Upgrading cichlid tank questions

[JohnnyTBags]

Hi all,

I have a 75g South American cichlid grow out tank that I’m ready to upgrade to my second 125g. Previously I had the space to set up a new tank, transfer substrate, filter media, get tank prepared before moving fish from one to the other.

My problem now is where my 75g is is where I want to put the 125g so the transfer is going to have to be quick and I’ll have to keep fish in 5g buckets while figuring it all out. Is this too quick of a move? Also I want to completely toss old substrate and go with a entirely new scape. So my main questions are:

Is emptying an old tank, taking fish out, putting new tank in same spot, and starting up new tank same day a good idea?

Will a completely new substrate and decorations effect water conditions?

The only thing tha will go into new tank from old will be all my biomedia, fish and some decorations. Will this cause any problems?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[dan518]

How big are the fish,
Can you get any larger tubs to store the fish in, I did something similar, stored the fish in 100L plastic bins with the filters going, if you rush you end up not getting it right in my experience.
If your using all the old media and some of the decorations you should be OK, just light feeds for the first week or so.

 

[JohnnyTBags]

Thanks for the response.

The three biggest cichlids are probably only 5-6 inches tops. The rest much smaller. Plan was 3-4 buckets with air stone and heater for the short time during the set up. Obviously I’ll have everything prepped and ready to go before taking fish out and deassembling the old tank. I can prob run a few old smaller HOB filters over the buckets of that will make any different within the hour I plan on having them in there but wasn’t planning on doing that.

Media will get tossed into two brand new canister filters. Right now I have a AQ110 and Fluval 306. So I’ll take biomedia out of those and split it up with new media into 2 canisters. Matching water temps shouldn’t be too hard unless I run out of hot water trying to fill the big new tank up.

Light feeds is not a problem. Plan was to not even feed for a week. Lights off and have them settle in.

 

[tlindsey]

I agree with dan518 don't rush fish will be ok just make sure you keep bio media driftwood and Ornaments submerged in water. Also make sure you have dechlorinator on hand.

 

[Covetous]

It can be done, I’ve personally done the same thing. Just stay on water changes and watch parameters as your losing a good amount of B.B. and all will be fine

Both posters above had solid points.

 

[Ogertron3000]

You can do it , like you said make sure you have everything prepped,and ready to go. Monitoring water conditions and water changes over the first few weeks as Covetous said will be the key to success.
I did something similar last time,I moved house and went fairly well but still lost a few fish in the first few weeks before everything settled down.
Another bit of advice is don't have anyone around to "help you out" as they will just get in the way and annoy you!

 

[jonclark96]

+1 on Dan's suggestion on getting a tub for the larger fish. You can pick up a 20 gallon tote at Target or Home Depot for pretty cheap. It will allow you to have a little more space to put the fish in.

A couple of months ago, I had a leak in my 180. I took all the fish out, put them into 5 or 6 tubs, broke down the tank, moved a new tank into the same spot, and reloaded the tank, all in a day. The fish were fine, even with no filtration running. The only thing I did was rotate an air stone from bin to bin.

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

You could also squeeze out some of your bio media from your other 125 into the new one once everything is transferred. I think you'll be fine

 

[Backfromthedead]

this is what i would do, and have done on multiple occasions with no problems.

1. hook the new filter to your 75 a week prior to the move.
2. to start, do a roughly 70% water change on the 75. move it away from the display spot to a temporary place nearby while its mostly empty.
3. wait another day. move the 125 into place and set it up. do another water change on the 75 and just add the old water to the 125. attach your old 75 filter to it and if you want the same substrate change that over as well.
4. fill the rest of the tank up and wait another day. check your parameters and if youre all green then go ahead and change the fish.

you might not have to go through all of it, but ive done a lot of tank switches and found this procedure to work very well.

 

[jonclark96]

Running a new filter for a period of time on an established tank is a good idea, but there really isn't any reason to worry about setting up a new tank the same day. Your filters will be fine, and as long as you aren't adding a bunch of new fish at the same time you are setting up the new tank, the bioload on the filters is essentially the same in the new tank. Yes, you'll lose some of the capacity of the beneficial bacteria that are growing on the surface of things in the tank, but that is minimal compared to the colony that exists in the filters themselves. I also see no reason to save tank water from the old tank. The bacteria is on the surface of things in the tank, not in the water column. All you'd be doing by using old water is bringing over whatever waste is left over in the water.

When ever I set up a new tank, I simply take a filter off an established tank (I keep multiple air driven sponges in tanks for specifically this reason), put it in the new tank, and its good. I've done this on a dozen tanks, and never had any issues.