Upgrading My Tank.

[Ny82]

Hi I currently have a 40 litre tank and have just bought a 60 litre one for a bargain price It would have been rude not to
Anyway my questions are (since I made a booboo cycling my first tank)
How do I go about it-can my old filter go into the tank with the new filter? I think my filter can only do upto 50 litres. Do I put the sponges from the old filter into the new filter? Would that be better? I have 3 male and 3 female guppies and my water stats are spot on at the moment and I don't want to mess it up moving to the bigger tank.
Also I have lots of plants and moss in my current tank - will they be ok I mean I have to uproot them and replant them and actually-i'm very nervous about the whole thing. It's quite daunting
Any help will be very much appreciated
Thanks

 

[coldcazzie]

hi ny82, both the methods you describe will work: either you can put the media from your old filter into your new filter (this would be better if you only plan to have the one tank running) or you can run both filters in the new tank together for at least two months (this would be better if you plan to have both tanks running). You can move your plants over no problems, use the opportunity to trim off any degraded leaves etc, and trim the roots to 1-2 inches long before replanting - this will make it easier and promote growth. I would suggest twice weekly water changes for the first couple of months instead of just weekly - this will help the tank to stabilize and help keep on top of algae resulting from trace ammonia. Obviously test your water daily for at least a week after upgrading in case you get any fluctuating levels. Once your changover has gone smoothly I'd recommend upping your female guppies - a larger ration of females to males helps prevent bullying and harassment of the females by the males

 

[Ny82]

hi ny82, both the methods you describe will work: either you can put the media from your old filter into your new filter (this would be better if you only plan to have the one tank running) or you can run both filters in the new tank together for at least two months (this would be better if you plan to have both tanks running). You can move your plants over no problems, use the opportunity to trim off any degraded leaves etc, and trim the roots to 1-2 inches long before replanting - this will make it easier and promote growth. I would suggest twice weekly water changes for the first couple of months instead of just weekly - this will help the tank to stabilize and help keep on top of algae resulting from trace ammonia. Obviously test your water daily for at least a week after upgrading in case you get any fluctuating levels. Once your changover has gone smoothly I'd recommend upping your female guppies - a larger ration of females to males helps prevent bullying and harassment of the females by the males

Thanks for the reply. My new tank which I got from amazon should be delivered by about the 6th of January give or take due to the holiday season.
My friend is having my old tank she needs one asap due to hers having a slow leak. I will take the sponges out my old filter and put it into my new filter.
The plants seem to grow superfast I trim them every week! Take the trimmings and bunch them together. The red cabomba seems to have lost it's colour and flowers since I went tropical-it was fine when I didn't have the heater in the tank even though it was sold as a tropical plant.
I am a bit concerned about the males in the tank at the moment. The biggest one is about an inch and a half long he is the top dog. He seems to chase the other males around but if a female comes near him-he puts his fins up and stops dead then retreats to the cave The females seem to chase the boys around a bit so maybe they are young? the females stick together and the males stick together it's like a divide and I don't know why.

 

[coldcazzie]

Yes, cabomba is a cold water plant not a tropical plant so will not do well in heated water.

And yes, if you put your old media in your new filter, then your friend can put her old media in the filter you give her - hopefully no mini-cycle for either of you...