Tank Still Cycling,moving To A Bigger Tank?

[maisy12345]

Hi ,i`ve got a 28l,and still going through a fish in cycle [through being given wrong advice]after two months,have got following fish ,
4 glowlight tetra,
1 albino cory,
2 bronze corries,
2 pitbull pleco,
3 armano shrimp ,
only feeding every other day, but still ammonias` fluctuating between 0 -0.50 ,have gone up somedays to doing 12 hourly 60 percent water changes. Now i`m getting a 3 ft tank within the next week but what do i do with the filter as do i need to cycle the filter in this tank before i move the media to the bigger filter?
And how do i do it ,any tips ,please ,as any advice appreciated.
I thought as the fish were small they`d be alright until i got other tank ,but although they seem fine,i want to get them into the bigger one asap.Also any tips on how to move them ,do i just fill new tank up ,put media in new filter and put all fish in?

 

[maisy12345]

Anyone?

 

[Tizer]

Do i just fill new tank up ,put media in new filter and put all fish in?

yeah, pretty much. wait till its up to temperature and you can carry on your fish in cycle in the bigger tank.

Does a new filter come with the new tank? If nto then its just business as usual but obviously your going to be changing a larger volume of water.

If it were me, i would carry on cycling them in the smaller tank until the filter is done. Less volume of water means happy days.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks for your reply ,but will it ever cycle with the amount of fish i have in it?

And will my filter be big enough for a 106l,if not how do i transfer the sponges[media]?

 

[waterdrop]

I think maisy has the right idea: fish-in cycling should present less stress to the fish in a larger volume of water.

By preparing the new larger tank with its new filter, then seeding that new filter with all the media from the old small filter (if possible) and moving the fish to the new larger tank, the excess concentrations of ammonia and nitrite(NO2) experienced by the fish will be smaller as the fish-in cycle proceeds. The larger volume of water will dilute the toxic spikes, giving you more time to react with a water change.

The stress of ammonia and nitrite(NO2) is of greater concern than the stress of a move to a new tank. Be prepared though to change water in the period shortly after the move as the move itself may shock the bacteria into inaction for a short period. The bacteria though will come back and hopefully their progress will seem to go faster in their new situation.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[webbie]

Maisy,have you heard of a product called Seachem Stability,I used this when I moved my fish from my fluval edge up to a bigger tank worked a treat certainly reccomend it

 

[Tizer]

Oh yeah, #32### i didnt realise it was that small

 

[maisy12345]

Hi Webbie ,does this product Seachem Stability help to cycle a tank quicker?
Also does anyone know if i have to buy a new filter do i just transfer the sponges,after washing them in tank water,also will my current filter be powerful enough for a 3ft tank it`s Aqua one 101f?

 

[webbie]

Maisy,have a look on the Seachem web site see what you think,all I can say is I have set up two tanks since christmas both using stability ,the last one started afresh except for a bit of the old media from the first filter,water parameters were all down to zero within a week,one thing their info does not tell you there have to be fish in the tank or it wont work,as you have already got fish shouldnt be a problem,let me know what you think

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks Webbie i will

 

[maisy12345]

does anyone know if i have to buy a new filter do i just transfer the sponges,after washing them in tank water,also will my current filter be powerful enough for a 3ft tank it`s Aqua one 101f?

 

[maisy12345]

Anyone please?

 

[Tizer]

maisy its really hard for people who havnt been following your threads to know what filter you currently have, so answering your question is going to be hard.

google the make and model of your filter if you dont know what its capable of doing and find out. If its not capable then yes, ideally you would need a new one.

if you buy a new one and it is similar to the old one, then yes, you could move over the filter media and carry on as you are.

and yes there is always a chance , even if its not similar, that you can use your current media to help seed it.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks Tizer, is media another word for sponge,if so do i just change sponges over ,and if it`s a bigger filter what do i do then ,just add the sponge as well as the new one ,sorry to sound thick ,but i`m a total novice?

 

[coldcazzie]

Thanks Tizer, is media another word for sponge,if so do i just change sponges over ,and if it`s a bigger filter what do i do then ,just add the sponge as well as the new one ,sorry to sound thick ,but i`m a total novice?

Yes Maisy - media is the general term for whatever you have inside your filter that the bacteria grow on (sponge, floss, ceramic rings, whatever).

From a quick google, it does not seem like the filter you have would be suitable for the new tank (if it's the 106L you were considering): the blurb suggests your filter is only suitable for tanks up to around 40L.

However... if you don't want to spend too much money at once, then you could keep that filter until your fish-in cycle is complete, and then buy a new bigger filter later. Then you simply move the sponge from your old filter to your new filter and carry on as usual. Because the bacteria will transfer to the new filter it will still be able to deal with the same number of fish.

Until you did that you would have to keep stocking as it is at the moment - no new fish until you have a new filter.

Alternatively, you could get a new filter now, transfer the sponge and carry on your fish in cycle. It wouldn't affect your fish in cycle. But I'd still recommend no new fish until your cycle is complete - it will only take longer.

Hope that helps a little