Finally Upgrade From Biorb 7Gal To A Proper Fluval 33Gal

[NeonTetra97]

Finally upgrade from BiOrb 7gal to a proper Fluval Roma 125 33gal
 
Hi everyone!
 
I have been of the forum for months now but finally I am getting a proper aquarium I have tried to make my shopping list but keep thinking I have missed something. What do I need to set up a new 33gal? So far I got:
 

• The tank Fluval Roma 125 (Of course)
• Heater
• Lights
• I'm going to buy Fluval 206 canister, is this any good? It will be my first canister 0_o
• Gravel and some decorative  rocks
• I already have some Java Fern and bogwood
• New air pump and bubble wall/curtain thingy
• hopefully a 3D rocky background

Have I missed anything? Im so exited and ready to move to bigger and better thing! Are canister filters pretty safe as I am a little worried about leaks! And also sand or gravel? I am getting quite into the whole real plants thing, admittedly its only Java Fern at the moment but sill I much prefer natural plants and bogwood over plastic ones. I have heard sand can damage filters so I am a bit dubious and the plants I will be growing should be fine with gravel. So any suggestions or ideas would be awesome! Also the pros and cons of canister filters and what brands are best.
 
Ok the next thing is how would I migrate from the BiOrb the the Fluval? All I think I need to move is the plants, the filter sponges and the ceramic media and then of course the fishes. How quickly could I move them into their new home? If I set up the Fluval as much as possible with dechlorinated water and all the bits and pieces and get it up to temperature could the fish go in the next day so long as there is mature media? I am not in any particular hurry, more so im just trying to do whats best for the fishes. Although a speedy tank change would keep my parents happy! 

 
Oh I almost forgot! The fishes I will be moving are 3 male fancy guppies (Would have been 5 but I lost 2 recently and only found one body! )  and 7 cardinal tetras. I have no idea how im gonna do it, nets, bags. Please help! haha 
 
Sorry for the absolute barrage of questions! Im really happy to finally be getting a decent tank after suffering the BiOrb 7gal! Thank you a lll for your help everyone!

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Great choice...always nice to see hobbyists increasing tank size for their fish!
 
1/ The Fluval 206 is a great choice, a very popular external filter. I had the 205 so no doubt this is slightly better still.
2/ Your substrate depends on what fish you have in the future and what you personally like the look of. My choice is always sand.
    Sand is bad news in and around ANY type of filter, so keep excess water movement to a minimum.
3/ Yep, you can move all the fish and all the filter media straight into your new tank and filter (do as you say and get it dechlorinated and at the correct temperature).  What you really are now going to need is a liquid based water test kit (API master test kit are great)... you need to be testing daily for a couple of weeks and changing the water if there is any sign of Ammonia and/or NitrItes.
4/ I would drain as much from the old tank as so the fish can swim then use a small net and placing them quickly but safely into the new tank. remember to cover the new tank with large dark towels for 24 hours...stress can bring on whitespot and that really would rain on your parade.
5/ We WILL need pics

 
Terry.

 

[greenmumma141]

I have a fluval 306 and love it! It's a great filter

 

[NeonTetra97]

Thanks for your replies
 
The Taffy Apple, how do you keep your sand clean? It seems as if it would be really tricky to do but I must say I am leaning towards sand over gravel. I love the look of it and the plant growing possibilities! I do have a test kit at the moment, liquid for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate and test strips for hardness ph etc. The towels over the tank are a superb idea! How long would the Fluval have to have been running before I can move the fish? And incase you were wondering in the future I am thinking I might get an African Dwarf From (I think thats what the are called?) and if they are suitable some Harlequin Rasboras. 
 
When all this is done I will definitely upload pics! 

 

[greenmumma141]

Before I made the switch from gravel to sand, I was a little anxious about how I would keep it clean, but I quickly realized how easy it is, much easier than gravel. You vacuum it just like you would gravel, except you hold the vac about an inch or so over the sand, as nothing gets down below the sand like it does with gravel. You can move the vac in a swift circular motion and that creates a little suction tornado and that will anything that's hard to reach. I also use my turkey baistor (fav. fish tank tool ever!) to blow water through hard to reach caves, etc. 

 

[NeonTetra97]

Okay, you all have convinced me! Sand it is! The more I look at sand tanks they look so much more natural, also I like the fact that you can grow plants in sand. I am going to buy the tank tommorow and get all the sand cleaned, the tank stand built etc and put water in by 11am tommorow. Like I said earlier I have some mature ceramic and sponge media so how long until I can move the fish across from BiOrb to Fluval?
 
And you both said you have had good experience with the Fluval canisters, im guessing that means no floods? haha Im really new to external filters (Never had one!) but they sound awesome!
 
Thank you all for your help!

 

[greenmumma141]

Nope, no floods I would just have a read through the manual.  Once you transfer your mature media over, let it run for 30 minutes or so and then you can add your fish (don't forget the dechlorinator, obviously)
 
Good luck with the switch, let us know how it goes!!!

