Transfer To New Tank

[This Younger Spouse]

A little worried about the stocking level now though, until i have get the new tank i will really keep on top of maintenance.

If you test your water every day and keep on top of any necessary water changes, you could do OK. It may be your recent fish deaths, though small in number, were from the cumulative effects/stress of overloading the tank.

Another option is to rehome several of the fish before you get the new tank cycled.

 

[Iainang]

Was looking at maybe a 200 litre tank, keep current stock, and add a load more.

Would the water changes be the same? Weekly, about 30%? Or would more be required due to the bigger tank, more fish etc?

 

[fluttermoth]

Water changes are one of those things you get a 'feel' for over time. There's no need to up the percentage of changes just because you have a larger tank; it really depends on the bioload.

So, to start with, when your current fish go into the 200l, you'll be needing to do only quite small changes (once your filter is cycled and all that) as the tank will be so lightly stocked. As you increase the stocking you'll need to increase either the frequency or the size of the changes (some people prefer to do more, smaller changes; I do larger changes, less often; you have to do what suits you).

The best thing to do is look at your test results; especially nitrate. If your nitrate is going up by only 20 or 30ppm a week, you'll probably only need to do 20 or 25% changes; if your tank is so heavily stocked that the nitrate is climbing by 60 or 80ppm between changes, then you'll need to do more.