Hey. I "lucked" into a 55 gallon tank and want to transition my two goldfish to it ASAP. They are currently in a cycled 20 gallon, and have been happy for about seven months. What is the best way to cycle the 55 and transition "Sushi" and "Jaws" with as little stress as possible? Can I set up the 55 and place an old filter pad/media from the 20G (HOB) into the 55? How long do I have to wait. FYI the 55 will have a canister filter, but I dont have the details, its from a family member who is clearing out his garage. Thanks!
Transferring to a 55 Gallon
- Thread starter kiddevo
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If you are planning on using the same gravel it will be fairly easy. I would transfer as much water as you can siphon out to the 55 gal. Transfer all of the gravel after a light rinse. Use the same filter, again only a light rinse. Set up the new filter, you can add some media from the old filter if you want. Top off with tap water (treat as you normally treat water for water changes). Put the fish in.
You will still have a bit of a cycle, but it should be minimal since you transferred the gravel and filter. Feed the fish lightly until you are sure the tank is cycled and test water for ammonia and nitrite.
You will still have a bit of a cycle, but it should be minimal since you transferred the gravel and filter. Feed the fish lightly until you are sure the tank is cycled and test water for ammonia and nitrite.
You could run your current filter plus the canister on your new tank for a couple of weeks in order to take advantage of the seeded media in your HOB while the canister media is developing its own bacterial colony. IMO, it's best not to rely too much on gravel, decor, etc. to carry your tank through a filter change. I switched out filters previously on my tank, and it pretty much broke my cycle even though all substrate, wood, etc. stayed in the tank and I'd left some of the used media floating in the tank. The water has to circulate through the BB colony to maintain the cycle; bacteria on other surfaces in the tank will only have limited effect. (Otherwise, we could all have tanks with a lot less equipment in them. 
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)Don't bother moving water from the old tank to the new tank, all that will do is move nitrates. Instead, fill the 55G at least 3/4 full and let it sit a couple days, use your choice of dechlor. I prefer Prime. Then siphon the gravel in the 20G really, really well and dump out all the nastiness like you normally would. Put the fish in a bucket, move the gravel, filter, heater, and any decorations / plants from the 20G to the 50G, then the fish. Should be fine. Just run both filters on the new tank for at least a couple weeks (I'd give it a solid month) and I doubt you will see any cycle. If you're still worried get some Seachem Stability or similar and dose the 55G like a new tank to smooth it out. Should be fine -- goldfish are really tough.
skip moving the water...no sense in putting dirty water in a clean tank. just transfer over all of the old filter media and you will be set. you don't even have to transfer over the gravel if you want to choose a different kind.
Since you are not upping the bioload as far as I can tell (not adding any new fish, correct?) all you would need to do is use the old media with the new filter in some war. No need to re-cycle the new tank. Just move the media over to the new tank when you move the fish, either by actually using placing it in the new filter or you can run the old filter with the new one at the same time. Should be a fairly simple transition...
If you place the old filter media in the 45 tank or in the new filter on the 45 then it should be cycled fairly quick 1-2 weeks. For the filter it depends on what type of filter you want to get. An aquaclear 50 would work on that but i'd probably get a aquaclear 70 just for better filtration.