Amy ways to get around cycling when I upgrade?

[Plec123]

So I've got a 38 gallon planted setup right now and I'm running a fluval 406 filter. I'm planning on upgrading to a 75 in a month or two and it's going to go in roughly the same place as the 38.
If I were to get the water from the 38 into the 75 and continue using the same filter, could i just move my plants and fish into the new setup? I dont know if I trust my floors enough to leave the old tank up while the new one cycles... I'd rather just swap the 38 out after transferring everything over.

The bioload isn't huge, especially for a 75. There are 18 tetras of various species, 2 whiptail cats, and 2 L037 and L239 plecos that are pretty small.

Also, I'll likely be swapping the 406 out for an fx5 or fx6 after the new tank is established.

 

[piranhaman00]

Yes I would say that would be fine. When you add more water maybe dont fill too the top completely, add 20 gallons a week or so.

 

[Rocksor]

If you move everything over from the 38g to the 75g, and use 100% new water, you will not experience a minicycle in your newish tank.

There's no point in not filling the tank with 20g of water every week or so. Just fill up the 75g. You could move all of the media from the 406 into the new FX filter in the beginning if you want, and not worry about waiting for the new tank to establish itself.

 

[celebrist]

Put your bio from the 406 into the fx don't keep your old water move your decor over and it will be like a large water change

 

[duanes]

I agree with the others, any significant beneficial bacteria are "not" in the water, as planktonic free floating bacteria, they are sessile..
The means, the most important bacteria are attached to surfaces, that's why we use bio media, so the bacteria attach as bio-film. if you move substrate, and decor, move the filter, move the plants, into the new tank, fairly quickly, you shouldn't lose any, and shouldn't need to re-cycle, unless you allow those things to dry out, which will kill the bacterial population you want to keep.
Plan to do the old tank, and new tank as promptly as possible.
Tear down the old tank, put everything in a bucket with water, keep as much water in the filter as possible, keep it aerated, and when the new tank is up, tranfer it all, and get the filter going quickly.

 

[Backfromthedead]

What the three above me said.

 

[ShinyMagikarp]

Yup as stated above there is no need to prolong the process Once you get your new filter you can ethier transfer the media over like said above or even run them together for a few weeks to let the new one establish.

What I did when moving to a bigger tank was fill the new tank up and get it to same temperature as the old one, transfered my plants and decor, then transfered my equipment and then add the fish. If you want to use the old substrate too I would wait untill the old tank is mostly empty and then start taking out the substrate as all the hidden debris will start kicking up and quickly dirty the remaining water in the old tank.

 

[EntoStentor]

The amount of BB in substrate is underrated. Definitely use the same substrate

 

[Nick Park]

Instead of swapping your filter, consider moving everything into your new tank (fish, plants, substrate & the 406) and then adding the FX filter. Having two filters on the 75 won't add more than a few bucks onto your power bill, and you have no worries if one of them fails in the future. Stagger your filter maintenance schedules, only ever cleaning one at a time, giving extra peace of mind if anything goes wrong.

 

[Plec123]

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll take all of this into account when I make the switch.