Moving To A New Tank

[Bruno]

A friend seen my sons 20 gal tank and offered him a 37 gal. We have not yet finished cycling this tank, though ammonia levels are down and we are seeing nitrate, the nitrite levels are still spiking and we are having to do lots of water changes. So how would we best move over to the 37? Teh filter we have is rated to only 30,and the 37 will include a filter but the media has been dry for a long time so no bacteria on it. I was thinking we would move the gravel over and add more, as well as our ornaments etc, and then maybe run both filters for a while so we don't lose the bacteria we have now until the other filter catches up?

I don't want to keep running the 20 for now but will put it away for later use as a sump, so any suggestions on how to move successfully?

 

[Mikey1]

put the filter media from the old filter into the new filter

 

[the_lock_man]

Agreed, transfer all your existing filter media into the new one, top it up with the new filter's media, and you're effectively carrying on where you left off.

 

[Bruno]

The new filter does not take the same media, which is why I thought I would need to run both for a while

 

[fluttermoth]

If you run two filters in tandem, at the very best, you're going to end up with only half the bacteria you need in each filter; when you remove the 'spare', you'll end up in a minicycle.
 
If the media doesn't fit, just cut it up, or fold it until it does

 

[Bruno]

The current 20 Gal has a biowheel that does not fit in the new filter, and the current filter is rated for 30 Gal, and I have read those can sometimes be overstated so i would not be comfortable running it alone in the 37 Gal.
 
Sadly I found this site after reading on other sites and books on how to cycle a tank properly with fish in it, so now I am committed to fish in as I don't have any friends with tanks that can house them (they have larger fish who would love to snack on our danios). If I run 2 filters in tandem, and continue to have patience before adding additional fish, and keep up my water changes... would I take the 'spare' out once amonia and nitrite are down to zero, then expect some spikes and some more cycling?

If you run two filters in tandem, at the very best, you're going to end up with only half the bacteria you need in each filter; when you remove the 'spare', you'll end up in a minicycle.
 
If the media doesn't fit, just cut it up, or fold it until it does

 
Still thinking... if I cut the filter paper out of the biowheel, I will have media that is not wide enough, but way longer then would fit in the new filter - if I cut it in half length wise I will have 2 that are still too long, but I can then fold them and place them side by side and overlapping in the new filter. They would be submerged though instead of on a wheel like it was, but at least in the tank and all the water moving thru them. Is that going to be as good or perhaps even better then running tandem and then pulling one and mini cycling?
 
Just trying to figure out what is best for the fish as I feel bad enough cycling with them in there as it is

 

[Mikey1]

The new filter does not take the same media

 
who cares?....make it fit
 
cut the foam if you have to and make it fit,
 
as long as water is flowing through the media it doesn't matter if it "fits" properly or not

 

[Bruno]

Ready to start setting this up today, but we decided in the interest of our fish we could put up with the new tank being setup temporarily even though it is not in an ideal spot for us. We will do a fish less cycle on it while the 20 gal finishes its cycle. I was worried that cutting the bio wheel and shoving it in the new filter wouldn't be enough and we would cause even more stress on the fish, and as an added benefit I can try out the fish less cycle as well. Once the 37 is ready we will move fish to a bucket, drain the water in both tanks and move the 37 to its permanent home, fill it up and introduce fish to their new home. I will probably have some questions when we get closer to that point.

Off to do a big water change on the 20 then we will be setting up the 37