Re-Organizing Tank... What Do I Do With My Fish?

[dsiegel13]

In a couple weeks, I am redoing my entire tank setup, gravel, plants, wood, coconut, everything but the fish, filter, and heater. So I wanted to get all this information in advance so that I am prepared when the day of the makeover occurs... only working w/ a one-day window to accomplish this.

I only have this one 10 gallon tank so I don't have the time or convenience of moving the fish to another active tank until the new tank is ready.

Couple of questions:

1. What is the best and least stressful way to capture the fish? Should I lower the water and remove all the plants before attempting capture?

2. What/Where should I do with the fish so that they will survive and not be crazy stressed out from the transition? Was thinking a couple of 5 gallon buckets as holding tanks.

2a. Should I feed the fish before, during, or after the move to the buckets or wait until they are back in the tank?

2b. How long can they stay in the buckets w/o causing too much stress or negative effects?

3. Cycling: since I don't want to start up a new cycle once the tank makeover is over, should I simply use the current tank water when refilling the tank?

3a. Should I add 50% new H2O and 50% of the former water, and just consider this a weekly water change?

3b. To keep the best cycle, should I wait sometime after doing a water change before doing this so that I don't lose my current bacterial balance?

4. When I have the tank empty, what are the do's and don'ts of cleaning the empty tank (do not use soap, do use warm/cold water, etc.)?

Thanks everyone for the help, this is my first tank makeover and I do not want to lose any fish, so all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Tizer]

1. What is the best and least stressful way to capture the fish? Should I lower the water and remove all the plants before attempting capture?

yes, then net them

2. What/Where should I do with the fish so that they will survive and not be crazy stressed out from the transition? Was thinking a couple of 5 gallon buckets as holding tanks.

a bucket, they dont need loads of space to swim, not like they are moving in permanently, cover it with something afterwards to keep it dark, less stressful

2a. Should I feed the fish before, during, or after the move to the buckets or wait until they are back in the tank?

dont feed for the day, same deal when you add new fish

2b. How long can they stay in the buckets w/o causing too much stress or negative effects?

more than enough time for you to f.anny around

3. Cycling: since I don't want to start up a new cycle once the tank makeover is over, should I simply use the current tank water when refilling the tank?

tank water holds no bacteria, your filter does, dump that in the bucket too, dont bother powering it up, just needs to be kept wet.

3a. Should I add 50% new H2O and 50% of the former water, and just consider this a weekly water change?

can do if you have the containers.

3b. To keep the best cycle, should I wait sometime after doing a water change before doing this so that I don't lose my current bacterial balance?

see answer to 3) bacteria is in the filter.

4. When I have the tank empty, what are the do's and don'ts of cleaning the empty tank (do not use soap, do use warm/cold water, etc.)?

clean with a bit of elbow grease. warm water is fine, your gonna rinse it with cold water after anyway. dont use anything but water. some people use vinegar, helps shift limescale, up to you.


When setup, test your water for a few days after just in case.

have fun

 

[coldcazzie]

+1 tizer's given some great advice there. You don't need to keep the water, just whatever the fish are swimming in/what your filter is kept wet in. Throw the rest and replace with new. Put a lid on if possible - last thing you need is a crispy jumper don't feed for the day, or the day before. Lower water level and remove all decor to catch, two nets are better than one and be gentle patient and slow when catching. Clean with plain water and a new, unperfumed kitchen sponge. If you're replacing the substrate don't forget to wash it first!

Good luck, and don't forget the before and after pictures!

ps: daily water changes, slowly reducing down to your normal weekly maintenance is prudent when you do this kind of thing - takes care of any slight mini cycle that may occur, plus helps remove decaying plant matter as the plants adjust to their new positions

 

[dsiegel13]

Thank you both for the info, really appreciate it.

You both said to keep my filter wet during the process, I have a side/top of tank filter, a Marineland Penguin Power 100 w/ bio wheel... which part do I keep wet? The bio wheel or the crud catcher replacement filter that I insert into the back of the unit? Or both? Or just dump the entire unit in the bucket (is that safe?)?

I understand that I will probably need to have a mini-cycle during the re-entry of new water, but is it smart/safe to add 100% new water to the tank?

Thanks again.

 

[Mikaila31]

You need to keep both the cartridge and the bio0wheel wet.

You shouldn't mini-cycle I'm not sure why you expect that. Using 100% new water is fine either way you shouldn't mini cycle unless you do something wrong.

 

[dsiegel13]

you shouldn't mini cycle unless you do something wrong.

This is why I ask, I don't want to do anything wrong, but never having done this before ... well just want to make sure that I have all my ducks in a row.

Thanks for the help - so I should just pop out the bio-wheel and the filter cartridge and plop them in the bucket w/ the fish? Sounds good!

I will post pics when prior and after... wish me luck!

 

[coldcazzie]

Yeah just put the whole filter in the bucket. And yes it's fine to put all fresh water in - there's no bacteria in your water, it's all in the filter you shouldn't have a mini cycle if you keep the bacteria wet, work as fast as you can and don't add any new fish, however, I'm not a bacteria-psychic, and things are always possible, so daily water changes while the tank settles down is a sensible precaution anyway, and test your water if you are worried

 

[dsiegel13]

Really don't add any new fish... that might be a problem. I am driving 1 1/2 hours away to get my supplies and new plants (only place close that has a large selection of plants), and the place that I am going to has Panda Platies, which I have been looking to add to the community for quite some time (and also one of the reasons I am driving so far). Only place remotely close to me that carries them, and to have them shipped in a couple weeks later would be extremely expensive. Was planning on getting 2-3 of them.

Will adding them screw up the cycle that badly that I should just wait until the next time I can get out there (probably not until around holiday time)... or will adding just a couple to the mix be okay.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Any big changes to a tank is well worth doing daily water checks. Just to make sure everything is fine.

No need to do a water change unless it is either cloudy from the new substrate that you don't like the look of, or your ammonia and nitrites rise slightly. If everything is 0 then I wouldn't bother doing a water change.

Adding a couple shouldnt harm, but again keep an eye on water parameters. If they rise do a water change to combat that. Apart from that you will be ok

 

[dsiegel13]

That is great news! Thanks! These platies will complete my tank... for now.

I really appreciate all the help from everyone.

 

[coldcazzie]

Adding a couple should be ok, but I'd definitely be doing water changes in that case, and testing the water daily.

 

[dsiegel13]

Well, just finished the tank redesign and I am quite happy with the end product.

Right now, I am slowly waiting for the water temp to get back up to 78F and the water to flow thru the filter for a couple hours so that it may begin to equalize.

Decided to slim down my list of plants that I am going to plant and I did a complete redo on the layout of the tank.

I started with a red gravel (Seachem Flourite) substrate and then I added Crypts to the foreground, Wisteria to the background, and left my Anubias nana attached to my drift wood. Shifted my drift wood around to that there is more space in between the pieces and cut my coconut cave in half, drilled out some entry/exit holes and placed them up against the glass, so gives the fish a good hiding spot, and the kids can still see them from the outside. Left a lot more foreground space, just planting w/ the crypts that should stay low.

Here are some pics of the finished product.




Here are more pics including pic

From the back


Pic with water, excuse the cloudiness


Can't wait to see how the fish will like it!

 

[dsiegel13]

Can't wait to see how the fish will like it!

I took another pic once the water settled down

 

[coldcazzie]

Looks great! Well done!