Tank upgrade - stocking/cycling advise

[JennyLynchy]

Hi everyone,

I currently have 1 cory cat and 1 male platy in a 3 gallon tank. I'm purchasing a new 30 gallon tank on Thursday and was just after some advise really...

Firstly, I'm fully aware of the need to cycle my new tank before adding any fish but what is the quickest and most efficient way of doing so? My 3 gallon tank is fully established and running like a dream so how could I go about using something from there to give things a kick start?

Secondly (this is the fun bit), when the tank is ready for some fishy friends what would some nice stocking lists be? Obviously I'll be moving my Cory and male platy into there so would need to be compatible with them.

I'm relatively new to all this but desperately want to do everything right so some of your lovely expert advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[LoganInAK]

If you have any friends with fish tanks, ask for their old media and put it in the filters you're going to use. That'll help kickstart the cycle. I still recommend at least 3 weeks to fully cycle. Also, add at least four more of the same species Cory you have now, it'll make him much happier. Also, if you want some nice middle tank movement, a school of six to eight rummy nose tetras is always an eye catcher

 

[JennyLynchy]

I'm going to sound super thick now but what is media and how would i go about transferring it? I don't have any friends with tanks but I do have my established 3 gallon with an i25 filter running??

 

[JennyLynchy]

If I transferred everything to the new tank (old filter, fish, plants, gravel etc) and ran the old filter as well as the new one for a few weeks would that make an instant cycle?? Or am I just being optimistic? x

 

[missmonday]

I think you should work at adding some numbers for the cory and the platy! Only own 3 platys (hopefully 3 females, or at least 2 female, one male) and I've noticed they're pretty social. Try to get some females if you can, they like to swim together

Also, I'd add more corys too (preferably the type of cory you already own), I've been told that corys are also a schooling fish and prefer to be in groups of 5 or more. Hope this helps! I own a 29 gallon tank and plan on getting a group of 5 corys within the next few weeks hopefully!

 

[LoganInAK]

I'm going to sound super thick now but what is media and how would i go about transferring it? I don't have any friends with tanks but I do have my established 3 gallon with an i25 filter running??

Oh no worries, everyone here has asked the same questions at some point. Media is whatever is in the filter, like the cloth pouches, sponges, filter floss, all that stuff. Put an extra filter pouch in the i25 and let it run in the three gallon for a week, and then place the oldest filter pouches in your new filter for the new tank, and let it run for at least three weeks, at which point you could add maybe three white cloud minnows or zebra danios to help the cycle along for the last couple weeks. They are very hardy fish and can handle the cycle, as long as you do not add more than three, and add them one at a time, about every two days. Also, some Tertra SafeStart will help speed the cycle along. You could also go to your Local Fish Store (LFS, you'll see it a lot on here) and ask for some of their old media. Worst thing that happens is they say no. The more media you can get your hands on, the sooner you can add fish and feel confident that they'll survive.