Upgraded my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon tank

So I'm thinking about upgrading my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon. My question is, is it possible to just move all the gravel, rocks, decor, filter, heater, everything from the one tank to the new tank including the water. If I added the other 20 gallons or so of water would this be ok to just transfer fish or would I have to wait for it to cycle? To me it seems like it would be the same as a 50% water change. I could be wrong please let me know. Pet smart has a deal on the 55 gallon start up kit. I'd like to use all my existing equipment along with the new stuff with the tank.

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So I'm thinking about upgrading my 29 gallon to a 55 gallon. My question is, is it possible to just move all the gravel, rocks, decor, filter, heater, everything from the one tank to the new tank including the water. If I added the other 20 gallons or so of water would this be ok to just transfer fish or would I have to wait for it to cycle? To me it seems like it would be the same as a 50% water change. I could be wrong please let me know. Pet smart has a deal on the 55 gallon start up kit. I'd like to use all my existing equipment along with the new stuff with the tank.

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From what I've read and heard, you'd get a "minI cycle" within the 55gal... But nothing horrible.
I had a minI cycle from a water change once.

Id wait for more experienced people with transferring tanks came along, but good luck!

 

It worked for me when I went from a 20 gallon to a 39 gallon. I used a new hob filter so I just took the media out of my 20 gallon filter and put it in my new filer for the 39 gallon then added some more media to it because it was a bigger filter.

 

Hey, congrat's on the upgrade! FYI, I just went from an 80g to a 125 by doing what you are planning and yes, I had a minicycle but the levels have cleared themselves and the fish are doing great. I moved everything over including the filter media from my canister & HOB to a wet/dry sump filter system as well and everything as said went well. I would simply suggest just to keep a close eye on your testing and be ready to do a lot of daily small WC's if necessary. Good luck.

*oh, in addition I'm giving the newer larger tank one month+ to stabilize before adding more fish. Some may suggest using BB in a bottle which is great but since my bioload hadn't changed I felt no reason to.

 

I may just wait till end of summer give my plants and fish time to grow. Just redid my 29 about a month ago and I'm already ready to upgrade.

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Patience goes a long way in this business . Maybe in the meantime look into a sump filtration system, the benefits are incredible IMO.

 

I may just wait till end of summer give my plants and fish time to grow. Just redid my 29 about a month ago and I'm already ready to upgrade.

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I have an old 10 gallon has a small crack. If I fix that would that make a good sump for a 55

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That's exactly what I did when I upgraded from a 20 gallon to a 60 gallon tank. I don't know about the "minI cycle" because I tested the water everyday after the upgrade for 5 days and the ammonia and nitrite are 0 PPM. In other words, you get an instant cycle. The majority of the bacteria inhabits the filter media since bacteria like to colonize areas with a lot of water flow.

 

Once again, IMO would not use it. I get small tanks to use for such purposes on C. list for crazy cheap or maybe even an LFS. I think long term with filtration. I would over build a sump in case you ever go larger. This way when you may ever upgrade again you just increase the GPH and simply add more media etc...The larger the sump the more room for heaters, UV's, refugium space, added hardware, larger water volume to better stabilize/dilute chemistries such as nitrate etc...

* not to mention having a, "clean look" clutter free of equip. and the such.

 

Ok cool I'll look into a sump filter. Thanks for the help

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My thoughts, based upon experience upgrading a 10 to a 20:

-Go ahead and move everything over to the 55. This includes stock and filter. Because your filter is already cycled and you're not adding any new stock right away, if there is a mini-cycle, it should by minimal. You can use TSS if you want to, but because your 29 gallon filter is already cycled, it shouldn't be necessary.
-Run your new filter for the 55 alongside the filter from the 29, and don't add any new stock, except plants, to the 55 for a month. This will let the 55's filter pick up bacteria. Now is a good time to pick up your first round of new fish stock and get it into a QT.
-At the end of that month, your levels should be stable and your new filter cycled, so it's safe to add the new stock from the QT and move the 29's filter back to the 29 if you want to reuse it for new fish or as a larger QT.