New To The Hobby

[Binge]

So about 4 weeks ago I set up My first tank since I was a small boy. I set it Up because I saw two Electric Blue Lobsters and fell in love with them. They are the main focus of my aquarium It is a 29 galloon aquarium with a penguin filter. Since setting it up we have lost 7 feeder fish some to lobster attacks but others From what I have discovered was Amonnia poisoning. The current contents of My aquarium are 2 blue lobsters, 3 mystery snails, 4-5 ghost shrimp, 3 Tetras, 4 guppies, 2 mollys, 2 feeder comets(last of the mohicans) and one Pleco. It sounds crowded but everyone is getting along well now. and since I have started keeping Stalks from bundled Akkaris? In the tank for the lobsters they have stopped Hunting fish!

I have had some pretty scary mishaps since setting it up when one of the gold fish got white funk all over him from lobster wounds I was told it was ick Within minuetes of adding the meds my snails folded up and dropped off the glass so I jump online and find out them and my lobsters are in danger so I shoved the carbon filter back in to clear out the meds and everyone lived except the sick fish as it was fungal not ick..... My snails no longer extend out the long pretty feelers they nce had as I think the ick meds burned them but they are alive 2 weeks later and being all active again. Then I had the amonia issues that depleated the feeder comets down to 2. ( I baught them to learn with and test the lobsters but did not wish to poison any of them.) Now via water changes I think I have everything under control.

My main question for the forum involves Moving my babys. I have Purchased a 55 gallon used set up I am going to clean with the baking soda paste deal and I am going to steralize the gravel and decor prior to set up. Then kick start it with some of my current tanks water and try to give the tank a month of cycleing before any transfers.
However I am a newb and I dont want to screw up The transfer. so any Advice or Directions in how to do this right would be appreciated. I understand floating them for temperature ect. But should I start with a couple fish first to let more bacteria build before adding my pleco snails and shrimp? When should I put in My lobsters? Are there any other techniques I should use to clean the tank and filter ect.

Also once they are all safely Transfered for a month or so I Intend to add one more lobster And a few more fish I was told 1 gallon of water to inch of fish life Is a good ratio, Is this correct?

Sorry to hit you guys with a wall of babble but I have gotten a lot of wrong Info. Reading here and a few other places I have found that I now have 3 useless chemical bottles that The pet store told me to buy that I should not havee ammo lock, ick cure, ect. I will stop there for now but I have a couple other questions too Ill type em later in the thread lol.

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

I dont know much about transfering them, but I do know that adding water from your old tank will not speed up your cycling process! The bacteria you want is in the filter/gravel etc, NOT in the water. Can you put some of your old filter media into the new tank? This will help speed it up. Then I recommend you read the 'fishless cycling' guide that you can find on the forum and follow that before adding anything to it.

Heres the fishless cycling link http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

 

[Binge]

My filter has a Bio wheel. The new filter looks like it uses ceramic. Should I buy some ceramic and stick it in the bottom of my current filter to absorb some bacteria?

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

I'm not familiar with either of those types of filter.. but yeah that should give your cycle a good kick start!

 

[Binge]

Would jumping one of my activated carbon filters into the water pool of the new filter transfer the bacteria I need? I read the post on cycleing And will try to follow those steps but I figure If I can use my current tank to kick start it it would be better.

 

[waterdrop]

Biomedia (once it's been cycled and is functional) is matched to it's bioload (fish.) You can move them together. In other words, if you are simply upgrading to a larger tank and moving all your existing fish, you can move their cycled filter with them and you shouldn't have any problem. Any time you make a move you must test your water chemistry (using a good liquid-reagent based test kit, not paper strips) for ammonia(NH3) and nitrite(NO2) about twice a day for a week or two to make sure the change of the situation (loss of previous gravel for instance, which might have held a small proportion of the total bacterial colony size) has not taken your biomedia/bioload out of balance with each other. During this period you can have your new filter running but you should not "seed" it yet. Once about a month has gone by and you are satisfied the water chemistry is totally stable from the move, you should then divide and move about 1/3 of the biomedia in your old filter into the new filter, putting it just prior to the new biomedia in the internal water path (this may take some creativity and you don't want to crush sponges if that's the type of biomedia.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Binge]

I think most of my Bio media is in the Bio wheel on my penguin filter ( I may be wrong still new). The new filter looks too have two baskets full of ceramic hanging in it instead of a bio wheel. So I am not sure how to transfer the media.

 

[OldMan47]

If you can move the wheel, you will move the biological filter with it. If you cannot figure an easy way to use that biological filter in the new filter, your best bet is to run the two filters side by side. That way the new filter can begin to take in the right bacteria from your existing filter. Unfortunately, I have had some extremely variable results with this method. In some cases the new filter was ready to go in about 4 weeks while in other cases it was still not ready after 6 weeks.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with OM47, you have to be extremely cautious about taking away an old filter and assuming the new one is now up to the task when you've been running them side by side after a fish and filter move to a tank with a new filter. Other members in addition to OM47 have repeatedly reported these widely varying results. Side by side old-filter-new-filter cycling is more or less like fishless cycling the new filter but with very low dose ammonia and without the benefit of higher heat and possibly without higher pH benefit.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Binge]

One of my LFS uses the little plastic spikey ball things to hold bacteria for all thier tanks. I may be able to buy a few of those from them, I know it wont be the same bacteria as my current aquarium. Would it be a good way to help get the ball rolling though ?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, doesn't matter what media the bacteria are on. Doesn't matter whether the tank was cold water goldfish or tropical fish. As long as it is filter material of any sort from any kind of freshwater tank there is a good chance it will seed more living bacteria to your cycle faster than the few bacteria that come in via tap water (or that migrate from the other filter in your case.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Binge]

Yes, doesn't matter what media the bacteria are on. Doesn't matter whether the tank was cold water goldfish or tropical fish. As long as it is filter material of any sort from any kind of freshwater tank there is a good chance it will seed more living bacteria to your cycle faster than the few bacteria that come in via tap water (or that migrate from the other filter in your case.)

~~waterdrop~~

Cool I will ask them about that this weekend they have a couple hundered of em they bounce around thier tanks from what I have seen.
I have the tank full and should know by sunday morning if there are any leaks then. I will scrub it with baking soda. and start setting it up.

I read somewhere that kids playsand is a good choice since it is usually sterile and is a little heavier. Is that a viable statement.

 

[Skins]

Yes, doesn't matter what media the bacteria are on. Doesn't matter whether the tank was cold water goldfish or tropical fish. As long as it is filter material of any sort from any kind of freshwater tank there is a good chance it will seed more living bacteria to your cycle faster than the few bacteria that come in via tap water (or that migrate from the other filter in your case.)

~~waterdrop~~

Cool I will ask them about that this weekend they have a couple hundered of em they bounce around thier tanks from what I have seen.
I have the tank full and should know by sunday morning if there are any leaks then. I will scrub it with baking soda. and start setting it up.

I read somewhere that kids playsand is a good choice since it is usually sterile and is a little heavier. Is that a viable statement.

I don't use sand myself but i have read quite a few threads where other members recommend Argos playsand.

Keith.