10 to 40 gal swap advice please

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J.B.

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 13, 2020
Messages
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In a bit of good timing, just as my current 10 gal tank has developed a slow leak, my friend offered me his empty 40 gal octagon tank. I currently only have 1 Cory catfish in my 10, but I’d like to get him swapped over ASAP. I’d also like to use sand substrate instead of gravel, as I plan to get some more Coreys once settled. I’m hoping to get some advice on swapping over. I guess it’s basically a fish-in cycle?. I’ll have new pumps and filters for the tank, but I plan to hang the old filter and some gravel in a bag on the new tank. Should I use most of the water from my 10 and then top off the rest with fresh treated water, or use all new water? Should I add some bottled bacteria (Seachem stability, etc .)to help with the larger volume of water? I want to do this right, but as I said, my old tank is leaking and I don’t have a ton of time on my side. All advice is appreciated. Thanks!
 
The camp is split so to speak on bottled bacteria. Imo it doesn't work, but it can't hurt. No beneficial bacteria is in the water, so new treated water wouldn't hurt. The bb is in the old filter primarily, so moving it over or at least the established media will help seed/ cycle your new tank much quicker. Substrate has a little bb, but for one fish your not gonna lose enough to matter anyway. Just watch your water parameters for a few weeks and you should be good to go
 
Thanks. I’ve gathered that if I run my old filter when I swap things should generally be fine. I have a basic understanding of the cycle and the need for bacteria to tackle the ammonia and so on. I’m somewhat ignorant as to the effects of putting the fish in “new” or “different” water. I would assume that if you have fresh, treated water in a new tank setup that has run for a day, and you put a fish in, the fish would be fine. It’s when the ammonia appears from the food and fish waste that things go bad. If you keep an eye on parameters and do water changes as needed, seems safe. But I guess I’m wondering if there’s any acclimation process needed. Is it safe to simply put my fish in the new tank, given that the water temperature will be the same, but it’s not the water he’s used to?
 
Thanks. I’ve gathered that if I run my old filter when I swap things should generally be fine. I have a basic understanding of the cycle and the need for bacteria to tackle the ammonia and so on. I’m somewhat ignorant as to the effects of putting the fish in “new” or “different” water. I would assume that if you have fresh, treated water in a new tank setup that has run for a day, and you put a fish in, the fish would be fine. It’s when the ammonia appears from the food and fish waste that things go bad. If you keep an eye on parameters and do water changes as needed, seems safe. But I guess I’m wondering if there’s any acclimation process needed. Is it safe to simply put my fish in the new tank, given that the water temperature will be the same, but it’s not the water he’s used to?
Yes, I've switched tanks many times, new to old, old to new bigger, etc, and never had an issue. I generally use some of the old water just for a few pennies saved on my water bill and the fish are in a tote waiting for set up, so there's water to use there. But I've never had any issues with temp or ph etc
 
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