Maybe Getting A New Tank Help Please Anyone

[omese]

thinking of moving to a 4ft tank and i was wondering if anyone had any advice is it possible to transfer the water from my 3ft tank and fish straight over to new tank? or would it be better to fill tank with new water and cycle it 1st

any info would be great?

 

[kevin82]

thinking of moving to a 4ft tank and i was wondering if anyone had any advice is it possible to transfer the water from my 3ft tank and fish straight over to new tank? or would it be better to fill tank with new water and cycle it 1st

any info would be great?

I've just done exactly that. Are you using the same filter or do you have a new one?

I have an eheim 2213 external filter which I used to pump 3/4 of the water (until the water level fell below the inlet) from my 3ft tank into my 4ft tank. This give 1/3 full so I then filled up with declorinated water which acted like a huge water change.

Because my filter could handle 240L and the tank wasn't anywhere near stocked I just plumbed it onto the new tank and away I went. After 3-4 hours I moved the fish, snails and shrimp over, no problems.

If you have a different filter then you could move you media onto your new filter and that would handle the fish load of your 3ft tank.

Took me around 5 hours, 6 if you include the hour I spend rinsing the new gravel.

 

[omese]

are your fish ok then, id use the same filter then if i was switching

what you all got in your tank?

 

[kevin82]

are your fish ok then, id use the same filter then if i was switching

what you all got in your tank?

Fish are fine. The water was slightly cloud so I left the lights off overnight and all was crystal clear in the morning.

Just a quicky, will your current filter cope with the large tank capacity? I only switch mine as the external filter I had could handle 240L but was only in a 125L tank.

If you were supplied with a filter whenyou bought the tank it wont be up to the job

 

[omese]

was also looking into getting an external filter would u advise it/ how do they work

 

[kevin82]

was also looking into getting an external filter would u advise it/ how do they work

I would definately advise one. The are much more efficient, free up space in your tank and you can change the media to suit your needs.

when buying one, make sure you get it with media included and any extras as I made the mistake of buying the Eheim 2213 without the plus pack (media and taps) buy the time I bought them extra I paid £35 more for buying them seperately.

Are you getting a new or used 4ft tank? If new, then a 4ft should come with an external anyway

 

[Assaye]

As Kevin said, it's rather simple. If you are using the same filter just move it across when you move the fish and move as much water as possible. This means your fish only see it as a large water change and you don't need to cycle the filter again.

If you are using a new filter on the big tank, either run both filters for a few months and then see if the tank can survive by taking out the old one. A better method is to take all the rings, sponges and other media from the old filter and squish it into the new one and then just run that one. This method also means you don't need to cycle the new filter.

After a move just keep an eye on the water stats (ammonia and nitrite) for a week or so.