BristolBulldog

Just to outline.
current setup.
juwel vision 180.
internal filter, established 6+ months.
populated 60%
neons, plec's, angels, dwarf gourami etc

48x15x15 tank.
external filter (biopur1200, 4 filter baskets)
populated 60%
internal tank heater (300watt) massive sponge rack feature (volcano porus type that took days to sink)
plec's, neons, giant tetra's, cory's etc.

12x12x12 aquo one tank
50 watt heater
el-cheapo internal filter (still better than the undergravel)
over sized interpet air pump
6" crayfish only.

each tank has various decoration etc.

what i am having added to this little collection is this: -
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...DME:L:AAQ:UK:1

the plan is to replace the crayfish tank (this was always a temporary tank, but with the crayfish now seeing anything as potential food, he had to take temporary residence in a seperate tank) with the 4ft tank from the lounge.

and put the new tank into the lounge.

whats the best procedure for this?
I am going to need to purchase additional equipment so am looking into that now.
i will be getting another bio pure eheim copy filter as i am so impressed with the current one. i also want to go for an inline 300 watt heater for the lounge tank to keep it as tidy as possible, will this be sufficient? The filter will be rated at 1200 l/h so its good flow rate for the heater.

Procedure.
here's what i think is the best way (last time i did this i rushed it and killed almost all of my fish accidently, something i do not want to repeat this time.

stock up the current 4 basket filter with media for 1>2 weeks that it will take for all equipment and the tank to arrive)
hold off on changing the main filter media in my juwel tank until my new tank arrives.
change tanks over on the day that both the other tanks need a water change (typically a saturday).

luckily the new tank in the lounge is going to a different place, so i can have them both setup at the same time.

setup new tank (physically)
do water chagnes on both established tanks, and put this water (except dregs from bottom) into the new tank. top up tank. i expect this to be split 33% each to fill the new tank up. given that my existing tanks are underpopulated, and have perfect readings typically, and i have gone 2 weeks without a water change (once) before this could be a good option.

change the filter media in the juwel tank, and place into the new tank's filter, along with the excess media from the similar filter that would be established.

put the massive foam volcano into the new tank (this alone should be an established item? its around 2X1.5X1 (L X H X W) and is porus so should be like putting a massive filter sponge in there?

ok, so that would be the general plan. then i move the 4ft tank to the other room and its a simple standard changeover for the crayfish into the the 4ft tank.

providing my thinking is correct (and i'm sure there are flaws, so please point them out) this should go relatively smoothly.

I am a little stuck on where to put the fish from the 4ft tank whislt i move the 4ft tank. its not going to be too easy to leave the 4ft tank in its place for 1>2 days whilst the other tank gets established.

when i originally got my juwel tank (second hand) we fiotted new sponges, and existing gravel, heated it up to max for 1 day, let the temp settle and put new fish in, (10 neons to start with) no problem.

I know this is not all by the book, so this time i need the best advice possible!

thanks for reading.

BristolBulldog

i know its a really long post, but there msut be somoene who has good experience of adding new tanks etc?

Gunnie

Okay, I'm having a little bit of trouble following everything but here goes:

You don't need to pour the old tank water into your new tank. Most of the bacteria is on your decorations, and in your gravel and filter. I would just pour the old water out.


The tank appears to be around 352 liters. I think it would be the same formula for liters, so you want to shoot for 10 times the liter amount per hour for filtration, or 3520 lph on your filtration if it's a hang on back filter, and 5 times per hour if it's a canister. Your heating is recommended at 5 watts per gallon, so you probably need around 450 watts, unless an inline heater ratio is different. Not sure about that one.

You can put your fish temporarily in a rubbermaid container or a large bucket or barrell with some kind of filtration and a heater. When you do this and transfer all your decorations, gravel, and filters, you must keep the bacteria fed or it will start to die off when it's separated from the fish. If you have any of this stuff in a tank for over 24 hours without fish, you need to supplement the tank with an ammonia source to keep it going.

It sounds like you've really put some thought into this. It's gonna be a beautiful tank!