movin on up

I

iexiak

Medium Fish
#1
Jan 13, 2008
97
0
0
#1
so if everything goes well this saturday i will be buying my 75 gallon. it should come with everything except for the stand...hopefully. Im going to try to check for leaks and see if the filter works, but if they wont let me do it (buying from craigs list) then i will have to wait till i get home.

after buying the tank im going to go and get wood to build a stand according to these diagrams: DIY Tank Stand Plans then if it doesnt take to long, i'll put the first coat on that night.

then on sunday ill clean the tank with bleach and fix it if i need to. clean the filter etc. thoroughly clean everything and make sure it works.

hopefully at that point the stand is dry and looks good, so i can move it into my house.


ok now the important stuff... Move the fish into buckets, and then move the old filters and gravel into the new tank...and probably the rest of the old tank water.

with the old filters and gravel will it be already cycled? i mean there will be an amount of bacteria that eats ammonia...but will they die out without much ammonia in there? am i going to need to watch the tank for ammonia and nitrites? will it go through a cycle?

if its going to cycle then should i just set up the 29g in another room and put the fish back in it till it does cycle?

should i put another filter dealy in with the other filters so i can introduce these bacteria to the other filter immediately?
 

Last edited:
brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#2
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#2
I am glad to see that you are moving up..congrats.

Your filter and gravel will provide some but probably not enough bacteria to avoid a small cycle but it shouldnt last long enough IMO to affect the fish, but keep an eye on your water parameters and be ready to change water if needed.
 

Whiskers

Whiskers

Large Fish
#3
Feb 29, 2008
425
1
18
central Michigan USA
#3
don't let your filters go dry or the gravel. it might go through a mini cycle but will establish itself fairly quickly. you can probly put gravel in tank then fill tank with new water, get water to same temp as old tank then put filters in tank and turn them on. once every thing looks good acclamate fish to new tank water and i think you should be good to go. if i missed something someone else chime in ok.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#4
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#4
Couple points of importance:

First, great job finding a bigger tank for your fish. :)

Second, very important: when buying a used tank, set it outside if possible, maybe on the deck or porch or whatever you have, fill it, and let it sit for at least a couple of days to make sure it will hold water. 75 gallons is a heck of a lot to come home to all over your living room floor.

Third, while you're checking the tank for leakage problems and building your stand, you could have the new tank's filter on your old tank, growing bacteria, running along with your old tank's filter. Then, when you set up the new tank, transfer both filters to it. The bacteria should live fours hours at least during the transfer, as long as you keep them wet.

You're correct if you're thinking that the bacteria won't survive longer without a food source. The tank won't cycle sitting empty without a food source, and fishless cycling isn't necessary when you have an established tank.

After a couple of weeks remove the smaller tank's filter and you should be good to go. But you'll still want to keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite.
 

I

iexiak

Medium Fish
#5
Jan 13, 2008
97
0
0
#5
ok i was thinking about putting the new filter on the front of the 30gallon on Saturday night..

is there anything against using all the filters that i can? if i have 3 filters that fit on there why would i want to remove any of them except to upgrade?
one of my filters looks like this one but without the wheel : https://plus18.safe-order.net/justpetsonline/catalog/images/penguin 350 filter.jpg and im not sure about any of the specifics because its from my grandfathers tank.

then i added this one to the 30g: Aqueon Aquarium Power Filters | Power Aquarium Filters | Filters | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com the 30g version..

if the filter that comes with the tank doesnt work would these be enough for a while?


also im not going to be getting any new gravel yet so its going to be pretty sparse on the bottom...should i gather it up into a pile for the bacteria or just spread it out? the fish going to be ok with so little gravel?
 

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Whiskers

Whiskers

Large Fish
#7
Feb 29, 2008
425
1
18
central Michigan USA
#7
when i used gravel i kept it fairly thin so i could get all the waste out of it. i suppose you could spread it out. i don't think it would hurt anything. i don't think you can over filtrate a tank so use all you want. i try to have filter systems that turn 10x's the gallons the tank holds. you filters will only hold the amount of bacteria that is needed to break down the ammoina. less fish less bacteria, more fish more bacteria and thats why ppl say don't add too many fish at once cause you won't have enough bacteria to keep up with the bioload.
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#9
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#9
In theory, moving the entire contents of a tank, including filters, gravel, decorations and fish from one tank to another shouldn't cause a cycle. However, in practice, it may cause a small mini cycle. Have some ammonia detoxifier on hand, just in case, and be prepared to do water changes.

Running an extra filter on your current tank will help with getting things going well in the new tank.
 

I

iexiak

Medium Fish
#11
Jan 13, 2008
97
0
0
#11
im not going to get the 75, was planning on meeting them today, but i thankfully talked to my dad before then.

still have to build the stand, but the stand will be about the same size. tank is 48x18x30 btw. I have to rethink it a little more, but it will be basically the same. Im going to have to spread out the weight so my floor doesnt collapse, so im going to have to use my knowledge from balsa wood bridge building. woot for practical applications!

it also has a working filter (or should) and some terrain.

im excited for it :)
 

I

iexiak

Medium Fish
#13
Jan 13, 2008
97
0
0
#13
we hybridized 2 sets of plans on the internet, will post pics of it later. the actual tank stand is done, but it doesnt have doors/shelves/panels yet. ill post some pics when i get home...
 

I

iexiak

Medium Fish
#14
Jan 13, 2008
97
0
0
#14
woot everything is set up! well except the original filter but more on that later..

well start with the stand, my dad and i built it last sat/sun and its really nice. treated lumber on the inside, oak with polyurethane on the outside.

its kind of a combination of 2 75 gallon stand diagrams we found online, the first being mahamotors, and the 2nd being one that i cant seem to find anymore...at any rate it uses 2x6 and 4x4, in such a way that no weight is on screws, its all on the wood.





cutting it like that was a royal pain in the ass, but we figured it out (woot saw-alls)...would have been much easier with a band saw, but it can be done with a circular saw and a hand saw if you dont have all the right saws...


and now before and after pics!

before:


after:


and a pic of my oscar swimming in the bubbles:


my oscar unfortunately beat himself up on the walls of my old tank when i was trying to catch him...so hes a little scarred up right now, but all of the fish seem to be really enjoying the tank. its really funny to watch them go to the bottom and then swim to the top, its like they keep realizing that they can go more up now.

the only unfortunate part is that the filter that my dad gave me has a bad leak in one of the hoses. its a really nice canister filter, but the out hose connector port leaks badly! literally in under a minute a whole towel will be soaked :( going to try to fix this sometime this weekend hopefully.

110g fish tanks are heavy...

edit: will post more pics when i have more terrain in there.
 

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homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#19
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#19
What's wrong with using bleach. I bleach used tanks to kill any germs, I use vinegar to remove hard water stains, I rinse several times, and I use a little extra dechlorinator to take care of any bleach residue. Bleach would be safer than any other disinfectant, IMO, since you can be sure it's all out of the tank by using dechlor. Other cleaners, who knows.

Tank stand looks great.
 

K

kayliwolf76

Medium Fish
#20
Mar 3, 2009
78
0
0
#20
I worked in daycare for years and we disinfected baby toys with bleach...the key was to let it dry completely b/c bleach evaporates is what i was told...so don't think there should be any problems
 

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