transfering smaller tanks to a bigger tank

fitbmxdude989

fitbmxdude989

Member
hey i have a 10 gallon tank and im making a 55 gallon tank setup but all i have is the 10 pounds of live rock. I dont want to kill my fish by taking away thier filter rocks but i also want to be able to start setup on the 55. how can i move all the stuff from the ten over without depriving the fish of what they need
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/3008608
get more LR from the LFS and let the 55 cycle
+1 the 55g is going to need allot more rock anyway. While it is just water and rock all you need to do is run your filter.
55 from a 10...Your going to be happy! save the 10 for a QT
 
mr-toad

mr-toad

New Member
I fully agree I am going from 55 to 125 soon as the 125 cycles. Thats just the rock and not moving anything other than a starfish and some crabs. Best to let the bigger tank get somewhat established before trying to move. My best advice is to take your time an get everything like you want it in the 55 before you start. Keep in mind working great does not mean lots of money. There are lots of ways to DIY and have good setups that work great. It took me a year to collect all my parts to start my 125 when I done it first time around.
 
mkroher

mkroher

Member
the 55gal does NOT need any more rock than your 10 gal, unless you increase your bio load.
for example.. if you have 3 fish in a 10 gal, and put the same 3 fish in the 55 gal, it will require the same amount of bacteria to process the nitrogen cycle.
The only reason you will need to buy more live rock... is if you increase your bio load and the 10lbs of live rock isn't enough to support enough bacteria life on it.
in my opinion... you can move everything over at once. there is very little bacteria in the water column.. it's all in the live rock.
also make sure your temps and salinity are exactly the same before you move anything.
 
sjk2840

sjk2840

Member
I went from a 20 gallon to an 80 gallon over a couple of days. I set up the 80 gallon and made sure all of my water params were the same as my 20 gallon. I took 1/2 of my live rock out of my 20 gallon and put it into the sump of my bigger tank and added my 5 smallest fish first, the next day I added the rest of my LR to my sump and added the rest of my fish. My ammonia barely went up for a few days, then everything leveled out.
 
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