Upgrading tank from 10 gallon to 36 gallon, need some advice!

[JCrizz]

I started in this hobby just about a month ago and shortly after I started I realized that a 10 gallon tank just wasn't going to be enough. I've been looking around for a bigger tank (20-30) and found a pretty good deal online for a Aqueon 36 gallon tank with a stand, that had really good reviews. I took the plunge today and ordered it! I'll be picking it up later this week or this weekend.

So my question to the community is, what's the best way to go about transferring my fish to the new tank? Should I use some of the water from the 10 gallon and add it to the 36 gallon? Do I start fresh using tap water and the dechlorination? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!

I am raising Guppies (7 so far), so is there anything I should include in the new tank? I ordered some Java Moss that should be here in the next few days so the baby guppies have somewhere to hide, but I may make the 10 gallon a breeding tank or a baby tank. Any thoughts? Would you guys recommend using a breeder box or something like that instead?

There's actually several questions in there, but any advice you could spare would be awesome! Like I mentioned, I'm still very new to the hobby and am very much still learning the ropes.

[Austy16414]

Welcome, and congrats on the upgrade! For transferring, make sure you have the 36 setup, cycled, and ready to go. Don't worry about transferring the water, as the majority of the beneficial bacteria is on the filter media and substrate. Once the temperatures are matched, you can either transfer the fish directly or acclimate them by slowly mixing water in a bucket. If you already have the 10 gallon, might as well use that for the fry unless you're trying to make room. It will make your life easier than the breeder box. I think the guppies will appreciate whatever plant cover you can give them


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[morpheus]

i would keep the 10gal up and running too. in one of my tanks i do have a fine mesh breeder box for fry, and transfer them to a 10gal after the fry get a little bigger. fry are more susceptible when young to water params changing, so transferring the fry too soon isnt ideal.

as for transferring the adults, no water from the 10gal is really needed. think of it like going from a store to your home. everything will be different, just cleaner with all new water. i always slow acclimate fish. float the fish in a bag so temp adjusts, and add the new tank water into the bag in low amounts every like 15 min for an hour or so. this allows the fish to adjust to a new pH easier if different. after that i just release.

some people cycle a tank with fish, others do not. its all choice. temperature difference is the biggest thing in transferring into a brand new tank. try to get the temp as close as possible. you wont have any ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. use some used filter media if possible to tranfer some good bacteria, but you can buy a chemical call seachem stability too. this will introduce good bacterial cultures into your water, and the fish producing waste allow the cultures to take hold faster.

you may notice the tank can get cloudy after adding fish for the first time, and that is part of the cycling process. it will clear up over over time. just monitor your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in the short term since the good bacteria is not yet built up, and do water changes as needed to keep the levels down (this is what cycling a tank does).

as for setup, guppies are not very demanding. they get along well with other livebearers (mollies, platties, etc). they do enjoy plant cover. the fry will search it out. it is up to you to go with live or artificial plants. most lights that come with those setups are good enough for low light plants (java moss counts as low light). there are others who can give much better insight for good low light plants.

[JCrizz]

Here is my new tank with the guppies. And guess what?! My old tank is already a breeding track with at least 4 fry that I can see so far! Mamma yellow guppy had fry last night!

[morpheus]

congrats. guppies are nice for breeding purposes. pop a few in the tank and watch them go...and the kids always like watching the fry grow up.

[ptran]

Congrats on the new tank and breeding. Soon you will have a tankful of guppies.


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