My fish, not me.
I'd never done this before. I've always had really small tanks (10-12 gallons) that have stayed in place as long as there were living fish in them. So today with the help of 2-5 gallon pails, 2 nets, a plastic pitcher, and a small plastic container for bailing (all fish use only), I moved 3 neons, 6 glow lights, and 3 julii cory cats to their new 29 gallon SeaClear acrylic show tank. (Yes, I know I was overstocked, but constantly checked and kept all parameters good).
I only have one place to put a tank so I had to empty and move the old tank before washing out and placing the new tank. I used all the old water (about 12 gallons). When I had 50-50 old and new water, the fish went in. I had been doing 25% water changes every day to get them used to a lot of new water though of course this was more than usual. I filled the new tank the rest of the way with new water (with Prime) over the course of the afternoon (about 5 more hours). The fish were in the bucket for about 1.5 hours. I made sure to keep the temp stable. At this point the fish and water are looking good. I'll test the water tomorrow afternoon. No matter how careful I am, I know that this does cause stress.
I got the AquaClear 50 for this new set-up. So many here recommended AquaClear that it was an easy choice. Wow it is quiet and nice! I was able to put the foam in my old tank filter for a week and I also put a piece of filter pad that is over a month old just below the BioMax, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm prepared for a mini-cycle, but at this point I have a low bio-load so I'm hopeful that the tank can stay cycled. I used all my old gravel and decor, though with the larger tank, I will need more plastic plants (sorry folks but I've never had good luck with live plants).
I don't think I could have gotten this far without reading everyone's advice here. Of course, I'm excited about the new tank, but more concerned for the welfare of the fish. When all is settled and stable I'll be getting 3 more neons so the current 3 have more friends to swim around with.
I'd never done this before. I've always had really small tanks (10-12 gallons) that have stayed in place as long as there were living fish in them. So today with the help of 2-5 gallon pails, 2 nets, a plastic pitcher, and a small plastic container for bailing (all fish use only), I moved 3 neons, 6 glow lights, and 3 julii cory cats to their new 29 gallon SeaClear acrylic show tank. (Yes, I know I was overstocked, but constantly checked and kept all parameters good).
I only have one place to put a tank so I had to empty and move the old tank before washing out and placing the new tank. I used all the old water (about 12 gallons). When I had 50-50 old and new water, the fish went in. I had been doing 25% water changes every day to get them used to a lot of new water though of course this was more than usual. I filled the new tank the rest of the way with new water (with Prime) over the course of the afternoon (about 5 more hours). The fish were in the bucket for about 1.5 hours. I made sure to keep the temp stable. At this point the fish and water are looking good. I'll test the water tomorrow afternoon. No matter how careful I am, I know that this does cause stress.
I got the AquaClear 50 for this new set-up. So many here recommended AquaClear that it was an easy choice. Wow it is quiet and nice! I was able to put the foam in my old tank filter for a week and I also put a piece of filter pad that is over a month old just below the BioMax, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm prepared for a mini-cycle, but at this point I have a low bio-load so I'm hopeful that the tank can stay cycled. I used all my old gravel and decor, though with the larger tank, I will need more plastic plants (sorry folks but I've never had good luck with live plants).
I don't think I could have gotten this far without reading everyone's advice here. Of course, I'm excited about the new tank, but more concerned for the welfare of the fish. When all is settled and stable I'll be getting 3 more neons so the current 3 have more friends to swim around with.
