Moving a 120G established tank...help

[spoonman]

A friend is giving me a 120g FW tank for free. They live across town and I need to get it to my house. I would like to do this the easiest way possible (cycling wise). The fish that are in it are going to friends or to the LFS. I dont want an aggresive tank. It has 2 hob filters and that is all at this point. I have purchased a new stand and cover for it. I have also purchased an undergravel with powerheads to assist with the filtering. The only fish that I am going to keep is the pleco. You can see that the tank has not been taken care of very well. I want to get it as clean as possible but still keep the valuable bacteria to speed the addition of new fish. Can I rinse the gravel, keep the hobs (and the bacteria that is in them), rinse the decorations, keep some of the old water and dechlor some additional water and be back up and running in minimal time? Or would it be best to put the fish I want to keep in my 84g and clean everything really good and start cycling from scratch? I had to get rid of my daughters 55g to get this one, so they will be anxious to get fish in this one.... Attached is a pic so you can see the state that it is in. She said she has never vacuumed it in 3 yrs.. but the fish she has in there now are healthy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know opinions vary so I am prepared to consider all that are put forth....

 

[severum mama]

I'd suggest draining the tank and either rinsing the gravel (since it's going to be so nasty) or just starting with new gravel, whatever you'd like. Using the old water won't really help you, since the majority of the bacteria live on surfaces in the tank and in the filter. Rinse the filter media in old tank water to preserve what you can of the bacteria. Keep all the filter media wet and set up the tank in the new location as soon as you can. Hopefully there will be enough bacteria to support the bioload from the pleco, since you are reducing the fish load at the same time that you are moving the tank. Still, I'd advise using a test kit daily for a week or two just to make sure water parameters are in check... you may need to do a couple extra water changes so it's best to be prepared.

The only issue I see with any of this is that I'm sure the fish are going to be shocked when you refill the tank with new water due to old tank syndrome, since you mentioned that this tank has been sort of neglected. Is there any way you could go to your friend's house and prepare the tank by doing a series of small daily water changes leading up to the big move?

 

[mgamer20o0]

right on sm. i would go over there and test the tank see what kind of shape its in. might need a week or two of smaller water changes.

 

[spoonman]

So, if I understand correctly. You are saying all new dechlor'd water, rinsed or new gravel, old filter media and put the pleco in the new water?

 

[severum mama]

Yes, but it would be better if you could prepare the fish for the new water through a series of small water changes. If you can't, I really don't see any way around shocking them, because it would be a logistical nightmare to move enough old tank water to avoid it.

 

[jsoong]

If you can't prepare the tank before hand, the best way is to drip acclimatize the pleco during the move.

Get a 5 gal or so bucket & fill that with the old tank water & the pleco. Have a big bucket/tank (maybe 20 gal) of your new water (dechlor, right temp, etc.) set up in your house before the move. Transport the pleco in the old water to your place.

While you are setting up the tank, set up a siphon with an airline tubing to drip water from the "new water" tank to the pleco bucket. Let the pleco bucket overflow & spill out. <So you want to do this in the tub, or outside.> Your goal is to mix in new water with the old over a couple hours. With 5 gal of old water, dripping in 20 gal of new water would replace the old water almost completely with new. You would want to control the drip rate by the tank/bucket height (or kink the tubing a bit) so it is dripping in at around 5-10 gal an hour. <Do the math if you want to use different size buckets!>

With a slow change over of old water to new, any stress to the pleco is minimized.

 

[spoonman]

I think I can do a form of the drip method. I will try that. I won't be able to get to their house until I pick up the tank. I would be scared to ask them to do a PWC. I really dont want any casualties in this change. I assume a cycle will start right away? Or will it cycle at all? Will the bacteria that is present just start to work right away and I will just see a rise in Nitrates? I do have a master test kit, and will stay on top of perameters, I am just trying to be prepared for what will happen.

 

[mom2reds]

I moved my 100 gal. tank and stand and 125lbs of sand blasting gravel down two sets of stairs and across town along with 6 lemon tetras and 5 cardinal tetras, and managed not to have to completly recycle my tank i just kept my filter media wet. i did wash all of the gravel and the driftwood that was in there.

