More tank transfer questions >>>

[Corey]

I just bought a 45 gallon setup. I am going to be moving the fish from my 20 gallon high up at school to the 45 at home, which is already filled with water, filter running etc., but will obviously not be cycled with bacteria, since there are no fish in it. School is about an hour and 15 minutes from home.
I am planning on using a cooler or two to transport the fish, along with as much tank water as possible, as well as the gravel and decorations so as to keep as much of the beneficial bacteria alive as possible.
But I had a few questions:

1) How crowded can the fish be? I have 18 fish in the 20 high, appropriately sized (some small, some medium sized). Would they be alright in, say, a 10 gallon cooler for an hour? Or should I split them up more?

2) Once I get home and am ready to transfer everything to the new tank, what process should I use? Ie., how do I fill the new tank with my old water if the fish are swimming in it in the cooler?

3) Do the fish need light when they are being transferred, or will a closed, dark cooler be okay?

4) This is purely an equipment question - will a 45 gallon tank have sufficient aeration if I'm running a HOB filter (whisper 60 - two cascades) along with a small powerhead (meant to be suitable for a 20 gallon, can't remember how much it flows)? Or do I need to upgrade to a bigger powerhead?

Any input is appreciated,
Thanks!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Don't worry about transfer the water. Only use the water that is in the fish bags and enough to keep the gravel and filter media wet. Water does not hold bacteria so it would be of no use to save it.

I would get fish bags and put maybe 3 or 4 per bag. Then put them in the cooler. That way the water does not slosh all over the place.

When you get to the new tank, float the bag and acclimate just like you would when you return from the lfs. While they are acclimating put the old filter and decor in the tank.

The darker the better. The constant light and moving objects will stress them out.

I would upgrade to a single filter and run both the new and old filters at the same time for a few weeks.

HTH

 

[TomK2]

Take your at school filter home with you, and keep the colonized biomedia moist. Then put it on you home tank right away when you get home. If there is no significant die-off, the new larger tank will be cycled! Then run the away filter and the new at home filter simultaneously for several weeks before withdrawing the school filter. Surface agitation from an HOB and a powerhead will be enough to provide oxygenation. No need to upgrade powerheads unless you want higher flow for some other reason.

Keep the fish in the dark during transfer. Acclimate like if a new fish from the LFS. I like the idea of fish in bags inside a cooler for transport.

 

[Corey]

Thanks a lot for the input!

FishyFanatic - The 45 gallon tank actually does have one large filter, a Whisper 60. By two cascades I meant that there is two areas where water cascades out of the filter, aka more surface agitation. Sorry if that was confusing.
Also, I was planning on using as much old aquarium water as possible so that the tank parameters would be similar, but if I'm going to re-acclimate them anyway, I suppose it doesn't really need to be?

TomK2 - great suggestions, I am planning on running both filters at home for a while.

As far as the fish bags go, my only concern is whether or not they would have enough oxygen to be in them for an hour or two, as unlike an LFS, I have no way of injecting O2 into the bags.
Also, why bags? Would tupperware containers (or something similar) work as well? They'd be easier for me, as that's usually what I acclimate my fish in anyway.
How would I acclimate several bags of fish at once? Just buy several acclimation hoses?

Any more input is apprecated, this is really good info!
Thanks.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Thanks for clarifying. There are filters by the name of Cascade, that's why it confused me. If you acclimate the fish into the new tank properly, the water parameters do not have to be the same.

They will have enough oxygen for the hour or two trip home. When we purchase fish from the lfs sometimes we travel up to 3 hours to get there. Something that you could do if you are uneasy about the trip, purchase bowl buddies (or something similar). Basicaly it's a tablet that you put in the bag and it slowly releases O2 into the water.

What do you mean by acclimation hoses? Do you do the drip method?

 

[DeFeKt]

Also, why bags? Would tupperware containers (or something similar) work as well? They'd be easier for me, as that's usually what I acclimate my fish in anyway.
How would I acclimate several bags of fish at once? Just buy several acclimation hoses?

containers will be fine.
I use an esky and quite often travel over an hour with fish in it.

 

[krap101]

i think a downside of tubberware is it is rigid, so when you go over a bump, the fish will feel it more.

 

[Corey]

Thanks guys, I think I will go with bags in a cooler. Sounds pretty safe.

What do you mean by acclimation hoses? Do you do the drip method?

Yes, I use acclimation hoses (drip method), and its worked great for me. I'll just purchase a few more so I can acclimate everyone at once.