Can I add fish today?

[NilusFishFamily]

Can I add my fish today?

120g Freshwater tank
Test numbers (about 2pm)
PH 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates < 5 ppm
Some brown algae & slight odor :-(

???Fully cycled(ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrates)??? Can I let my babies go to their new home?

we have 2 very much loved fish,
Pleco 15” & goldfish 4”

PROCESS
started June 7th (we think)
Cycling was a mishmash of
first adding the media from our current tank filter,
and a little of the old gravel just in plastic bowls (removed a few days ago-new tank isn’t using same substrate)
added ammonia
Ammonia stayed high
did water change /Added quick start
then added a shrimp (just from the freezer)
Removed the shrimp middle of last week
Yesterday finally did a big water change &added some more quick start
and added our plants and a piece of xholla

Coming from a 37g gravel fresh tank to an almost bare bottom/river rock 120g freshwater with mix of real and artificial plants. (So we couldn’t just transfer gravel the way most suggested).

New tank:
fish in our old(current tank)

 

[NilusFishFamily]

Reading the temp and ph between both tanks is extremely important. Thoughts?
these are big fish- I feel tank to tank is probably best to avoid stress and potential oxygen problems with transfers to and from a bucket which even with an air bubbler will still be less than optimal regardless...

suggestions?
Maybe do a water change with water from one to the other?

 

[dr exum]

did you use filter from old tank on the new one? looks nice BTW!

your prolly good, go light on the feeding, have prime ready if you get ammo... worse case you could move back to old tank...

you could always move one fish (1/2) the bio load, and wait a bit and see if the new tank can keep up with the bio load...

GL

 

[NilusFishFamily]

How close do the ph and temp have to be? Reading really need to be almost exact- didn’t use the same filter but swapped out the media in the old smaller tank with replacement, then moved the used one into the new tank to help get the cycle going- that was back in June and honestly not sure it did much. We ended up just using the QuickStart in the end...

 

[NilusFishFamily]

How close do the ph and temp have to be for tank to tank transfer? (Vs slow drip exchange via bucket)

tips I’m moving this big guy???

Reading really need to be almost exact- didn’t use the same filter but swapped out the media in the old smaller tank with replacement, then moved the used one into the new tank to help get the cycle going- that was back in June and honestly not sure it did much. We ended up just using the QuickStart in the end...

did you use filter from old tank on the new one? looks nice BTW!

your prolly good, go light on the feeding, have prime ready if you get ammo... worse case you could move back to old tank...

you could always move one fish (1/2) the bio load, and wait a bit and see if the new tank can keep up with the bio load...

GL

 

[deeda]

The temperature should be within a couple degrees of each other, either higher or lower doesn't matter.

What is the pH of the old tank compared to the new tank pH?

To move the Pleco you can use a bowl, a pitcher or similar container to just scoop him up. It might be easier to catch him if you drain the old tank at least 1/2 way. The other option is to move him by hand, just grab him firmly behind the pectoral fins with your palm on top of the fish but be aware that there is always the possibility of getting stabbed by sharp fins.