Can Somebody Point Me In The Right Direction?

[Matthew Lee Newell]

has there been a post explaining the fastest and safest way to upgrade from one tank to another moving all stocking etc,
if so i need to take a quick read as im doing it tomorow....

please help me out guys

 

[fatheadminnow]

If you are upgrading from your current tank to a new one, I would do as follows.

1. remove fish and place them in another tank or bag them up. If you bag them up leave the bag with 1/3 water and 2/3 air. If you place them into another tank in the meantime, place your filter and heater in there too.

2. If you put the fish in bags, take a bucket of your current tank water and place your filter media in the bucket with the tank water to prevent any loss of beneficial bacteria.
(Note: Fish can safely stay in the bags for a couple of hours.) I would personally try to get anther tank in the meantime or a bucket for the fish.

3. take out all decor and siphon out water from old tank. I would try to save about 1/3 to 1/2 of the water in the old tank.

4. Fill new tank with 1/3 dechlorinated water at about the temp you want it.

5. Remove substrate from old tank.

6. Add substrate to new tank.

7. Continue filling new tank with dechlorinated water, or add some of the water form your old tank that you saved.

8. Add decor.

9. Add heater and wait until the water temp is near the desired mark.

10. Add filter.

11. Add fish, following the proper acclimated procedure.

12. Add your extra accessories.

Feel free to critique this in any way.

-FHM

 

[Matthew Lee Newell]

thats great
the tank which i will temp put them in, they will be fine together for a while wont they? because they will majorly overstock it,
and im worried about catching my large feather fin in the net, as i have heard they can get tangled and put out there spines as defence

 

[fatheadminnow]

thats great
the tank which i will temp put them in, they will be fine together for a while wont they? because they will majorly overstock it,
and im worried about catching my large feather fin in the net, as i have heard they can get tangled and put out there spines as defence

They should be just fine together in the the tank during the change.

I don't know anything about feather fins, so best someone else tells you about them.

-FHM

 

[rdd1952]

I would make a few changes to FHM's advice.

1. remove fish and place them in another tank or bag them up. If you bag them up leave the bag with 1/3 water and 2/3 air. If you place them into another tank in the meantime, place your filter and heater in there too.

2. If you put the fish in bags, take a bucket of your current tank water and place your filter media in the bucket with the tank water to prevent any loss of beneficial bacteria.
(Note: Fish can safely stay in the bags for a couple of hours.) I would personally try to get anther tank in the meantime or a bucket for the fish. Agree that bucket or tank is a better option than bags

3. take out all decor and siphon out water from old tank. I would try to save about 1/3 to 1/2 of the water in the old tank. I would save half the water

4. Fill new tank with 1/3 dechlorinated water at about the temp you want it. I would not add any water to the tank yet

5. Remove substrate from old tank.

6. Add substrate to new tank. Before adding to the new tank, rinse it well to remove any debris, waste, trash, etc. Don't do this if it is an UGF and going into another tank with a UGF as the gravel is where your bacteria is.

7. Continue filling new tank with dechlorinated water, or add some of the water form your old tank that you saved. This is where I would put the saved water back in. The tank is now half full.

8. Add decor.

9. Add heater and wait until the water temp is near the desired mark.

10. Add filter.

11. Add fish, following the proper acclimated procedure. Since there is nothing in the tank but old tank water, the same water they came out of, simply put the fish in. Then finish filling tank. It's the same as a 50% water change. No acclimation required.

12. Add your extra accessories.

 

[coldcazzie]

If you have any polystyrene (sp?) boxes they are good for the fish to go in as they will keep the temp better. Plus they have lids so any excitable fishes can't make a leap of death (happened to friends fish waaaaay to many times to mention!!) Also a plastic bin (clean, obviously) is good for storing the water while you change from one to the other.