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I have a 55 gallon being made and it will be ready in 3 weeks.

I currently have a 30 gallon set up for 18 months. If i transfer all the plants(12) some rocks ,driftwood and all the substrate and all the water(not much bacteria), plus the 2 filters(1 canister and 1 sponge submersible) do you think there would be a mini-cycle? Im thinking it wouldnt.

also i will feed the fish lightly for a few days afterwards.

anyone done this? im not keeping the 30gallon so dont want to cycle the 55 first then transfer, just lock stock and barrel transfer 30 to 50...

thanks...

it depends...

how many fish will be in the 55 gallon tank? in my personal opinion, i think you can safely transfer the filters, decorations, gravel, and fish into a newly established tank without having to worry about heavy ammonia spikes. i've done it before, and as long as you keep track of water quality tests, you should be fine.

I did the exact same thing a couple months ago -- moved the fish in my 30 gallon to a new 55. I transfered filter cartridges from other tanks, so that each of the 2 new biowheels on the 55 had two mature filter pads (which I guess would be equivalent to transferring your canister) although they didn't have mature wheels in them.

I also moved a large piece of driftwood and some of the plants from the 30, but I didn't transfer any gravel.

Then I just plunked all the fish in their new quarters. I had no problem at all -- not even a trace of a mini-cycle.

I'd suggest keeping an eye on it, but if you're moving your mature filters, and not adding a bunch of new stock at the same time, you'll probably be fine.

thanks for the replies, i wont be adding any new fish for and while , the 30 gallon is fully stocked...

Thats why its time for a bigger tank

i have all the test kits so will keep a close eye on it..