 

[NeonTetra97]

Thanks greenmumma I think it is time I post an update! I picked up the tank on saturday with all the bits, my LFS did not have the Fluval 206 filter in stock so they sold me the 306 for £90! They were so helpful as well! I was very impressed, I used to shop at Pets At Home but the dedicated aquatic retailers are far better, they beat Amazon's prices on most things and they seem to genuinely care about fish. It was I nightmare catching the tetras but got it done in the end, the filter has been running fine, although on the first day I checked for leaks every 5min! 

 
Um, what else? Oh yea! I am glad I went with sand, the fish and plants seem to love it, looks good too! I am currently using root tabs and dosing liquid ferts (easy life profito) and will start dosing liquid carbon (easy life easycarbo) when it arrives on thursday (hopefully!) so any opinion on this would be great, I have heard mixed results on liquid carbon. I panicked a bit earlier as one of my guppies tails was looking damaged I know this is normally ammonia related so I thought the mature media might not have survived the move but luckily tests showed that water quality was fine. Turns out unfortunately that there is fin nipping! One bully guppy! I'm thinking maybe this is just them fighting for new territory in the new tank? Hopefully it is nothing, I love the colours of these guppies, don't want to get rid! Any thoughts or suggestions on what to do would be great, it is one guppy bullying the other two. So at the moment all is good (apart from fin nipper!), just gotta wait for the final few things to arrive from amazon!
 
Overall I must say I can see why BiOrbs get the hate they do! Trying to net the fish through such a tiny opening was awful! 

 I would love to post a pic to show you the initial scape but I have no idea how to post pics? And I have a couple of plants you might recognise, I think the forst is either Jungle Val or Val Spirals and the second is maybe Hornwort? 
 
Thank you for your help everyone! 

 

[greenmumma141]

That's great to hear that everything went well!!
 
Yes, when I switched to a canister filter, I was quite sure it was going to explode or something crazy hehe, just make sure you check the sealant ring (not the exact name lol) every time you maintenance. I've had mine for 7 months and it's still in great shape!
 
Guppies can be quite bossy and nippy! If it continues (could just be bullying caused by the stress of the move) I would recommend upping the numbers of guppies, that way the bullying is spread out amongst a group, instead of only one or two on the receiving end.
 
I dose liquid co2 everyday . When first dosing, your fish can have a reaction to it, so it's important to start with small doses and work your way up to full doses. SO, for the first week just dose at 1/3 the amount, then the second week dose 2/3, then on the third week the full amount.
 
Jungle val will be really thick and val spiralis will be twisty and curly..  Vallis is great. It will probably melt away, but that's normal. It SHOULD come back, but vallis is tricky so don't get discouraged!
 
To show a pic on here, you have to first upload it to a a photo sharing site, like photobucket. (then copy the "image code" from there and paste onto here)

 

[Garbolino]

I would also check your water stats, just to make sure your filter had seeded ok, I have sand in both of my 53gal tanks with fluval 306 & 406 filters, to clean the sand I have a gravel vac that connects to a pump I use this to clean my sand when I do a water change

 

[NeonTetra97]

Hi everyone
 
Garbolino I have checked my water stats and all seems fine (thank god!) I was worried the filter hadn't colonised with the bacteria from the mature media but at the moment it looks as if it has. I had no idea val was tricky, I always knew it melted but assumed it was a really easy plant to keep, is it a good idea to let it melt of its own accord or just cut off all the nasty looking leaves? Oh and greenmumma I will be getting some more guppies this weekend, hopefully it puts a stop to the violence! 
 
Okay lets see if these pictures work:
 

 

 

 

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thats a nice tank set up, will look good when the plants grow out a little more.
 
Really like your sand substrate, where did you get this and what brand, I am interested in getting some sand substrate like that?
Hope you don't mind my pinching your substrate ideas! 

 
Well done 

 

[NeonTetra97]

Thanks Ch4rlie I am planning to keep a photo log  (if I remember!) so I can see how the plants grow. I bought the sand at Maidenhead Aquatics, it is a brand called 'Sansibar' I must admit I got a shock when I saw the receipt £20 a bag! 

  

Oh, Ch4rlie do you recognise any of the plants in my tank? Im pretty sure its either Jungle Val or Val Spirals and the other is probably Hornwort but i'm not to sure. The rest I know, but those two I have no clue guy at my LFS did not seem too sure! A bit awkward when I asked him the name of the plants and he just stood there and said 'I should know this' 

  lol

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thanks for that info on your sand substrate, at £20 a bag, don't think thats too bad for that kind of look 

 
Your plants, looks like you have twisted/corkscrew Vallisneria, other stem plant could be Hornwort or possible Cabomba, plants on wood are all Java Ferns by the looks of it and moss or marimo balls (basically a ball of spongy algae) give these a squeeze every once in a while and turn them over, they can rot a bit at bottom if left for too long.

 

[NeonTetra97]

Ahh thank you I thought it was Hornwort but was not 100%. I thought £20 was steep but it is good stuff, I gave it a good wash before putting it in the tank and had absolutely zero water clouding from the sand! In your Roma are you using the standart T8 lights by the way? I see the pic in your signature and the plants look awesome!