Moving Fish

[Incisions072185]

I'm moving in a few months. I have a 75 gal that I'm going to be upgrading to from a 40 gal. My question is what's the easiest and quickest way to move my fish so I don't have to wait a few months for the tank to cycle?

 

[Pandicorn]

I'm moving in a few months. I have a 75 gal that I'm going to be upgrading to from a 40 gal. My question is what's the easiest and quickest way to move my fish so I don't have to wait a few months for the tank to cycle?

I'm not too sure what the question here is, but you should definitely fishLESS cycle. It is much faster and safer, I'm about 7 days in and almost done! I have a thread on this if you care, but feel free to ask me directly of you need. Also, what fish and filter do you have?


Cycling 45 Gallon. ???

 

[Incisions072185]

Right now all I have is the 75gal tank, still need to purchase filters etc. I can't set the tank up til I move of course and as of now I live with my sister. I'd rather not leave her with the responsibility of caring for my fish while it cycles. So I was wondering if there was a faster way of cycling it, for example take some of the water in my current tank and put it in the new one, or buy a filter now and stick it in my current tank so it can start creating the bb it needs. Right now I have a bunch of cories, some tetras, some rasboras and a gourami

 

[Pandicorn]

Right now all I have is the 75gal tank, still need to purchase filters etc. I can't set the tank up til I move of course and as of now I live with my sister. I'd rather not leave her with the responsibility of caring for my fish while it cycles. So I was wondering if there was a faster way of cycling it, for example take some of the water in my current tank and put it in the new one, or buy a filter now and stick it in my current tank so it can start creating the bb it needs. Right now I have a bunch of cories, some tetras, some rasboras and a gourami

I'm not sure if this would work, but you could try running the filter in a bucket with old tank water. Dose it with ammonia and such, and when moving, keep the filter wet. That should give you a jumpstart with your cycle, just and idea though.


Cycling 45 Gallon. ???

 

[Incisions072185]

Ok thank you, if it comes to it I'll just have to do a full cycle and keep coming back to her house to feed and maintain the current tank til it's done

 

[Andy Sager]

Moving as much of the original established tank into the new tank is the same as having an established tank from the start.

What I would do is set up the new tank with water to make sure it does not leak. Once this is done and the tank is fine overnight, I'd move all the gravel, as much of the water, and the filter materials ( kept wet during transport) and put them all into the new tank ( removing as much water from the new tank as necessary to allow for displacement prior to adding these old things). This way, if your 40 gal tank was established, your 75 will be the same. Keep in mind tho, just because you have a larger tank and it's established, does not mean you can fill it up with a lot of fish immediately. Keep tabs on the ammonia level until the tank gets a little more matured and the BB get a chance to reestablish themselves. This should be done daily for the first few weeks.

When moving fish and tanks, they need to be the last thing you do before moving out of the old place and the first thing you do when you get to the new place.

One last hint: since the water volume will almost double, make sure you re-acclimate your fish back into this tank. It will be as if you are doing a 50% water change so you don't want to shock the fish.

Hope this helps

 

[Incisions072185]

Update from when I started this topic. Moving day is Saturday, since the last time I was on this topic I have added a canister filter to my current tank and has been running for a month now with no problems. I will not be using my gravel as I am switching to sand, so my plan for the move will be to set up the new tank with most of my current water and canister, then add the rest of the water and old decorations. I'm also adding a brand new ac 110. Will this work for immediate addition of my current stock or will I need to wait for a full cycle?


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[Andy Sager]

Update from when I started this topic. Moving day is Saturday, since the last time I was on this topic I have added a canister filter to my current tank and has been running for a month now with no problems. I will not be using my gravel as I am switching to sand, so my plan for the move will be to set up the new tank with most of my current water and canister, then add the rest of the water and old decorations. I'm also adding a brand new ac 110. Will this work for immediate addition of my current stock or will I need to wait for a full cycle?


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Unfortunately, the only way to really know is if you add your fish and there is an ammonia rise. This will all depend on how much bacterial life is on your decorations and new canister filter and how they fare with the move. If you stir up your gravel and add some of that "yucky" water to the new tank, there are some of your bacteria in that and that will help establish the tank. Your other option is to do a recycling of the system ( I doubt that's necessary ) if you are uncertain.
What I would do, is keep a bottle of Seachem's PRIME handy and if you see any rise in ammonia, use the PRIME to detoxify it until your bacteria bed catches up with the bioload. Keep in mind that this is only necessary if your PH is over 7.0. Under 7.0 ( more safely closer to 6.0) ammonia is naturally converted to ammonium which is not toxic to the fish. If this is your situation, you just need to monitor for nitrites and react to them ( Dilution through water changes is best) until the BB catch up to the whole process.

Hope this helps

 

[Orlon11]

If you have an established filter that is used to handling the bioload of your existing fish, there should be no problem. The filter contains most of the beneficial bacteria.

Just make sure the media stays wet during the move. Keep a close eye on your water quality and don't add any new fish until it is steady.

I set up a ten gallon a few weeks ago, and all I did was move an extra filter from my main tank to the new one. I put the fish in the next day, and everything has been fine.

 

[Incisions072185]

Would adding the api quick start solution be of any help to the new tank? Or would it be pointless since the filter has been running for so long.


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[Orlon11]

I think there would be no point. All the bacteria you need are in the filter.