New Aro house

[meiling]

Well, I'm planning on FINALLY moving up in tank size. This next tank should be here March 1st. I'm going up to a 175. (yeah, I know it's still not big enough for long term, but for the next year while my Aro grows) So the stand is being built, I'm ordering another external canister filter and that should be fine combined with the setup I have currently.
Water is a big issue. I have hard well water, during the winter the snowmelt causes my filters to look like cement in 2 days, so I mix in R/O water by about 33% and then it works OK.

I want to put the new tank and stand in the same place as the current one. I figured I'd do water changes, then a day after, while the water is relatively clean, take some out and put it in the new tank. So I'll have established water in the new tank. I'm tripling the size so it will take a couple weeks to cycle in the water. I use black sand, so I'll have to put new rinsed sand in the new tank. I then was going to use my old (current) canister filter on the new tank to help cycle in established water. Obviously I'll add the 1/3 R/O water as well.

So I'll have new tank, old filter, established water and sustrate. On moving day I figured on putting all the water in rubber totes, moving the tanks and stands, hook up the filters to the new tank (which even the new filter will have been used and cycled a bit) add sand, water, 33% R/O water fresh, and hopefully all of this can happen with the fish in a tote for only 1 hour.

I could think this to death, or post it and give you guys something to hash over, I chose option B. This is the general idea, but if anyone has ideas or forsees any disasters, please feel free to help me hash it over to perfect moving day. Thanks.
Mei
my biggest issue is the fact that right now I can't just turn on the water and put it in my tank, the glacial runoff and snowmelt makes the water so hard it leaves gobs of chelated layers on everything, even drinking glasses that sit overnight.

 

[ethnics]

seems like you have the right idea for the tank move/upgrade. but i just hate doing it that way. if you wanna be safer safer safer. put water from the tank the aro is currently in into a tote, put the aro in the tote, put a heater in the tote, and a canister filter on the tote. and let the aro chill in there for a few days while u get the new tank ready, and filled, and params as close as possible to what ur trying to do. so theres almost no risk involved. i dont like doing what ur trying to do. lost to many fish in the process.

 

[Bderick67]

Good to hear ya gettin the new tank, I,m doing the same with my aro as he grows, moving into a 120 in a couple weeks then a 180 by the end of summer. Then next winters project is a 10x4x3 tank I'll build in the basement.

Can you move your current tank set up to another location for a while? This way when the new tank comes you could take your time with the transfer. If not I would do as Ethnics suggested and let him live in the tote for a few days to be safe.

Well good luck I bet you can't wait.

 

[meiling]

OK, I' need to clarify, yes, I plan on bringing in the new tank and setting it up and cycling it for a couple weeks with water from my current tank. I even have an extra heater and can run one of the external canister filters on the new one while it's settling. It's a lot bigger, so I am going to need to add much more water, but when it's time to move the new tank into the old tank's location, I have to mostly empty it out so I can handle the weight in order to move it. Then I was going to put the same water I just took out right back in. The water *should* be the same, and I will test the parameters.

 

[ethnics]

OHHH lol. sorry meiling. so your setting up the new tank "somewhere" in your house, letting it cycle for a lil bit, then when its ready ur gonna move the new tank into the location of ur old tank keeping the water by using totes n what not. sounds like a plan to me and should work perfectly fine.

 

[Koji]

Looks like you have figure everything out real well. Hope to see your new setup soon.

 

[zennzzo]

I'd save all the hasle of setting up the 175 twice...
That 55 is much easier to move.
And it's the filtration you are cycling...so just take some of the media from the established filter and add it to the new cannister.
This will get it's bacteria going faster and then do a fishless cycling with ammonia to get the bio-load needed to fully cycle the new tank.
Don't rush the cycling and you'll be fine...
Just keep the new tank, warmer as bacteria will establish quicker, then remember get it cool to your desired temp with the final w/c before you add fish...

I cycled my 150 with ammonia in about 10 days, no fish but I stayed right on top of the perameters and you've seen the size of my filtration system...so 2-3 weeks is gonna be about right...

 

[meiling]

OHHH lol. sorry meiling. so your setting up the new tank "somewhere" in your house, letting it cycle for a lil bit, then when its ready ur gonna move the new tank into the location of ur old tank keeping the water by using totes n what not. sounds like a plan to me and should work perfectly fine.

ahhhhhhhhh Grasshopper sees the vision unfold...........my Aro is being all pissy because he knows he's gettin a bigger crib and he wants it NOW cause he grew faster than mathematically possible thus screwing up my tank enlargement series of events laid out into the future..............this fish can SPLASH more than any Aro I've ever seen, and my last one did it on purpose too.

 

[ethnics]

wait til he's in the bigger tank and he can actually catch some speed when he strikes. aros really hold back in these small tanks we house them in. a nice kick can throw up a lil splash but there not at full potential. jus wait lol. you'll see.

 

[meiling]

I'd save all the hasle of setting up the 175 twice...
That 55 is much easier to move.
And it's the filtration you are cycling...so just take some of the media from the established filter and add it to the new cannister.
This will get it's bacteria going faster and then do a fishless cycling with ammonia to get the bio-load needed to fully cycle the new tank.
Don't rush the cycling and you'll be fine...
Just keep the new tank, warmer as bacteria will establish quicker, then remember get it cool to your desired temp with the final w/c before you add fish...

I cycled my 150 with ammonia in about 10 days, no fish but I stayed right on top of the perameters and you've seen the size of my filtration system...so 2-3 weeks is gonna be about right...

you're sayin, take some sand, bag it, (from my active tank) add it to the new canister filter and uhhh then that still has to be run thru a take to accomodate the intake/outakes, so this would be in the new tank. So now I have to put enough water in a big tank to again, accomodate the cycling. *I was going to insert clean freshly changed from main wish tank water here*. So no fishy, where does the ammonia come in to play here, whatchyou talkin' bout man? I haven't quite mastered fishy chemistry but it's my last obstacle! blah blah blah isn't this going to end up being a high ammonia environment? help me out with this one....