New 75

[dsmmrm]

Hi All, what a great resource you are!

Currently I have a small 15 gal that has been stable for 5 or 6 years and have aquired a glass 75 to expand into.

In the 15 I have 5 serpae tetras, a small albino cat of a species that I can't remember and a Chinese algae eater. I plan to move these into the 75 and retire the 15 to a QT/Hospital tank. After the new one has cycled I will gradually add more fish.

I have read the info on fishless cycling but with this small group of fish I am inclined to give it a go with the fish in residence. Is this a bad idea? I plan to use gravel and ornaments from the established tank, how will this affect my cycle time? I know people swear by the fishless method but I just can't seem to make myself put cleaning products in my fish tank.

My other question is about filtration. I have an Emperor 400 as well as an UGF with 2 Marineland 1140 power heads. I have used both ugf and hob in the past but never together. The 15 has an oversized hob. Is this doable or is it overkill? I have always tried to err on the side of overfiltration in the past.

I have also ordered two 250 watt ebo jager heaters. Any things I have obviously missed?

 

[BrianNY]

Hi and welcome aboard. The best way to move your fish into a completely cycled tank is to set up a sponge filter in the existing tank for a week to ten days. Then move the filter and fish to their new home. Let the sponge filter work for another 10 days and by then all that good nitrifying bacteria will be in your your new filter.

Also, it's very hard to over filter a tank. I think you're going about this the right way. Come back and let us know what else you've got planned for the new tank

 

[dsmmrm]

Thanks for the advice. I see the benefit to your suggestion. Could I accomplish the same thing by putting my new filter with the biowheel on the old tank for a week or two? An Emporer 400 on a 15 gal may be a tad over the top but I think it will fit if I take the tank cover off. I can probably adjust the flow down enough so that the fish don't feel like they've been flushed down the toilet.

I will keep you up to date with my progress. It will take a while as I will be proceeding slowly. Some of my tetras are more than 6 years old (I didn't think they even lived that long when I bought them) and I have become attached to them, I don't want to kill them off now.

 

[AtodaJ]

Why don't you just move the "oversized" filter you are currently using in the 15 gallon over to the 75 gallon? I did this when I got my 55 gallon. I just used the filter from my 10 gallon on the 55 gallon for about a week. That was long enough to get the bacteria into the tank. That combined with moving gravel and ornaments along with the small fish load will make the cycle transparent to your fish.

hth

 

[dsmmrm]

I'm sure that will get the bacteria into the tank and thus into the new filter as well. In the interest of efficiency I am looking for the method that will give me the best (fastest) results, whichever that may be. Maybe both filters in both tanks two weeks before and two weeks after?

The filter on the 15 is a fairly low end Whisper recommended for a 30 gal, I have no love for this thing although it seems to have worked ok so far. My initial thought was not to use it anymore but maybe I will to help the new tank along, if the collective feels it would be the way to go.

 

[AtodaJ]

I'm sure that will get the bacteria into the tank and thus into the new filter as well. In the interest of efficiency I am looking for the method that will give me the best (fastest) results, whichever that may be. Maybe both filters in both tanks two weeks before and two weeks after?

You aren't going to get any noticable improvement by going through all that. Just put the Whisper filter on the 75 for a period of time along with the gravel and decorations and that should do the trick. I'd avoid adding any additional fish for at least 1 month so you can be sure the bacteria have taken to the new tank.

Keep in mind that your fish load will be so small that even if the 75 wasn't cycled at all you wouldn't start to notice an ammonia spike for weeks... possibly over a month. It's just such a large volume of water for the few fish you are going to put in there initially.

hth

 

[dsmmrm]

Thanks for all the help. That sounds like a workable solution. I definitely feel more confident now that I won't kill my fish.

I will be very conservative when it comes time to add more fish. Ultimately I will continue to load it with less than what conventional wisdom claims is the maximum (using gal = fish inches, I know some differ, I'm not trying to start a holy war).

Eventually my current plan is that I will probably end up with a fairly large serpae school (30+?) and a few other solo examples for variety and function, IE: algae and bottom feeding.

I find I enjoy observing the larger group community behaviors more than fewer more spectacular larger individuals. But that's just me.

Thanks again.