Upgrading Tank And Moving Fish

[Twinklecaz]

The time has finally almost come that I will be buying my Fluval Roma 125 which is a considerable upgrade from my current 60L. The new tank will be on the opposite side of the room from my current one (current one will be being shut down, for now at least), all fish are being transferred over and I will also be buying a Tetratec ex 1200 which is again a considerable upgrade from my Fluval U2 internal

Pretty much everything in my tank bar the fish and filter media will be being discarded and all new sand/bogwood/plants are being bought (this is mainly due to a BBA problem that I don't want to transfer to my new tank).

My question is really, what is the easiest way to do this? Do I need to bag all my fish up and climatise them? The PH in my tank is lower than it is freshly out of the tap (due to the bog wood) so I expect there will be a difference between what they're used to and the new water in the new tank. So how should I go about everything is what I'm really asking? I need a dummie's step by step guide

 

[fluttermoth]

Put the hardscape in your new tank, with a minimal amount of water (you'll need a bit in there to stop your new plants drying out etc).

Put all your fish into a bucket, remove all the water from the old tank and put it into the new one and move the filter media from the old filter into your new one as well. Add your fish; as there will be very little new water, you won't need to acclimatise them very slowly; they can more or less go straight in. When I'm moving fish from tank to tank I catch them in an ice cream tub and gradually add some of the new water before letting them swim out.

Then, over a few hours, top up the new tank, just as if you were doing a large water change and, once it's full, switch on the new filter.

I wouldn't feed the fish for a couple of days before the move, and for a couple of days afterwards either. That will minimise any ammonia problems from 'mini-cycles', should that happen.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Thanks.

Should the water in the bucket that the fish are in be tank water? And if I put the filter media in the new filter a few hours before I turn it on it'll dry out won't it?

Lol I think I need more buckets too.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, tank water in the bucket with the fish.

You do want to fill your canister up with water when you add your mature media, but you probably need to do that anyway, or it'll be very hard work to prime it. As long as it's wet, being in a switched off filter for a few hours won't harm your bacteria at all.

All you're basically doing is a large water change, just moving the fish (and filter media) in between the 'emptying' and the 'reflling' steps

 

[Twinklecaz]

LOl ok, thanks. There's so much planning to do now. This is in some ways more exciting than my first tank because I know a lot more than 2 years ago so I have a clearer idea of what to do (and what not to do).