Tank size upgrade20 h to 55

[Justin83]

i currently have a established 20 gal high with plants, fish and shrimp, thinking of upgrading to a 55 gal .. i know i am going to have to get a bigger filter and and air pump.. as far as the filter goes would a multi stage canister filter be a better choice than a HOB. thinking of a home made florescent like probably to 48" T-8 lights. have enough extra gravel from the bags i have from the 20 gal .. and plants to move over .. but how to get rid of the snails.. darn things are a pain.. pond snails i think there eating everything ive herd that you can soak the plants in a soapy water solution to kill them off will that work and if it will how much soap should i use ..s . and if i use one of the PWC to get the new tank started and some media from the old tank how do i keep the nematodes and the snail from coming over to the new tank

thanks for any advice

 

[jlk]

You will have to disinfect your plants before moving them to get rid of any snails or eggs & this is not even a 100% guarentee. Do not use soap if you want to put these plants in your new tank. You can dip your plants in 5% bleach solution or a potassium permagnate bath then rinse them in dechlorinated water.

In respect to your filter media, there isnt a way to effective remove snails/nematodes without affecting your bacteria. I would just physically remove any snails/eggs/nematodes you see. Or you can skip the media & cycle your new tank from scratch (snail-free). Do some searching on here for other ideas on how to effectively remove snails/nematodes- you may find some other options. Good luck!

 

[jmpgop]

I personally would probably start over That sounds like a pickle of trouble. You can then keep the 20 gallon as a QT tank for the future.

Also - most 55 gallons are long but very narrow. Not a lot of space for a fishy to turn around. So if you plan on getting big fish, choose a different dimension. Even just a 60 gallon will give you 6 more inches.

 

[Justin83]

I don't have a whole lot of room to begin with.. Ha ha that's why I figured a 55 would be good .I was hoping to be able to use everything out of my old tank but I guess I wool have to start over..
Thanks for the advice