upgrading tank?

[mollymama]

I am considering upgrading our 10 gallon tank to a 29 gallon (a friend of mine has one to give away). The upgrade would include moving the fish we have (1 molly) and adding a few more, maybe neon tetras. I'd like the new tank to be where the current tank is, and I'm wondering if it's possible to use the water/gravel/etc from the first tank in the new tank...how would this affect the cycling process? Obviously we'd have to add more water, but if the items from the cycled tank were moved to the new tank, how would the fish fare? Any ideas on the best way to go about this would be helpful!

[Galligak]

I would add the gravel to the new tank, unless of course you are going to use the old tank directly after transferring the fish. The gravel from the old tank will help speed up the cycling process a lot. That's why I love when people I know give me their old just used gravel. And the fish selections sound good, but I would add a dwarf gourami just cause I think they look cool and would get along with the other fish... Well hopefully

[mollymama]

That makes sense re: the gravel. What, though, would I do with the fish we already have while I'm waiting for tank #2 to fully cycle? It would sort of be in between tanks if I can't add it to the new tank, even with the gravel & old water, right away.

[Galligak]

Only take some of the water from the one tank and put new treated water in the tank with the fish. The fish can live with no gravel for a while as well.