Moving my 55g, Need help!

[salman]

All of the fish that i had in my 55g died. I hated the decoration and all the gravel.
Tomorrow im going to be moving that tank into my room, i will put all the water in buckets, 75% of it maybe. And, remove all the gravel. I wont be changing the filter or anything. Just the gravel and decoration. Is that ok? or will i have to cycle the tank again since the bacteria in the gravel would all be gone. I am switching to sand, so it will be almost imposible to take off a little gravel and add sand, and so on. I want to move the tank to my room, then after 1 hour, i will get the sand and the fish. Is that ok?

[Kuli_Loach]

I would put all the gravel in a pair of pantyhose and stick in a bucket of water and place it in your tank. Make sure to keep the filter cartridge wet to retain the bacteria.

[salman]

thank you!

And how long should i leave in there? And how much gravel?

[Kuli_Loach]

Quite a bit, you want all the bacteria as possible. I would leave it for at least 5 days, a week would be better. I would wait a week with that stuff in there including the filter media and stuff and then place the fish in.

[salman]

1 week is alot lol.. i am impatient when it comes to buying fish lol. Can i take out half of the gravel and put the sand over it?

[RobbieG]

There is no point is trying to save the water - just dump it. There is nothing good in it and there could be plenty of bad things in there if all your fish died.

I wouldn't go too crazy with the gravel if you want to be on the safe side - try about 10 pounds or so in each leg of a pair of pantyhose. Most people I know use a pound or so per gallon - 55 pounds of gravel wrapped up in pantyhose would be quite a sight!

[Kuli_Loach]

I would say mix it but I like the look of having both mixed together. It will mix anyways if you have gravel in there because when you vacuum it, it will be picked up and mixed. If it is cycled, it really should be fine as long as all the media is still wet, most of the bacteria should be transported. I was saying 1 week to get it all going real smooth, a couple of days should be fine but not as safe as a week. It is cycled already right?

[Lady Hobbs]

I am the campion mover of tanks. LOL I have moved my 55 gallon 3 times, 30 gallon about 8 times, 20 gallon 101 times. LOL

The water contains very little bacteria. There really is no need to save so much of it. Bacteria is in the filter media and gravel. Since the gravel is coming out, you will maybe experience a bit of a mini-cycle but do as Kuli recommends and put the old gravel in some stockings.

Don't clean any of the decorations or any of the stuff. Just transfer it all over.

Wash your gravel about three times, put it in your tank, lay a plastic bag in the bottom and fill the tank. The bag helps it from getting too cloudy. Let it settle about half an hour and turn your filters on.

Your bacteria will die without fish. Start out with just a few to get that cycle going.

[RobbieG]

You shouldn't put new substrate over old. It kills the bacteria growing on it and will cause a pretty good sized ammonia spike

[salman]

I'm going to dump the water then and start from scratch. I'm even going to clean out my filter or get a new one.

But, i still dont get the cycling process. I never cycled any of my tanks.

Do i just leave it running for a day, then add a school of fish to produce nitrates which will higher the ammonia and then have a nitrite spike? I heard that takes 2 weeks :/

[Kuli_Loach]

How long was it running before? If it had run for a while, as in several months, don't pitch the filter media and substrate, no use in wasting it and starting from scratch, wasting time that way.

[salman]

I am the campion mover of tanks. LOL I have moved my 55 gallon 3 times, 30 gallon about 8 times, 20 gallon 101 times. LOL

The water contains very little bacteria. There really is no need to save so much of it. Bacteria is in the filter media and gravel. Since the gravel is coming out, you will maybe experience a bit of a mini-cycle but do as Kuli recommends and put the old gravel in some stockings.

Don't clean any of the decorations or any of the stuff. Just transfer it all over.

Wash your gravel about three times, put it in your tank, lay a plastic bag in the bottom and fill the tank. The bag helps it from getting too cloudy. Let it settle about half an hour and turn your filters on.

Your bacteria will die without fish. Start out with just a few to get that cycle going.

I want to take out all the decorations too. I always hated the decorations of that tank. I usually dump any decoration i dont like in there. I want to just get a couple of driftwood, rocks and some plants.

[RobbieG]

If the tank was cycled - keep the filter media and do the pantyhose thing with the substrate - it will save you from having to cycle the tank.

If you get rid of the old stuff - your best bet will be a fishless cycle - there is a sticky with instructions on how to do this.

[Lady Hobbs]

Don't clean your filter! It takes weeks to get that much bacteria growing. You don't want sand and gravel mixed, either. The sand is finer and will just end up under the gravel and be a mess.

Get about 6 hardy fish to start your cycle and keep the bacteria you have alive.

[salman]

I've had the time for a while now. Like a year.

I'm not going to change the filter, But i will take out the gravel and put it in some stockings and add some sand and decoration. But, how will i know when i can put the fish in? I have a test kit for everything but what do i look for?

[tropfish]

don't clean the filter. a majority of the beneficial bacteria are on that. just keep it wet with declorinated water and put it in your tank. Your ammonia will spike up if you don't and any fish you added too early would most likely die if u also were replacing the gravel.

[Kuli_Loach]

You you let it run like that for a while, it should be just like you only done a large water change.

[salman]

You you let it run like that for a while, it should be just like you only done a large water change.

But when can i add the fish?

[Lady Hobbs]

I've had the time for a while now. Like a year.

I'm not going to change the filter, But i will take out the gravel and put it in some stockings and add some sand and decoration. But, how will i know when i can put the fish in? I have a test kit for everything but what do i look for?

Salman, the bacteria you have in the filter will die without a source of ammonia to keep it going. As soon as your tank clears after adding the sand, you can (and should) add fish to keep the bacteria alive.

I didn't mean you had to keep the same decorations forever but all hard surfaces contain bacteria. Using it for now until the tank is cycled, you can replace when it's finished.

[salman]

Salman, the bacteria you have in the filter will die without a source of ammonia to keep it going. As soon as your tank clears after adding the sand, you can (and should) add fish to keep the bacteria alive.

I didn't mean you had to keep the same decorations forever but all hard surfaces contain bacteria. Using it for now until the tank is cycled, you can replace when it's finished.

What fish do you suggest me adding? I heard a school of tiger barbs do good.

[Kuli_Loach]

Add a few hardy fish at first and then after about a week, add the fish you want.

[Kuli_Loach]

You could possible add Cory's or silver dollars are hardy!

[Lady Hobbs]

Danios or barbs. Silver dollars really aren't that hardy. They can't take elevated nitrites at all, most meds, etc. Actually, they are rather tender little fish.

[Kuli_Loach]

More hardy than any of my other fish!! Well maybe not my corys, I have kept several silver dollars and I have only had one that has given me fits! I guess I just got lucky, I really thought they were hardy, shows what I know.:bfish:

[Lady Hobbs]

Be careful with mediication with them in the tank. They can't seem to tolerate much of anything.

[digger]

why dont you just run the old filter in it for a while about a month as well as the new filter that way you get the bacteria you need and it gives the new filter the time it needs to mature and put a couple of the old ornaments in for a little while then remove them later.

[Kuli_Loach]

Exactly what I said digger, great minds think alike eh?