Cycling my tank

[mrose_s]

okay. perhaps we are moving in a few weeks. just about an hour away maybe. thats the area we are looking at.

moving fish i figure i would just scooop them into a bacg like the pet shop does, emty out their tank. and take them with me.

but does that mean when i set the tank up again that it will start cycling all over again and my fish will have to go through that stress again?

 

[blue]

How big is the tank and how much of its water would you be able to move with you?

If you cant take any of the water with you, dont clean the filter media during your water changes a week or 2 leading up to the move.

We moved a 125g tankfrom Anchorage to Wasilla with none of the tanks waterjust dirty filter media and my sting rays made it through the move with only a small spike but no full fledged cycle. When I sold the tank it went back to Anchorage with about half of its water with no spikes at all after the move.

 

[mrose_s]

okay. its 34L about 8G i think. we would probably only have to take out enough water for us to move it ourselves.

 

[dogsarebetter]

dont take all the water out, leave all of the dirty gravel and the old filter cartridge.
good luck

 

[Psyfalcon]

I've moved my tanks quite often, 6h at a time.

Most of your good bacteria is in the filters, gravel, and on other hard surfaces. It really does not matter if you save the water, unless the new water has a very different chemistry. With my freshwater fish, I just filled up the tank and set up my filter again. The filter media was bagged like the fish and the sand kept wet.

For my saltwater tank I did take the water, so I wouldn't have to mix it at the other end. It could also apply if the tap water was very different. Even the saltwater tank, which took 10h between teardown and turning the filter back on did not see any recycling.

 

[dogsarebetter]

and if worse came to worse you can get bio spira. its something you put in the water to cycle it in a couple of days safely.

 

[blue]

I've moved my tanks quite often, 6h at a time.

Most of your good bacteria is in the filters, gravel, and on other hard surfaces. It really does not matter if you save the water, unless the new water has a very different chemistry. With my freshwater fish, I just filled up the tank and set up my filter again. The filter media was bagged like the fish and the sand kept wet.

Both time my 125g was moved and my other tank moves, the substrate was allways kept wet.

and if worse came to worse you can get bio spira. its something you put in the water to cycle it in a couple of days safely.

Has that ever been used successfully?

 

[dogsarebetter]

oh heck yeah!
i belong to a few fish forums and everyone swears by it. not to mention i have used it. its pricey and has to be shipped overnight and stays fridgerated. if you get it warm all of the bacteria dies
its a bit of a hassle.

the question is, has it ever NOT been used successfully!
there are some other things that claim to cycle your tank, but its bull crap. they dont have the right bacteria in it! cycle and stress zyme are some that come to mind.

 

[blue]

oh heck yeah!
i belong to a few fish forums and everyone swears by it. not to mention i have used it. its pricey and has to be shipped overnight and stays fridgerated. if you get it warm all of the bacteria dies
its a bit of a hassle.

Its been a year or more since Ive had fish, and the forums I was on nobody had any luck with the stuff but I dont know the full details: temps, conditions and what not. Of the 6 tanks I had I only had to cycle 1 tank.

Good to know the stuff works.