upgrading from a 10 gal to 20 gal tank

[kurtismjohnson]

Are there any tips for upgrading from a 10 to 20 gallon tank? Ive been wanting to do it to have room for more fish. Im relatively new to fish tanking, but it has already become an addictive hobby. And dont worry, im not rushing anything. My 10 gallon has been going well, so I just wanted to know if theres anything special I should know about for when I upgrade. (ex: how to transfer the beneficial bacteria, etc.)

Id love to get an even bigger one, but I simply dont have room in my small apartment. Maybe one day when i buy a house!

Thanks!

 

[ryanoh]

As long as you transfer over your substrate, your decorations, and probably most importantly your filter, you should be okay. Your tank may mini cycle, but when I did this mine didn't when I changed tanks.

 

[kurtismjohnson]

the problem is, i will probably have to get a bigger filter. my filter now is only meant for 5-15 gallon tanks. ive read that I should run the old filter with my new filter for a few weeks. the problem with that is, they wont both fit with the hood on it as there is only a cut out for 1 filter. should i just leave the hood off? then it wouldnt stay lit.

 

[achase]

Can you transfer your filter media from your old filter to your new one?
If you can't then I would say leave your hood off. From what I understand light is not an essential part of the cycling process and it won't effect the cycle. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!!

 

[kurtismjohnson]

I'll see if I can fit the filter media in the new one. The new one will probably be bigger so I don't know if the media will fit right. I'll look into it though. I haven't acquired the equipment yet. Looking to do it in the next day or so.

 

[prsturm]

I just upgraded my 15 gallon to a 20 gallon yesterday, in fact. I put my fishes in a big bucket with an air-stone, and transferred everything over lickety-split. No problems, surprisingly enough. They settled right back in, since it was the same setup as before. Make sure you get more substrate as well.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

The majority of the beneficial bacteria is in the filter media, that is most important. Here is what I would do if a new filter does not fit on your 10 with the old filter. Get the new tank, set it up at the substrate, deco everything you want (tank it from the old tank if you want) move over all the fish and the filter. Start the new filter running as well. Add a SMALL amount of new fish 2-3 at most, wait two weeks and then add more fish if you want. Continue this until you are fully stocked. Make sure to check the water parameters along the way and continue water changes. Then you can either remove the smaller filter, or keep it running so if you ever need an emergency or QT tank you can use your 10 gal and have an instantly cycled tank! I have 2 filters on all my tanks, as a back up in case one fails and because you can never have too much filtration! What you are looking for is the filter to move 5-7 times the water volume per hour. So in a in a 20 gal you would need a filter that moves at minimum 100 gallons per minute.

 

[bassbonediva]

If you can't fit the cartridge into the new filter (which it sounds like you're running the AquaTech 5-15, unless I'm mistaken), just cut the blue pad off the cartridge and stuff that into your new filter. I don't use the cartridges anymore with any of my filters, I just buy big rolls of blue filter pad, cut it to the size I want, and stuff it into my filter.

 

[kurtismjohnson]

Cool. Thanks for the input! i'm working on it now. Ill let you know how it goes.

 

[aakaakaak]

When I added my 29 gal I took a few gallons of dirty substrate tank water and a chunk of the substrate over to the new tank. I didn't even move the filter over and still didn't get a mini-cycle. You should be good with what you're doing.

 

[Thyra]

100 gallons per minute sounds like a wide open fire hydrant? Am I wrong?

 

[bassbonediva]

I'm pretty sure they meant "100 gallons per HOUR," Thyra.

 

[aakaakaak]

Edit: DOH! Paige beats me again!

Um, that should probably be GPH I think. Good catch Thyra.

 

[kurtismjohnson]

Ok, so i made the switch. Everything is going great so far. Ill post a pic. If anyone has any suggestions, I gladly welcome them. remember, im still new to this.

photo | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

the filter hanging in the front is the one from my old tank. its not pretty there, but im hoping it will get some of the good bacteria flowing through the new filter.

 

[bassbonediva]

The only thing I would suggest is instead of hanging the whole old filter on the tank, just remove the filter cartridge and cut the blue pad off it and stuff it into the new filter. That way you're only having to run the one filter, but you're still maintaining your cycle (while expanding your colony of beneficial bacteria to your new filter media).

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Yes, Yes Gallons per Hour!