Moving Tanks

Hi guys, hoping for your advice again!

To cut a long story short....
I have been moving house (but as usual there were delays and issues). This meant that I had to move my tank (54 litre) temporarily to my parents house. Unfortunately I lost a few cories a few months in as they just didn't grow, and when I knew I would be moving I decided not to restock until settled again. After moving the tank to my parents I lost another Cory and rasbora leaving me at present with 1 Cory and 4 slender harlequins (which I plan to increase the numbers of when they are back in my house and settled).

the space I plan to keep my tank in the new house is ever so slightly bigger so it made sense to get a slightly bigger tank (obviously). So I have now bought a 64 litre tank arriving tomorrow (I don't think the other half has realised that somewhere down the line the old tank might make an appearance  )

My question is about moving the fish and cycling. Should I put the new filter into the tank at my mums for a while or run both filters together in the new tank for a while. Or should I seed it and do a fish less cycle?
My (limited) understanding is that the bacteria will mostly be in the filter, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
I would obviously love my fish to be back at my house asap, but want to make sure I am doing it right.

At the moment I plan to close the tank I have now.

Thank you for all your help!

Just to add! The old filter is a sponge aquael filter that came with the Leddy 60 tank, in all honesty I didn't like it in the old tank and was wanting to change it anyway, it was spitting out lots of particles no matter what I did with the sponge.
The new tank is an interpet insight 64litre with a CF-2 filter

If that filter isn't rated highly, I wouldn't be adverse to buying a different one if it's recommended.... I will be guided by you!

As I see it, you have 3 options.

Set up the new tank to make sure it doesn't leak and the heater & filter work, then go and collect all the fish, decor and the filter from the old tank. If it would be at all possible, take the substrate as well. Substrate is full of all sorts of beneficial microroganisms, although before I knew this I changed my substrate completely and the fish were OK. Feed the fish lightly for a couple of days before, nothing on transfer day itself, then lightly for a few days after.
As for the filter, either use the old filter till you know the tank has settled, them move the old media into the new filter; or put the old media in the new filter straight away.
And don't be tempted to get more fish for at least a couple of weeks.

Set up the new tank, with whichever filter you want to use (the one that comes with the new tank or another brand new one of your choice) and do a fishless cycle.

Set up the new tank with whichever filter, plant it and wait until you are sure the plants aren't dying. With lots of live plants you won't need to cycle the tank. Then transfer the fish over. Once you are sure there is no ammonia or nitrite showing up, get more rasboras first as you don't need to buy as many of them, then a couple of weeks later (if the water stays OK) get more cories.





As for filters, as Matt says, if the new filter has biomedia, fine, if not tweak it as he suggests. Or get a Fluval U2 or Eheim Aquaball 130.
For the 54 litre, when you smuggle that in if you want to replace that filter, the appropriate size Fluval U or the Aquaball 60.


It might be easier to smuggle the old tank in if it is ready for fish the day it arrives. If you bring it in empty then cycle it that will give him time to object. In other words, if you need to recycle the old tank, do it at your parents' house 

Sorry to hear about the new tank. I've just bought a new tumble dryer and got it from a local shop after reading the comments in reviews about the condition they arrive in (dents, panels ripped off etc) It seems this applies to everything these days.


Seeding a cycle is quite variable. It depends on the number of bacteria in the piece of media that is transferred. Given that you don't have many fish at the moment, there may not be many bacteria in the whole filter so even using a chunk of 'old' media may not speed a cycle much.

If you intend having live plants in the new tank, the best way to go would be to plant it and wait a week or two to make sure the plants are OK, then move the fish over.

I finally have a good quality tank!
Have decided I will plant heavily and also seed the filter and move decorations over as you suggested. Will wait a couple of weeks and move fish over if water parameters are all ok.

I am going to keep the cf2 filter and see how I get on.
It wasn't from p@h - the filter has an algaway pad, filter cartridge (looks like sponge/floss) and ceramic media - am I right in thinking there is no phosphate pad..... or is it the algaway pad?.... slightly confused!

Bought my plants yesterday and setting up the tank today..... got to love these days!

On a different note- when I was considering doing a fishless cycle instead I went to get ammonia from Homebase and they don't sell it anymore!
Any ideas where's the next best place to get good ammonia?!

I got my ammonia from B&Q, but you could try Amazon.