Moving fish from 1 tank to another, what should i do?

[Matman1110]

Hey,
I going to be moving my african cichlids from my old 47 gallon tank to another used tank that i purchased from someone off craigslist. The used tank is about 125 gal. I was just wondering what the correct process would be to safely move the fish without the risk of casualties/death.

For example should i fill the 125 g with some of the water from my old 47 g?

Thanks in advance

 

[kdpuffer]

Make sure the new tank is cycled and safe for fish, get all the rock, decor, plants or whatever else ready. Once its cycled then it's a matter of acclimating the fish. I would use ziplock bags or something similar and float them. Only do a few at a time and then wait at least a few days to a week for your bb to catch up to the load. Then repeat with a few more. once everyone is in there re-aquascape it to remove territories, this may have to be done with each batch of fish moved over to minimize aggression towards the newcomers.

 

[LyndaB]

I presume you have a larger filter to accommodate the larger tank. Hang it on the back of your existing tank, or put the new filter media in beside the existing while you're working on the 125 to get it set up. The water column itself isn't a great source of beneficial bacteria. It doesn't hurt to have the water in addition to the seeded media, but the water itself won't cycle your tank.

Also, with a CL purchase, you're going to want to be certain the tank doesn't leak, so you'll need time to fill it and observe prior to fish transfer.

 

[Matman1110]

I presume you have a larger filter to accommodate the larger tank. Hang it on the back of your existing tank, or put the new filter media in beside the existing while you're working on the 125 to get it set up. The water column itself isn't a great source of beneficial bacteria. It doesn't hurt to have the water in addition to the seeded media, but the water itself won't cycle your tank.

Also, with a CL purchase, you're going to want to be certain the tank doesn't leak, so you'll need time to fill it and observe prior to fish transfer.

Yes the used tank came with a used fluval fx-5. Should i hook this up to my old tank even though its been used with 125g tank?

Would i need to replace all the foam pads/filter media in the fx-5 before i hooked it up to my old tank?

How long should the fx-5 run on my old tank?

 

[LyndaB]

The new filter has not been kept in an established tank, right? Was the filter media dry when you picked it up? If so, then you really need new media.

If it were me, I would've bought all new media anyway, not knowing how someone I don't know keeps their tank.

I suggest leaving the new media alongside the old for a minimum of 2 weeks, but longer is better.

Basically, you have to cycle the tank from scratch. Keep that in mind. Monitor your readings carefully. If you are just keeping the same fish for a while, then the bacteria should be okay. Are you tearing down the existing tank once the move is done? If so, just take that filter and hook up alongside the new one on the new tank for a while til the bacteria has a chance to balance out.

 

[Matman1110]

The new filter has not been kept in an established tank, right? Was the filter media dry when you picked it up? If so, then you really need new media.

If it were me, I would've bought all new media anyway, not knowing how someone I don't know keeps their tank.

I suggest leaving the new media alongside the old for a minimum of 2 weeks, but longer is better.

Basically, you have to cycle the tank from scratch. Keep that in mind. Monitor your readings carefully. If you are just keeping the same fish for a while, then the bacteria should be okay. Are you tearing down the existing tank once the move is done? If so, just take that filter and hook up alongside the new one on the new tank for a while til the bacteria has a chance to balance out.

Technically i havnt puchased the tank/filter yet. But this is going to be a strong probability so i want to know what i should do to cycle the 125 g correctly. The filter that comes with the 125 g has been used and established on the 125 g.

Maybe i should buy a sponge filter to hook up to my old tank so i can transfer it to the 125 g.

 

[LyndaB]

I may be wrong as I've never used a sponge filter but I always thought of them as being used for small tanks like fry tanks.

Does this person have the 125 gallon stocked and running right now?

 

[chagoi]

Once your sure the new tank doesn't leak & it's clean. Fill it get your water parameters (temp,PH,KH & GH) the same. Don't forget the declor. Siphon out the old substrate (clean it in the old water as best you can). Put it in the new tank with your rocks & things. Let it settle a bit. If you want to put some of the old water in. use the old seeded filter at frist. Put all the fish in.
A few months ago. I put 30 Hap/Peacock mix,11 Clown loachs.9 yel labs & 8 cats in a clean 180 gal. I added seeded bio balls & crushed coral to my sump. PS All small fish not that it matters.

 

[chagoi]

Technically i havnt puchased the tank/filter yet. But this is going to be a strong probability so i want to know what i should do to cycle the 125 g correctly. The filter that comes with the 125 g has been used and established on the 125 g.

Maybe i should buy a sponge filter to hook up to my old tank so i can transfer it to the 125 g.

A large hydro sponge filter works great.

 

[chagoi]

A large hydro sponge filter works great.

PS Don't use the filter that comes with it. Who knows whats in it.

 

[Morgie]

Here's what you should do after you cycle the new tank and get the aquascape set up:
Whenever I transfer my fish I get out my 5 gallon buckets (the orange ones from home depot are great and cheap) and fill them up (just enough for the fish to swim around in) with water from the tank the fish are currently in. I net the fish and put them in the buckets. I put an airstone in the buckets just to keep it oxygenated and circulating. The buckets aren't good for the long term, but they're perfect for transferring. Then I drip acclimate directly into those buckets and when it's complete I net the fish and place them in the new tank. Then I take the bucket water and pour it in the new tank to help fill it up. It works great for me and I've never had a casualty when transferring.

Good luck with the move!

 

[Matman1110]

PS Don't use the filter that comes with it. Who knows whats in it.

What if i cleaned the filter out, and replaced all the foam pads and filter media? Its a really nice filter and would like it to be my primary filter for the 125 g.