Advice please for a new set up

[Buffy1977]

Hello all, thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

I currently have a 65 litre tank. I’ve had it for 4 weeks and it was an upgrade from a very small aquaone 28 litre starter tank. I had that first tank for 18mths. I have been running the original filter together with a fluval U2 filter for the last 4 weeks.

My Husband has now bought me a Fluval 200 Roma tank, which I wasn’t expecting. I am excited and equally nervous of such a big tank. Should I do a straight fishless cycle for 6 weeks ish, or can I use some of my current media to speed the cycle up?

Also, I am thinking of getting a Fluval 406 external filter for the new tank. Would that be a good purchase, or is there others that you guys would advise.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You can use the filter media from the established filters to set up the new tank and add fish pretty much straight away.

You set the new Roma 200 up with gravel, ornaments, plants and dechlorinated water. Let it aerate/ run for 24-48 hours, then put some established filter media into the new filter on the new tank, and add some fish. Feed the fish a small amount each day and monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple of weeks.

You can also move the entire filter from the old tank onto the new tank if you like and it does the same thing. Instant cycled tank ready for fish.

 

[seangee]

Ha ha - I got nervous when I started keeping smaller tanks. The big ones are really much easier to keep stable, although take a bit longer for water changes (I do 75% per week on all my tanks).

Are you planning on keeping the smaller tank(s) going? If not you could move all of the media into the new filter and move your fish over straight away. If yes some of the media would definitely help. Personally I would set up the new tank, get it nicely planted and make sure the plants were actively growing (probably a week or two), move the media over and and add fish. Be sure to include some fast growing floating plants such as amazon frogbit or water sprite.

I had a 406 filter for about 15 years and thought it was great. It does have quite a high flow so you may want to think about a spray bar to diffuse it. AFAIK the Roma comes with a U4 filter which is perfectly good if you are happy with an internal filter. The 206 and 306 would also be good choices and slightly less bulky.

Good luck with it.

Oh and if you weren't planning on keeping the older filters going don't throw them out just yet. I guarantee you'll find a use for them

 

[Buffy1977]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You can use the filter media from the established filters to set up the new tank and add fish pretty much straight away.

You set the new Roma 200 up with gravel, ornaments, plants and dechlorinated water. Let it aerate/ run for 24-48 hours, then put some established filter media into the new filter on the new tank, and add some fish. Feed the fish a small amount each day and monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple of weeks.

You can also most the entire filter from the old tank onto the new tank if you like and it does the same thing. Instant cycled tank ready for fish.

Thank you so much for the reply. I’m not sure about my media fitting into the new external filter. Sorry, I’m still pretty new at setting up things. My small one was easy

 

[Buffy1977]

Ha ha - I got nervous when I started keeping smaller tanks. The big ones are really much easier to keep stable, although take a bit longer for water changes (I do 75% per week on all my tanks).

Are you planning on keeping the smaller tank(s) going? If not you could move all of the media into the new filter and move your fish over straight away. If yes some of the media would definitely help. Personally I would set up the new tank, get it nicely planted and make sure the plants were actively growing (probably a week or two), move the media over and and add fish. Be sure to include some fast growing floating plants such as amazon frogbit or water sprite.

I had a 406 filter for about 15 years and thought it was great. It does have quite a high flow so you may want to think about a spray bar to diffuse it. AFAIK the Roma comes with a U4 filter which is perfectly good if you are happy with an internal filter. The 206 and 306 would also be good choices and slightly less bulky.

Good luck with it.

Oh and if you weren't planning on keeping the older filters going don't throw them out just yet. I guarantee you'll find a use for them

Thank you so much, that’s so helpful. I do want a planted tank.

 

[seangee]

Oh and if you weren't planning on keeping the older filters going don't throw them out just yet.

Whoops - of course I meant older tanks

 

[Colin_T]

I’m not sure about my media fitting into the new external filter. Sorry, I’m still pretty new at setting up things. My small one was easy

Just put some of the old media on top of or in between the new media. The bacteria will spread onto the new media over time.

 

[Buffy1977]

Whoops - of course I meant older tanks

I’m going to keep my 28ltr in case I need to quarantine any fish in the future.

 

[Buffy1977]

Just put some of the old media on top of or in between the new media. The bacteria will spread onto the new media over time.

I’ve filled the tank up and am running one of my old filters inside. Tomorrow I will hook up any new Fluval 306

 

[Naughts]

And keep the 65 litre for if you end up with incompatible fish, or want more fish!

 

[Mongo75]

If you're not adding livestock right away, remember, you need to "feed" your existing BB to keep them alive and not crash your cycle.

 

[Buffy1977]

I was extremely stupid yesterday. I put one of my running internal filters, into the 200 ltr new tank. But, I forgot to put dechlorinator in ‍ The filter was running for 12 hrs before I remembered. Have I killed all the bacteria in that filter now? Feeling like an idiot today.
I still have a Fluval U2 running in my 65 litre.

 

[seangee]

If the filter was established it will probably be fine. You will have killed some of the bacteria but not all. Since we don't know the concentration there is no way to know for sure. Add de-chlorinator anyway in case your water is treated with chloramine.

If (when) you are ready to move your fish put the foam and biomax from your U2 into the 306 - there is plenty of space for them in there. As @Mongo75 says - the bacteria need to be fed, so there is no benefit in doing this a few days beforehand.

If its still a while before you move the fish and you already have what you need for a fishless cycle just feed the new tank a low dose of ammonia (say 1ppm) and test tomorrow to see what happens.

 

[Buffy1977]

If the filter was established it will probably be fine. You will have killed some of the bacteria but not all. Since we don't know the concentration there is no way to know for sure. Add de-chlorinator anyway in case your water is treated with chloramine.

If (when) you are ready to move your fish put the foam and biomax from your U2 into the 306 - there is plenty of space for them in there. As @Mongo75 says - the bacteria need to be fed, so there is no benefit in doing this a few days beforehand.

If its still a while before you move the fish and you already have what you need for a fishless cycle just feed the new tank a low dose of ammonia (say 1ppm) and test tomorrow to see what happens.

Thank you for the reply. I put the de-chlorinator in at 7am today. I also added a bit of fish food.

 

[TheRainbowRoseExperience]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You can use the filter media from the established filters to set up the new tank and add fish pretty much straight away.

You set the new Roma 200 up with gravel, ornaments, plants and dechlorinated water. Let it aerate/ run for 24-48 hours, then put some established filter media into the new filter on the new tank, and add some fish. Feed the fish a small amount each day and monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple of weeks.

You can also move the entire filter from the old tank onto the new tank if you like and it does the same thing. Instant cycled tank ready for fish.

Thanks again, I have been pondering these things.