FishProfiles.com Message Forums

adding the 20 fish the 30 shouldnt be any harm i have 20 schooling fish in my 29 plus other larger fish and they are very happy

It is simple
1. Take all the fish from the 55g and add them to the 10g.
2.sifin all the water and pebbles and filter from the 55g to the 30g
3. Sepparate the fish in the 10g into the 30g
4. Scrub and add the sand to the 55g nd fill it with clean water
5. Let the sand settle down and take 50% of the water out of the 55g and add water from the 30g and the 10g
6. Take the filter and put it back inthe 55g
7. Put a few of the pebbel in a net bag and submerg it in the corner of the tank with a piec of string
8. Finaly transfer the fish back to the 55g
9. When the tank is seeded take out the pebbels

Hope it helps and remember to test the water at each step
GOOD LUCK

You need to rinse the sand like 10 times what you would rinse gravel if possible to put it in a large bucket in the yard and run a garden hose into it till it runs clear. If you rinse it enough you should be able to put the fish back in with in a few hours.

hmm... thanks, its been a while since i've changed substrates.. all my tanks have whats originally started with... which is part of the reason im switching. its just. boring.



oh... another question i had would be do live plants have a problem living in sand?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

What you do to rinse sand is the same as what you do to rinse gravel. Put some in a bucket, add a hose, fill halfway and swirl, dump off the excess cloudy water, repeat till water runs clear.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

i could rinse the sand before i guess.. but how would i go about that?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Did you rinse the sand? It will really cloud if you don't rinse it at all.

thats a good idea.. i want to do that, but it almost seems impossible. the sand took forever to settle in the thirty gallon, and now it just seems like if i do this in the 55 gallon over a period of a few days to a week, the water could get really cloudy, and i just really want the best thing for the fish. GAH.. this is confusing.

i guess i'll go with switching some of the sand over a few days and we'll see how that goes.

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

I'm not concerned with the temporary move to the other tanks. My concern would be if you change the substrate all at once you've practically destroyed your bacteria colony. If you also keep the fish out of the tank for a few days then what's left in your filter is probably going to starve. The only way I see to keep the fish out of at least a mini cycle is to change part of the substrate over at a time and do it slowly.

if i tear down my 55 gallon fish tank and convert it from pebbles to sand, where would a safe place for me to house my 23 livebearers while the sand settles and water perameters become safe? i have a thirty gallon and a ten gallon, but i really dont want to stress them out.

Thanks!
chelle

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

thanks.... i think i've decided to move some of the larger fish to a 30 gallon which is cycling now, here in about a week. then all the smaller fish like danios and the fry, i will move to the ten gallon. it would probably only be for a day or two, just long enough for the sand to settle and for me to test the water and make sure its all safe... but my main concern was would moving 20 something adult mollies and swordtails to a 30 gallon, cause too much stress and kill them?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

if you want to change the substrate, you can do it and leave the fish in the tank.

just change a bit at a time, move a quarter of the old substrate and add the new one, slowly,carefully and ALWAYS test water every time you remove and add substrate.

I would say the whole thing should take a week? if you don't have the time or patience then take fish tear down tank and start again - can be stressful for the fish though?

You could also add the product Cycle as well as a sort of failsafe to keep the cycle going. but do test.

good luck

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

i only have the fish tanks the thirty gallon which is empty, but not cycled, and the ten gallon which is cycled and full of fry. is there possibly a way that i could scoop out all the pebbles in the bottom and then add the sand slowely? would that mess up the water cycle?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

How long would be the "FEW DAYS"? If it is a week, that would be stressful for them in a small tank. Do you have any other space where you can possibly put the other fish like a big tub? Just add the water from the 55g to it, and then add aerators (sp?). I’m not sure about this but at least less crowded… less crowded also means less stress.

ronn

I would use the 30 gal. if it's empty.



http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

okay in the ten gallon i've got 20 something babies that are big enough to not get eaten, i could split them up, but it might be a few days to get the 55 gallon to where its safe for them to be moved back to. would it be stressful if i overstocked just for a few days?

btw.. the fish are all community fish, all mollies, sailfins, and swordtails, i've also got a pleco and some white skirt tetras and zebra danio.

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

First of all, what other fish are in these two tanks 10g & 30g? If the answer is none, I could say… divide them into those tanks. Normally what I am doing is divide them according to aggression. But before doing that, you should test first if the water parameter of the 55g is the same as or closer to the two tanks just to avoid hassle. Gud luck!

ronn

iwould say no, wait a few days.