Moving To A New Tank & Couple Of Questions On Stocking

[*Sonic*]

Basically, I have the following tank, 30"x12"x15" tank, and have just purchased a Juwel Rio 180 to replace it and to rehouse the fish

The fish I currently have in the tank are as follows

Golden Nugget Plec
Common Plec
Silver Shark
2 small Angel Fish
2 small Clown Loaches
2 Neon Tetras
2 Polka Dot Loaches (currently in a different tank)
2 male Guppies

However where the tank is currently situated, I want to put my new tank in the same place

What is the best way of doing this, bearing in mind I want to keep as much of the water as possible, but the size diference means there is going to be quite a large amount of new water, plus the biological filter will be brand new and not 'cycled'

I am thinking of emptying the water into buckets, and temporarily putting the fish in there, (but I dont have enough buckets for all of the water) and also once I have most of the water in the new tank, using the fluval 3 (which has all the bacteria in it already from my current tank) in the new tank to help the new filter start off, along with using some bio start, and also maybe adding the new water gradually over a day or two

In terms of stocking, are the plecs ok together, ive heard the nuggets can be a bit territorial

And would I be better at this point switching to sand as the substrate instead of gravel, would the fish I have be better off with a sand substrate, I know the polka dots prefer sand, but not sure about the other fish

Any help would be appreciated

Steve

 

[Jules H-T]

In addition to putting the current filter into the new tank after the move, I'd run the new filter in the old tank for a week alongside the existing oneto get it seeded too. I'd also leave the fluval in the new tank for longer than a few days- a few weeks maybe.

Getting a good load of bacteria over is the key objective, so in addition to this, if you do go with changing substrate consider chucking a load of the old gravel into a few socks (clean/new!), and leaving them by the intake of the filters in the new tank- the bacteria should migrate into the filters.

Don't worry too much about the water majority of the water changing, there's hardly anything of any use in it anyway. When you put your fish in their new homes though, acclimatise them as if they were new fish (float them in bags for half an hour, adding a bit of new tank water to the bags every 10 mins), because the water characteristics will be different. Your LFS should give you a load of bags for free if they are worth their salt.

 

[*Sonic*]

Thanks for the info

I cant move the new filter into the old tank, as it is fixed, but in my current tank I have an undergravel filter (with powerhead), and a Fluval 2 and a Fluval 3

the idea of the gravel in the socks is a good one, and I will bear that in mind, the biggest problem I have really is a logistical one, in that I want the new tank where the old one is

Bags will be no problem from my LFS, they are pretty good, and delivered my tank free yesterday, when we realised it wouldnt fit in my car

Im still uncertain as to wether I should switch to sand instead of gravel, and wether the fish (cept the polka dot loaches) will prefer the new surface, and also I believe I should 'stir' the sand regulary to avoid the aneroebic pockets

Steve

 

[Jules H-T]

Nice work by your fish store!

Substrate is a matter of personal choice. I've always used gravel, my sister sand. Arguably, sand looks better, but gets very dirty looking very quickly and needs stirring. Some species prefer one over the other, but I don't think it's a deal breaker with any of yours (I'm sure someone with more experience will step in if I'm wrong). I'm sure you could start a huge debate on here, but the difference is largely cosmetic in my view. You decide!

What sort of floor is it on? Carpet? You should still be able to drag the tank out by its stand/table when it's 2/3 empty, maybe with a bit of help from a friend.

 

[emma12321]

Personally I would bag up all the fish and plants, also any ornaments, wood etc to keep them wet and the filters. You don't need to save any water as all the bacteria is in the filter and on the ornaments etc but if you want to save a couple of buckets thats fine. Starve the fish for a couple of days in advance and the water in the bags will keep much cleaner.

If you decide to have sand fill the legs of a clean pair of tights with the gravel and keep it wet. Wash your sand and add it to the new tank, fill up the tank and get the heater and filter going. If the fluval filters are fluval plus like mine i would take the sponges out of the smaller one and put them inside the juwel filter on top of the new sponges, and set the other one up as normal and run it as an additional filter for at least 3 weeks. Add the ornaments and plants to the tank, then when the tank is at the right temp float the fish for an hour gradually mixing the new and old water and tip them in add the tights for a few weeks.

I wouldn't recommend sliding a tank across the carpet with any water in it as this will weaken the seams and it will end up splitting the silicon.

Keep an eye on your water stats and don't add any additional fish until you are sure the tank has gone through any mini cycles that might occur.

I have sand in all my tanks and can confirm that your loaches will love it. The only downside i have found is that poo collects on top and needs hoovering out more regularly.

Emma