Tank Upgrade

[naruss]

HI, i have a quick question about cycling. I recently bought a 40 breeder to upgrade my 20 gallon community aquarium and im not sure what my best option is to switch the fish but more importantly the cycle over the the new tank. would i be OK if i just put the filter from the 20 with the sub straight in the new tank? or should i cycle the new sub straight and filter before moving them? I currently have 6 green corrys, 6 serpe tetras, and 3 platty fish in the tank. the ph as of yesterday was at aprox. 7, and my nitrite and nitrate were undetectable by the strip (I 50% water changed on Friday and Tuesday usually)

 

[Essjay]

Unless you intend also keeping the 20 gallon running, you can just move over the fish, filter, decor etc into the 40 gallon all at the same time. But keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels for a few days just in case you have a mini cycle which, if it does happen, will be over quickly. Water changes are all that's needed in this case.

 

[seangee]

When I did this I used new substrate for the new tank and filled it with fresh water. This is also a good time to plant any new plants. I then turned everything on and let it run for a couple of days to make sure there were no leaks and to get the temperature right. Then I just moved the filter form the old tank to the new and moved my fish startight across.

 

[naruss]

Thank you for the help, im not going to keep the 20 running. im going to keep it as a hospital/quarentine for the future. I researched a little bit but i always appreciate an actual live person to ask.

 

[seangee]

I usually keep a cheap sponge filter running all the time in my community tank in addition to the normal filter. That way if I need a hospital/quarantine I always have a cycled filter ready. You could also just put the spare sponges loose in the filter of the community tank for the same reason.

 

[Back in the fold]

The advice given here is spot on.