Advice/help Needed

[tom_os]

rite this is going to be a long one, sorry!

so i have 2 tanks, downstairs (just finished cycling) and upstairs (middle of fish in cycle)

basically i am off to tenerife a week on tuesday and im not sure what to do with the cycling tank.

background: my downstairs tank did have 10 fish in it, however the cycle was taking ages so i moved 4 fish into the empy upstairs and and started a fish in cycle.

so my downstairs tank today has for the first time readings of no ammonia and no nirtite so its looking good (will keep an eye on it for the coming week)

the internal filter for the upstairs tank has some media from the downstairs tank to help the cycling but i dont think it will be finished before i go to tenerife and i cant get anyone to do regular water changes.

so how do i keep the filter bacteria alive whilst i am away.

i think i will move the fish that are upstairs, very gradually, to the downstairs tank where they are originally from before i go away. will it then be ok to move the upstairs filter into the downstairs tank to keep the bacteria alove whilst i am away and when i come back will it be cycled, ready to add the fish when i come back.

will the plants survive without a filter and should i keep the heater on in the upstairs tank?

sorry it probably makes no sense but any advice on what i should would be appreciated

 

[OldMan47]

One thing at a time.
Combining the filters into a single tank that has fish in it makes some sense. It will give the filters something to work with and any may save the fish some of the stress from ammonia in their water.
Reading through what you have suggested brought another option to mind. You have a cycled filter, or one that is almost cycled. Why not move that filter to where the fish are? That would mean that the fish don't need to be chased all over their tank with a net but will have some protection from the ammonia and nitrites.
Plants will do fine without a filter but it is best to circulate the water in a planted tank.
I think where I am ending up is to move the extra cycled filter to the tank with the fish in it. The fish get the filtration they need, the plants get good water circulation and both filters are in better shape when you get back than they are today. Does this make sense or have I missed something?

 

[TigerIssey]

What sizes are the two tanks and does the downstairs tank still have 6 fish in it?

Is the tank upstairs sufficient for all 10 fish? - if it is, oldman47's suggestion makes sense, if its too small for all of the fish you may need to put them and the two filters in the larger of the two tanks. Firstly so that you don't overstock a tank and secondly the larger the amount of water, the larger margin for error you have whilst you are away.

Oldman47 may have missed these other 6 fish, not sure if you still have them, its not clear from your post.

If the tank you end up with no filter in is the one with plants, I would leave the heater on, most of the plants are tropical after all and just make sure there is an airstone or spare filter if you have one just to circulate the water else the plants will start to rot and pollute the tank. You could move them as well, although you may not want to disturb them if you have good root growth on them, up to you.