Good luck with the move and have fun setting this tank up!

 

[spoonman]

Thats what I was hoping to hear, since I really do want to clean up the gravel and all the decorations that are in the tank. I'm not going to bleach them or anything, just clean them with fresh tap water. I will remember to keep the filter media wet!

 

[mgamer20o0]

since you are removing most of the bio load anyways you really shouldnt have a mini cycle as long as you keep the media wet and not take too long. like sm said the real problem she sees and i agree is when fish stay in dirty water so long they get used to it where the clean fresh water will shock them.

 

[spoonman]

So I could add some (key word "some") fish right away? Then gradually increase the load? Sorry about all of the questions, but the LFS said if I bring in the fish that are presently in the tank (mostly aggresives) they will give me store credit, so I will pick up a couple fish if they will be ok to go in right away. Thanks for all the great advice!

 

[mgamer20o0]

i wouldnt. i like to know my tanks are up and stable. unless you have a qt which you should i would hold off. the bio load should be able to hand a couple more fish in there fine since you are taking stuff out. what was on your mind to add right away?

 

[spoonman]

They only two that I am sure I want to put in are Bala Sharks and Angel Fish. They have done quit well in my other tanks and my girls like the way they look...

 

[mgamer20o0]

i would ditch the bala shark they get to be about a foot also are schooling fish. angelfish are great i just wouldnt add them to the tank right away. though everything might be ok with me its the better safe then sorry.

 

[gzeiger]

If you have the ability to put the pleco in your 84 gallon tank with minimal stress for all concerned, I would say just use the new tank to quarantine the initial wave of new arrivals.

Just move filter media as you would a live fish - in a bucket of water. Keep in mind that the bacteria are (slightly) photosensitive. It's good practice to minimize their exposure to light, so don't remove the filter pad from the pump assembly except to rinse out gunk.

 

[spoonman]

If you have the ability to put the pleco in your 84 gallon tank with minimal stress for all concerned, I would say just use the new tank to quarantine the initial wave of new arrivals.

Just move filter media as you would a live fish - in a bucket of water. Keep in mind that the bacteria are (slightly) photosensitive. It's good practice to minimize their exposure to light, so don't remove the filter pad from the pump assembly except to rinse out gunk.

So, your advice is to basically do the same as above but put the pleco in my 84g and get other fish to start up this tank with? I am assuming I will have to provide some kind of bioload to keep the tank within perameters?

 

[mgamer20o0]

yea with out a food source the bacteria will die. so fish or ammonia. i just have little faith in the tank your picking up lol i have seen really bad tanks in my time.

 

[spoonman]

So, maybe this is a better idea. Bring home the fish that are in the tank now, rinse the gravel and decorations, use the old filter media and set up the tank with new dechlor'd water. Then keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. When all are within parameters, take the fish out and bring them to the LFS and get a few others? I hate to keep going back and forth but looking for the best plan for the fish and me. Thanks for your patience with a newbie.

 

[mom2reds]

I would go with your last plan, except you might want to watch out for old tank syndrome as mentioned previously, you don't want to shock the fish that have been surviving in the neglected tank for so long, you may want to get them adjusted slowly with a drip system first.

 

[spoonman]

So, I am going to pick up the tank on Sunday. I have bought new gravel that will be thouroughly rinsed and placed in the drained tank with the new undergravel filter with 170gph powerheads. The HOB filters and media will be transported in large buckets and replaced in the tank when it is refilled with dechlor'd water. I am going to place the fish that were currently in the tank back in the tank for a while to make sure that all is ok. My question is, assuming the temperature is right, how long should the tank run with the HOB's and old media before putting the fish back in? There are approximately 5 medium silver dollars and 1 knife and 1 pleco. They will be in a 60 gallon plastic container. Also, what should I be providing them in the plastic container while they are waiting to go back in the tank? Thanks for all your help and wish me luck! I feel like an excited little kid.