New 20 Gal. Tank

[akobal]

Hi i just bought a 20 gallon tank and i was wondering how i should set it up. I bought a "Aqueon Deluxe Kit" it includes:
-Fluorescent light
-Four-Filtration Sytem
-100 watt submersible heater

I already have a 6 gallon tank with:
-2 Zebra fish
-1 read fin fish
-1 scissor tail fish
and i was wondering if i could transfer over them to other tank?

I was also wondering how often i have to clean it, and change the water.

 

[misterking]

You should read up on cycling your tank properly, do you know what this is?

Do you have a filter in your 6 gallon? You could move some of the filter media into your new filter so that the bacteria can be trasferred over, speeding up cycling.

When cycled, you should be able to move across your fish with no issues. A water change of around 10 or 20% every week suffices for most people though this is up to you.

 

[akobal]

yeah i do know what cycling is but how long should i do it for?

 

[stoddern]

you'll notice the tank will be clear one night and when you wake up the water will be all cloudy (whiteish in color) this is the bacterial bloom, it should take anywhere from 3 days to a week but once the water goes clear again (the bloom should have settled out) it should be fine to add the fish. read the tank cycling guide by missfishy theres a link in her signature

 

[akobal]

Thanks a lot i really appreciate it

 

[misterking]

You will only know that a tank is fully cycled by buying an API freshwater master test kit (not the strips) and the readings are as follows: ammonia 0, nitrIte 0, nitrAte between 10 and 20. There are other test kits available but personally I find this brand the most reliable.

Unfortunately it generally takes a fair while longer than a week, cycling is not letting the tank "settle", it's the formation of a suitable bacterial colony in the filter to cope with fish waste. And also, the appearence/disappearence of a bacteria bloom doesn't indicate the end of a cycle, these can happen to mature tanks as well as cycling tanks. Cycling takes as long as it takes, there's really no way of guessing, but if your 6 gallon is filtered it's a good idea to add some of the filter media to your new filter to speed up the process. Don't clean the piece of filter media, leave it all gunky and dirty, it'll be full of denitrifying bacteria (which is good!).

A good link which you must read is as follows, written by fellow forum member Missfishy:
http://missfishy.tripod.com/