Cycling a 55 Gallon

Originally posted by srstickler
Greetings,

Moving into a bigger house and I'm buying a 55 gallon tank, I currently own a 25 gallon. I plan to set up the 25 gallon tank for a week while I set up the 55.

My question is: When I begin to fill the 55 gallon for the first time, will it cycle more quickly by pumping some of the water from the 25 gallon (during a routine water change) into the 55?

Question #2 - I have a 10 gallon tank with a few whiteclouds in it for my daughter. I was planning to move all my fish from the 25 gallon tank into this 10 gallon for the move (new house is about 30 minutes away). Is there a better way to move my fish??

Click to expand...

Ok, to address question 1:

The majority of your bacteria do not live in the water itself, rather on solid surfaces in your tank. The better option would be to transfer some of the gravel (in the toe of a new, clean knee-high, so you can get them back out if you so desire) or the filter pad into the 55. Putting old tank water in really isn't going to help all that much, I'm afraid.

Now, for #2:

It is a BAD idea to move any tank while it has water in it. Any slight twist with all that internal pressure could cause the tank to crack, or maybe even blow up, if you took a bump on the road wrong. The best thing is to get a new, clean rubbermaid tote with a lid to transport your fish in, leaving an airstone in the box with them as long as possible, and making sure the lid fits tight on the top, so you don't slosh water all over everything and your fish can't jump out. Transporting a pressurized glass box is not a good idea and is just asking for trouble. You'd be surprised how much 10 gallons of water actually weighs, and the glass on a 10 just isn't that strong. If it were, say, the thickness of your car windshield, it would be a little different, but tanks just don't stand up to torque all that well, especially under that kind of pressure.

Hope this helps!