Upgrading from a 10 gallon to a 20 gallon long

Ok so I'm in the planning stages of upgrading my tank. I plan on moving over my original media for the filter to get the new tank cycled. My current filter is already appropriate for a 20 gallon but I am also going to upgrade this. Anyway, my issue/concern is the new tank will need to occupy the exact space that my current tank is in. Here is my plan, please let me know what you think.

Move fish into a bucket with half the current water and an air filter plus a decoration or two to reduce the stress
Remove the gravel and remaining decorations so I can exchange the tanks
Add the gravel and decorations to the new tank with the current filter media with the remaining current tank water
Add new water and treat with Seachum Prime
I'll test the levels before introducing the fish into their new tank
(I should add that I might upgrade the filter during this change and if I do I will add the original media in with the new so the media will get the beneficial bacteria.)

I'm basing this plan off of other posts that I have read on here during my research. Would you do anything different or add anything to these steps? Did I miss anything? Much appreciated!

 

Hi,

your plan seems good but the only thing I would change to the plan would to run the new filter you desire along the old one for 1-2 months to get it cycled and the media cycled.

 

Thank you FinalFins ! Can I do that with the old media in the same filter with the new or run them separately side by side?

 

Run them side by side.

 

Just move EVERYTHING from the 10 gallon over to the 20 gallon including the water. Bacteria doesn't live in the water but it is the water your fish are used to. They will just think they have had a 50% water change. Either go ahead and run the filter from the 10 gallon on the 20 or just move all of the media over to the new filter. There is no need to run both of them. The bacteria in the filter lives mostly on the media. Some will live on the walls of the smaller filter but not enough to affect your cycle 'specially if you move substrate and decor. Lots of bacteria lives on those items.

Move your fish and decor over to a holding container filled with water from the 10 gallon until the switch is done. Once everything is in place in the 20 gallon go ahead and put the fish and the water in the container in the 20. Turn the light off to give the fish some quiet time to get used to their new home. Keep an eye on the perimeters for a few days.

 

Just move EVERYTHING from the 10 gallon over to the 20 gallon including the water. Bacteria doesn't live in the water but it is the water your fish are used to. They will just think they have had a 50% water change. Either go ahead and run the filter from the 10 gallon on the 20 or just move all of the media over to the new filter. There is no need to run both of them. The bacteria in the filter lives mostly on the media. Some will live on the walls of the smaller filter but not enough to affect your cycle 'specially if you move substrate and decor. Lots of bacteria lives on those items.

Move your fish and decor over to a holding container filled with water from the 10 gallon until the switch is done. Once everything is in place in the 20 gallon go ahead and put the fish and the water in the container in the 20. Turn the light off to give the fish some quiet time to get used to their new home. Keep an eye on the perimeters for a few days.

I agree with Mattgirl. Using some of their original water will reduce stress and keep the parameters in check.

 

So update...I’ll be doing a 30 gallon instead of a 20. There will be 2 10 gallon tanks combined into one tank. Is it safe to use the filter media from both tanks in the new tank? Or will that just throw everything out of whack?

 

That’s fine. Are you putting the media in your filter?

 

So update...I’ll be doing a 30 gallon instead of a 20. There will be 2 10 gallon tanks combined into one tank. Is it safe to use the filter media from both tanks in the new tank? Or will that just throw everything out of whack?

The more the merrier. Using seeded media from 2 cycled tanks gives you more bacteria so it is a good thing.

 

I’ll basically take both filers and add them to the new tank. Will it be enough filtration? 2 Tetra Whisper 20I plus ammonia sponge additives

 

I’ll basically take both filers and add them to the new tank. Will it be enough filtration? 2 Tetra Whisper 20I plus ammonia sponge additives

That should work well.