How soon to upgrade to a larger tank?

[jimsz]

To make it short, we purchased a 10gal beginner set-up at the advise of a pet store clerk (mistake #1). We set it up as instructed and began adding fish that same week (mistake #2).

for the last 6 weeks or so we are beginning to slowly understand some of the steps we need to take. Though we have fish and the tank does not seem to be totally cycled yet (since the clerk never told us about that). We do daily tests for ammonia and every couple days for everything else (PH, highPH, nitrites, nitrates). To keep the ammonia as low as we can (0 - .25) we do partial water changes everyday and the water added it treated with seachem and allowed to sit for a full day to get rid of chlorine. Testing with the API liquid kit recommended by many here.

Almost immediately we decided a 10 gal tank was too small but since we had fish we were stuck. Space is limited but we could probably fit a 25 - 39 gallon tank where we have the 10 gal. We'd have to transfer directly fro 1 tank to the next and not have room to let the larger tank cycle on it's own.

1. how long should I tell the 10 year we have to wait before doing this?

2. my thought was to wait another month at a minimum for the tank to stabilize and we can plan correctly.

3. we would transfer over the filter media, gravel, plants (plastic) to carryover as much bacteria as possible once it is growing as it should be in the 10 gal.

4. transfer over the fish (6 or 7) without adding any for awhile and then once again add them in small numbers slowly.

 

[gauriemma]

Wow sorry to hear that. Well your on the right track as far as using all the material in the tank for the bacteria. 1st i would research and find a GOOD local fish store. Sometimes you can get some seeded media to help with cycle. Most cycles can take 4-6 weeks sometimes more. Its kinda the tough part. You are doing good with the water changes, you really need to keep ammonia at close to 0 as possible, nitrites you want at 0 also, your ph is varied as we need to know what kind of fish you have, some fish need low ph some need high. Like my cichlids like it at 8.0. You wont need to check for high ph on your test kit unless you have high ph fish. Your main concern is the ammonia,nitrites,nitrates, and ,ph. Your ammonia will be high and then your nitrites will follow spiking high. These you really need to keep down by water changes. They have beneficial bacteria you can buy that is supposed to help speed up the cycle but from my experience it doesn't help much. My cycle took 6 weeks and im very meticulous about everything. Good luck. Post what kind of fish you have.

 

[steez]

Great job getting a test kit and keeping your water clean. Your fish are probably just fine because you are keeping the water good. I would up your testing of nitrites to daily as well, you're probably coming close to your nitrite spike phase. They will shoot up very fast and you have to control them. You're also using Seachem (Prime, hopefully ) which is a very good water conditioner. +1 on that too.

One thing that saved my butt was investing into a Aqueon water changer, something like this: Amazon.com: Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer - 25 Feet: Pet Supplies
Makes life so much easier with water changes, I wasn't told about this for months. Buckets suck



Good idea with moving everything over, that will transfer a lot of what you need to get the new tank going quick.


What kind of fish do you have? ( this will give us an idea on your stocking and filtration)

 

[jimsz]

Great job getting a test kit and keeping your water clean. Your fish are probably just fine because you are keeping the water good. I would up your testing of nitrites to daily as well, you're probably coming close to your nitrite spike phase. They will shoot up very fast and you have to control them. You're also using Seachem (Prime, hopefully ) which is a very good water conditioner. +1 on that too.

One thing that saved my butt was investing into a Aqueon water changer, something like this: Amazon.com: Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer - 25 Feet: Pet Supplies
Makes life so much easier with water changes, I wasn't told about this for months. Buckets suck



Good idea with moving everything over, that will transfer a lot of what you need to get the new tank going quick.


What kind of fish do you have? ( this will give us an idea on your stocking and filtration)

I have something similar to that changer but with it being only 10 gallons buckers are no big deal. I fill them, et them sit, temperature acclimation, etc.

Seachem Prime is what I am using. One question, do I only add it to the buckets when they are sitting, when i add it to the tank or both.

I'll check for Nitrites daily as well.

The fish we have are glo-fish (zebras?) and similar fish to them. Nice and simple fish. I'll make a list of each of them.

 

[librarygirl]

If you're using buckets you can just add the Prime directly to the buckets and just add enough for the amount you are replacing (I think the Prime dosing is 2 drops per gallon, I always add a bit extra though just to be safe). It works immediately too. If you're using something like an automatic changer and are adding tap water straight to the tank from the faucet, you'd add the Prime to the tank but enough for the whole volume of the tank not just the water you are replacing.

If the fish you have are small and aren't putting out a lot of a bioload you could wait a bit to upgrade. But since you're going to move everything over anyway I see no need to wait unless you have other reasons for doing so. Cycling in a larger tank is actually better b/c there's more volume of water to dissipate the toxins so they don't build up as fast (assuming the fish you have are appropriate for the tank size of course).

 

[steez]

Great, it will help with a full stock list


I personally add a full dosage straight to my tank before I put the water back in, because I use the water changer. So I'm putting 1 full cap (1 cap = 50g) on my 55g tank right before I add all the new water. I turn my filters off till the tanks full.


In your case, I'd say just dose the water before adding it. Just do 1/5 cap of Prime into the water and stir it up and wait a few minutes.


Edit: Library beat me to it

 

[jimsz]

Thank you all so much for the assistance!

I would have gone directly to a larger tank since by the time I bought everything the price difference was not more than $50. The lady at the pet store convinced me it is easier to setup a small tank but after doing research (after the fact unfortunately) I should have gone with my initial beliefs.

I'll see what I can do about finding something reasonably priced and carry over some of what i already purchased.

 

[jlk]

Craigslist is a great spot to find a bigger tank cheap!

 

[jimsz]

I have been checking craigs list but nothing worth buying.

any suggestions what I should get? It needs to be no wider than 33-34 inches and the depth no more than 18 inches. Height does not matter much. I have a 100W heater but figure i would simply purchase an additional one for a larger tank. For a filter I would hope to carry over the filter guts to properly seed the new tank.

Since I will need a new stand i will look at the package deals at the various chain stores.

 

[gauriemma]

A 29 gallon sounds perfect to me its only [FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]30 1/4 L x 12 1/2 W x 18 3/4 H.
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[epiphysis]

A 29 gallon sounds perfect to me its only [FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]30 1/4 L x 12 1/2 W x 18 3/4 H.
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+1. And there is lots you can do with a standard 29G.

Since you are almost halfway with a fish-in cycle you might as well start with the bigger tank. This next phase will be very hard for your fish and if you can minimize their stress with getting a bigger tank. Just do not rush to add more fish to it than you already have.