Nukes25 Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hey guys, my bday came early for me ( found an awesome deal on kijiji yesterday, pounced right on it) I picked up the new digs today, 72"x19"x20", 118g, now I just need to pick up the lighting, and come up with a lid ( the guy I bought it from will whip me up one, just need to give him dimensions to accomodate the filtration hoses) now just comes the hard part, this tank is going right where my current one is.. so I was thinking of cleaning out a few rubbermaids, fill those with tank water (and out of the way, I should have enough to save 59 gallons) then move old tank, and set up new one, fill with all the old water, and finish off with new water. My concern is with all my livestock.. do I place them across a few of the rubbermaids, or bag them until the new tank is up, or just add them to the gf's 44 while I get the new one running, and just add all the filters on the 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quetzalcoatl Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 IMHO, Finding a new place to set up your new tank properly and give time to bacteria colonies, chemicals, and temperatures to settle would be the best. I don't know what kind of fish do you have, but many don't handle very well the stress and quick chemical/temperature changes. If you have no other option, I think that large dark rubber maids with heaters, plenty of air, lids and the water from the same tank the fish are coming off would do for a few hours, but this is a risky operation. Just think about this....Are my fish expendable? are they sturdy or fragile? then choose your path Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykit Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 rubbermaids will work perfect. No need to bag the fish. If you have any plants or ornaments in the tank put them into the rubber maids and that will make the fish feel more at home. Also if they are going to be in the rubermaids for a while add an airstone/powerhead/HOB filter to circulate the water and keep the O2 levels up. If your thinking that this could be an overnight or 2 day task then you might want to add a heater as well. Bascially a rubbermaid container is just a non see though tank. If you are going to save 59g of water from your already establish tank you'll have more than enough bacteria to keep up with your current bioload. Just make sure not to add too much bioload on your new larger tank at one time. The bacteria will multiply as you bioload increases. Also another good suggestion is that most people will want to clean their filter prior to putting them on their new tank, I would recommend leaving them nice and dirty because that's were all your bacteria are living right now. Let them re-establish in your larger tank and then in a couple weeks clean your filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 rubbermaids will work perfect. No need to bag the fish. If you have any plants or ornaments in the tank put them into the rubber maids and that will make the fish feel more at home. Also if they are going to be in the rubermaids for a while add an airstone/powerhead/HOB filter to circulate the water and keep the O2 levels up. If your thinking that this could be an overnight or 2 day task then you might want to add a heater as well. Bascially a rubbermaid container is just a non see though tank. If you are going to save 59g of water from your already establish tank you'll have more than enough bacteria to keep up with your current bioload. Just make sure not to add too much bioload on your new larger tank at one time. The bacteria will multiply as you bioload increases. Also another good suggestion is that most people will want to clean their filter prior to putting them on their new tank, I would recommend leaving them nice and dirty because that's were all your bacteria are living right now. Let them re-establish in your larger tank and then in a couple weeks clean your filters. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 If you move your current filters over to your new tank and all of the sand/gravel, then your new tank will have pretty much the same biocapacity as the old tank. You don't need to keep all the old water, unless you alter it significantly from tap water, or almost never do WCs. I can't even count how many times I've started a tank w 100% fresh water without consequence - aside from the odd spawning triggered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukes25 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 my main goal of keeping as much original water as possible is for the temp factor, I try and refill as close to temp when I do water changes, but this will be a big one. I'm placing it where the current one is as thats the only place it has room to fit. I'm switching over both my filters on to it, wont be cleaning them out, just will add some carbon to one of the filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 If you move your current filters over to your new tank and all of the sand/gravel, then your new tank will have pretty much the same biocapacity as the old tank. You don't need to keep all the old water, unless you alter it significantly from tap water, or almost never do WCs. I can't even count how many times I've started a tank w 100% fresh water without consequence - aside from the odd spawning triggered. Preach! I agree with J, thats all i have ever done. I keep stability on hand just in case.(Not sure it would really help) I just moved my tanks and let my fx5 sit unplugged for 6 HOURS! I figured total bacteria death. Turns out they never died or if they did they came back so fast it didnt matter. water tested 0 amm from day one after the move. I did keep 2 sponge filters alive and working the whole time as well. But 2 sponge filters are not gonna handle the aros and dats wasteby themselves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Yep, just think of it as a 50% WC since you're saving 59ish gallons of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Yep, just think of it as a 50% WC since you're saving 59ish gallons of water. lol yes i agree 100% i find it much easier to set up a whole new bigger tank and transfer fish than it is to do a normal water change lol my girlfriend and mother hate it.....but i just try to explain it is the same as a 50% water change lolz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanceb Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 ive moved several times with my fish around 5 i think and everytime i use the rubbermaids and have never lost a single fish. I move a 120G a 90G and a 55G.. i usually save as much tank water as i can into the rubbermaids and then add the fish with an airstone and a heater. The last time i used them was when i swapped out my gravel to arragonite and the fish were in the tubs for almost 10 hours till the cloud settled and they were good! i would say its the safest and least stressful option for your fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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