Using Old Filter In New Tank?

[sukies*star]

So i've just about finished setting up my 20g (minus plants and fish) and i was hoping for some guidance on moving my established filter from my 5g over.

My 5 gallon has been set up for 4 months. I have had 3 amano shrimp in there for 3 months and 4 endlers in there since Sunday (22/04) (these will eventually be going into the 20g). The tank also has floating water sprite and a moss ball.

I am currently running 2 filters in the 5g: aquaflow 100 and aquaflow 50. The 100 has been in there since the beginning and the 50 has been in there roughly 6 weeks.

I bought the 50 so that i could move the 100 into the 20g to run with the filter that came with the tank (plus i'm hoping to get a betta for the 5g and figured he and the water sprite would prefer the lower current of the 50).

If i put the 100 filter in the 20g tomorrow with some of my water sprite (i haven't ordered any other plants yet but will be in the next couple of days (only easy ones which i can attach to my driftwood)) will i be able to go to my lfs and get 4 shrimp to put in there straight away? And how long should i wait before putting the 4 endlers in? After that is approximately 2 fish every week or two an ok rate to increase the bioload?

Also, will my 5g be ok when i take a filter out?

Thank you

 

[Cazgar]

If your current filter has been handling the bioload in the 5 g you can transfer it & the stock to the new tank with no problem.
Adding a few more shrimp shouldn't cause any problems as they add very little to the bioload.
I wouldn't add any more fish & do regular water tests to check everything's ok, then add any new fish slowly