[pinoyman]

Dear good people of TFK, I come to you seeking guidance.

Anyway, here is my situation:

I currently have a 29 gallon artificial only plants, but well established tank. In it I have 4 juvenile angels which are rapidly growing, 4 cory cats and 1 albino pleco.

I am currently working on a 75 gallon which will be somewhat heavily planted. My plan is to ensure that the plants thrive first and then maybe think about transferring the 4 angels. This is pretty much where I am stuck at.

I am thinking of putting in eventually a ton of schooling fish (maybe 10-12 rosy tetras to begin with), but I do not exactly know when. Is it okay to do this the same time I put in the plants? And then when everything is stable, transfer the angels? And will I be able to transfer all the angels at once, taking into account the bio load. Or should I do this a pair at a time, even one at a time?

I don't know what other info to put in, so if you need any additional detail, please let me know. Thanks.
-manny

 

[RSVBiffer]

As long as you transfer the filter from the old tank to the new one (or rather all the media) then you will be able to transfer all the fish at once as the bacteria colonies in your current media are capable of supporting your current bioload.

 

[pinoyman]

As long as you transfer the filter from the old tank to the new one (or rather all the media) then you will be able to transfer all the fish at once as the bacteria colonies in your current media are capable of supporting your current bioload.

I plan on keeping the 29G. I am not moving the pleco and the cory's. My intention was once the angels are transferred to the 75G, I then plan to add maybe some hatchetfish.

I actually just plan on using mechanical filtration on the 75G since it will be planted.

 

[sandybottom]

i would quarantine all new fish,or you run the risk of killing all of your angels.

 

[rsskylight04]

For a 75 gall I don't think 4 small angels are too much to add at once, as long as your bacteria/ nitrogen cycle is stable.
I would suggest that you install the filter you plan on using into the 29 to get it pre-cycled. So youll have two filters going on your 29 .Also filter material out of your old filter will help to get the new filter/tank cycling much faster, as will gravel, rocks...anything that's been pre slimed in a mature tank.
Adding fish will help the plants get established and start growing, but please do not add fish till your water parameters are stable.
Sounds like a great plan for your 75gal.
Good luck!

 

[pinoyman]

For a 75 gall I don't think 4 small angels are too much to add at once, as long as your bacteria/ nitrogen cycle is stable.
I would suggest that you install the filter you plan on using into the 29 to get it pre-cycled. So youll have two filters going on your 29 .Also filter material out of your old filter will help to get the new filter/tank cycling much faster, as will gravel, rocks...anything that's been pre slimed in a mature tank.
Adding fish will help the plants get established and start growing, but please do not add fish till your water parameters are stable.
Sounds like a great plan for your 75gal.
Good luck!

Thanks. When you say wait to add fish until the water parameters are stable, do you mean a couple of days after I have set the tank? Plants and all? Or do you mean wait until the tank is cycled? I guess that was my main question. I didn't want to add any fish soon after I have the plants added if it meant hurting the little guys.

It sounds like a silly question that you have probably answered and it was not obvious to me. Sometimes I need a

for something to sink in. Thanks again!

 

[rsskylight04]

Only my opinion, but I always wait till the tank is cycled before adding fish. There are many ways to cycle a tank and some use live fish as part of the process. In my view its bad practice for two main reasons- one it hurts the fish, and two- you have to do waterchanges as your cycle develops to avoid killing the fish. Some people swear by fish- in cycling though, so the choice is up to each keeper.
I use fishfood flakes to get ammonia started,but there are lots of methods.
L

 

[moghedan]

Add second filter (that will move to the 75) to 29 now.

Set up 75 at your leisure. Take at least a week.

Move fish and filter to 75.


From that point forward, proceed as if they are two separate tanks.

 

[pinoyman]

Add second filter (that will move to the 75) to 29 now.

Set up 75 at your leisure. Take at least a week.

Move fish and filter to 75.


From that point forward, proceed as if they are two separate tanks.

And that is what I will do. Thank you all for the help. It is really much appreciated.:-D

 

[atwilson1972]

don't know if anyone has comments on this, but i have had great success in using a combination of ammonia dosing and partial transferring of bacteria colonies from a known good filter.
it can take some time to get the hang of it, but dose the tank with a small amount of ammonia, then check the ammonia level. get to be about .5 to 1 ppm with the filter running. next, add some good bacteria and monitor the levels, add ammonia as needed to keep the level at .5 to 1.
bacteria will colonize and get stronger faster.
in addition, adding substrate and other items will definitely help after the ammonia is constantly being consumed by the new bacteria.

 

[pinoyman]

don't know if anyone has comments on this, but i have had great success in using a combination of ammonia dosing and partial transferring of bacteria colonies from a known good filter.
it can take some time to get the hang of it, but dose the tank with a small amount of ammonia, then check the ammonia level. get to be about .5 to 1 ppm with the filter running. next, add some good bacteria and monitor the levels, add ammonia as needed to keep the level at .5 to 1.
bacteria will colonize and get stronger faster.
in addition, adding substrate and other items will definitely help after the ammonia is constantly being consumed by the new bacteria.

You know, I thought of that. Dr Tim's has an ammonia product that I was going to use. I decided against it since I will have plenty of plants on the tank. I'm going to transfer some of the ornaments from my 29G, and I will hook up the canister filter that I am using on the 75 to the 29, let that run for a week or two. BTW, I'm not using biological or chemical, just mechanical filtration.

Soon as that is accomplished, I will then add the plants plus maybe some rosy tetras. How many little fishies can I get away with? I mean without hurting them with maybe dangerous ammonia spike.