Moved a 29g that was given to me last night. The following is what we did to maintain the 'good' bacteria:

-Saved about 1/3 of the water
-Saved and did not rinse the gravel
-Kept the Bio-Wheel on the filter and the gravel wet

When we set it back up we:

-Added tap water and enough API Stress Coat and Aquarium Salt for the 20g or so we had to add back
-Added more gravel on top of the old, plus cosmetic goodies

Its current filter is an Aquaclear 150 (now called a 30). It moves 150 gal per hour. I'm thinking this may actually be borderline for my 29g, especially if I stock it to the max as we beginners are prone to do

So can I add some 'starter' fish (thinking Danios) or should I wait?

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http://cariessa.blogspot.com/

u should definatly get some test kits to monitor water quality. Does the tank have a heater? After u get a 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and <25ppm, u can add some hardy fish like platies or zebra danios. This should happen quickly because u have used gravel and filter media.

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I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

Yes, it has a heater but now that you mention it I don't have a thermometer!

I don't have anything to test it either. Will the strips be ok? The seem the easiest to use.

Guess I need to hit the lfs...

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http://cariessa.blogspot.com/

strips are often inacurate so u should get liquid test kits for ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. U should also get a cheap external thermometer. some live, lowlight plants like java moss, java fern, and anubia will also boost the cycling process.

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I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

Personally I would do a fishless cycle which most likely shouldn't take too long at all, definately much faster than a normal cycle. The beneficial bacteria start dying after a short period of time without food and oxygen.