Ok, so I am getting my fishes a new tank

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

and just want to ask a couple of questions as I know some of you are fish geniuses on here :)

I am getting a 190 litre tank (from a 56 so a big increase) - I will set the tank up when I get it, get the filter going etc etc - how long should I leave it before I put my fishes in there (we have fancy tail goldfishes). Should I put totally new water in or can I put some of the water from the tank they are in now??

Sadly, am very excited about a new tank. This is the third time I have upsized - the first tank we bought from a speclialist aquatic centre was ridiculously small -and DH has made me promise I won't want to upsize anymore. We shall see :D

Ooh, you are going to be very popular with your fish Are you moving everything over or keeping your old tank going as well?

Eau - I am moving all my goldfish into the new tank and putting some smaller fishes (rosie barbs) in the 60 litre as they are currently in the smaller tank.

So you are getting rid of the smaller tank? You'll still have 2 tanks, just different ones?

Yep, the smaller tank is gonna get chucked - am so cross we were able to by it, esp as on the box it says I can house 4 fish !!!

So yes tanks, smaller one for the small cold water fish and the big one for my lovely boys!! Actually, don't know what sex they are but call them my boys :)

Ah, it can house 4 fish but it doesn't say how long for That's how they get away with it!

Since you're not going to end up with an extra tank, that makes life pretty easy. People talk about cycling tanks but it's really the filter than gets cycled. The filter media contains nearly all the bacteria your fish need so you can just switch it around and you won't need to wait 6 weeks because the bacteria is already there. I'd still keep a really close eye on the ammonia levels for the next few days just in case though.

Right, this is how I would do it-

1. Set up the big tank and leave it running for 24 hours to make sure the filter works and there are no leaks (don't forget the dechlorinator!)
2. Drain out some of the water from the biggest tank, switch off the filter and make space in the filter for the sponges from the mid-sized tank filter.
3. Drain out half the water from the mid-sized tank and put it in the biggest tank.
4. Put the sponges from the mid-sized filter in the biggest tank filter and switch on.
5. Catch the goldfish, bag and float them in the new tank and move over the remainder of the water from the mid-sized tank. Once they've acclimatised a bit, release into their new home!
6. Same thing with the small tank, except you don't need to leave the mid-sized tank running for 24 hours because you know it doesn't leak and that the filter works.

If you need more details, let me know. Hope that all makes sense!

Rather than swap sponges around could I just have 2 filters running in the big tank - the new one and the one from the mid tank as the fish will go in there anyway?

..and yes you are right about how long to house 4 fish ..... my black moor fish had loads of problems in the small tank poor thing - has fared brilliantly in the bigger one and no problems with him at all...apart from him trying to ram himself in a shipwreck which he is clearly too big for!!

Don't you need the mid-sized filter in the mid-sized tank? I thought you already had fish to move in there.

Yes but I can keep the smaller fish in the small tank until the biggest tank is established and then was thinking when that when I move them into the mid size tank do the same again - run 2 filters together.

Am not in a rush so will just get one tank establised at a time to make sure water etc ok.

Does this sound feasible? I remember I ran 2 filters together when I moved from smaller tank to 60 litre one.

Thanks!

I would switch them over if it were me, if you run filters alongside each other and then remove one, you'll also be removing half of the bacteria. By just moving over the sponge you will be moving in all the bacteria that are already in the goldfish's filter.

Ok thanks Eau - will do that :)

Sorry, how long should I leave the filter from the mid size tank in the big filter? Then do I just swap them back?

You can leave it in there for as long as you like- I'd leave it for a month at least. So it goes like this:

Sponge from mid-size filter -> big filter
Sponge from small filter -> mid-sized filter

Does that make sense?

Yes, perfect sense. Right, sorry last question.

Sponge from mid filter into big filter....should I leave the big filter sponge in there too?

Sure, if it will fit. You could always cut it in half if you need to make room.

OK thanks !!

Well, my bid was sucessful so got my tank (jewel trigon 190 litre corner unit) for £175 which I think is good. Will try and collect it tomorrow.....exciting :)

Woohoo! I love getting a new tank.

Hijacking a thread here. We want to upgrade our filter for our 60l tank. We have an ELite STingray filter and want to swap for a Fluval U2. Can I swap the filter media (they are different shapes) or do I need to run both at once?

Is the FLuval filter ok or should I get the next size up. (The U2 is ok up to 110l tank according to box)

I've got a 2+ (the predecessor to the U2) in my 60l, it works fine as long as you don't overstock. I've had mine for years, they are very reliable.

You should be able to get the stingray sponge in there, you can always cut it in half if you need to, but don't squish it up because the bacteria need a decent flow of water. It will probably fit in one half of the U2. Change it over as quickly as you can to minimise bacteria die-off.