the right thing ) i had to turn it off whilst she watched I'm a celebrity lol
2nd the flitration is just 2 x 4" sponges, the seller also got it wrong with with the capacity it takes 120 litres not 190 as advertised ,so i was up untill the early hours last night reading up on external filtration,my small tank has a Fluval 102, i understand what you are saying about the bacteria but dont expect this will be big enough for the new tank ( i could be wrong) i have looked at the Fluval 206 according to the blurb it treats upto 200 litres
thanks for bearing with me

 

[phishyphil]

Thanks Phil,yes i want to transfer the fish over but not untill i'm 100% the new tank will be suitable
i got the new tank set up yesterday i used 30 litres of water from the small tank and topped up with tap water treated with stress coat
One thing before i move on i am not happy with the new tank for 2 reasons
1st the noise from the pump is over bearing (remember i have to convince the mrs we are doing the right thing ) i had to turn it off whilst she watched I'm a celebrity lol
2nd the flitration is just 2 x 4" sponges, the seller also got it wrong with with the capacity it takes 120 litres not 190 as advertised ,so i was up untill the early hours last night reading up on external filtration,my small tank has a Fluval 102, i understand what you are saying about the bacteria but dont expect this will be big enough for the new tank ( i could be wrong) i have looked at the Fluval 206 according to the blurb it treats upto 200 litres
thanks for bearing with me

No problems.

Firstly Do you mean a Fluval U2 Filter? (Internal)
Or do you curently have the Fluval 106 (External)

Do you intend to keep plants? The reason I am asking is that they need to have good levels of flow around the tank. Ideally you want your tank to be turning over a minimum of 5x capacity. but more desirable turnover would be 10x turnover, however this also depends on your stocking,

The Fluval 106 Has a labelled output of 550 lph (however this is without media). With media your looking at anywhere from 400 to 500 lph I would say.

The fluval 205 (new version 206) has a labelled output of 780 lph (however this is without media). With media your looking at anywhere from 600 to 700 lph I would say

The 106 is around £70, the 206 around £90 and to be honest, I hear a lot of comments about poor build quality, however, that is just what I have read on forums, not by experience.

What I would do is go for a TetraTec EX1200! Flow rate 1200lph (actual around 1050-1100) for £90 (cheaper if you shop around, 2nd hand too!)
These filters are brilliant in my opinion and of many others on here! You can also turn the flow rate down to! so if you do not want a fast flow, turn it down and surpress it.
Also (You can turn it down when your Mrs watches the TV)

Eheim have good externals too. All pond solutions are deemed to be good as well, however half there given LPH !

Externals All the way. So much more media!

 

[GazJ]

there are no markings on the Fluval except the name,but having looked at lots of images on Google i assume its a Fluval U2 Underwater Internal Filter
Plants i havnt thought about,maybe in the future but for now i'll work with the plastic ones from the old tank,i assume the TetraTec will fulfill my needs should i decide to go down the live plant route later on
So what about the water i have read that fishless cycling can be up to 2 weeks,so that would be longer as it will be a couple of weeks before i can buy the TetraTec
in the mean time i do a 10% water change weekly (6 litres) so I dont suppose when doing water changes using the water from my small tank and adding it to the new tank would cause any problems would it?
last question is this the link to pond solutions http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/

 

[phishyphil]

Link to All Pon Solutions is Correct

Fishless Cycling takes more than two weeks.

Fish In Cycle Is bad for fish and especially if your only doing water changes every week. This should be done daily to offset the ammonia spikes .

Please Refer to the LINK TO BEGINNERS RESOURCE CENTRE to start your cycle process. Otherwise you will lose those danios with your current water change routine.

The TetraTec EX1200 Will be perfect for you. They are well made, great customer service and overall not bad value for money. This Is my ideal choice. Either that, Eheim too!

I wouldnt be adding your current tank water to your new tank as it will almost certainly by really high on ammonia/nitrite/nitrate or a combination of all 3!

My advice GazJ is the following:

1) Take the Danios Back
2) Read Fish-Less Cycling. Purchase your ammonia etc
3) Cycle your small aquarium with the filter you currently have. As its smaller it should be a little quicker and easier to do (water changes etc)
4) When this is cycled, Transfer this filter over to the new tank, have it running and add 1-2 easy hardy fish (Mollies will be a good shout)
5) Buy your TTEX1200 filter in a few months, ditch the mollies and begin stocking the tank the way you want it (as long as there compatible)

Oh and Get into the planted side of things

 

[GazJ]

I really appreciate you taking the time to help me understand the processes Phil,I will read up more on the fishless cycling
I have just done a water test using the API master test kit on my small tank and the readings are as follows

PH - 7.5
ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 40 ppm
So the ammonia is high so i'll do another water change tomorrow,as said i have been doing 10% changes weekly upto now and my test results last week were bang on,would it be a good idea to up the water change to 50% to get the ammonia level down