I currently have 4 fish, 5" frontosa, 3" yellow lab, and 2 2" red empresses. I have them in my 36 gallon bow front tank and to me it seems like not enough room for the fish to be comfortable in once I put the limestone in. I am getting a 55 gallon tank for now but what is the best way to transfer the fish from the running tank I have now to the new one that I setup tonite, hopefully. Any advice for the safest least stressful way on the fish is much appreciated. Thanks!

I would set up the new tank for at least a week and add about 10 feeder goldfish to jump start the echo system. After that i would remove the feeders do a 10% water change and then let it set for a day I would then test the water temperature and chemistry; PH, nitrates stuff like that and if all checks out well then you should be good to transfer. After the transfer i would leave the light off ( If you have one) for a day or two and add a stress reviler

Thanks, I just went and got the tank and it was a running established tank with fish, I got the complete setup and about 50% of the established water. If I set the tank back up with the good water would I still have to wait or could they be moved quicker?

Is the filter still running? Was it ever allowed to dry out? How long was it off for before you got it set back up? (Bacteria will die with no water/air flow.) Can you run the filter you're using now on with the new one? At least then you'll be sure to have at least one filter that's been fully cycled, until you know the new one is ready. (Double filtration is always good, so maybe consider using both filters.)

If the tank is established, and the filter was being used and is also cycled, then you should be able to move the fish over. Acclimate them slowly. Test the water before you put them in. If the ammonia and nitrites are 0ppm and the Nitrates are under 30ppm then they can go in. If the ammonia and nitrites are above 0ppm then don't move them in yet. Also test the pH, you don't want to shock them from the pH they are in now to the new tank. Like I said, acclimate them slowly.

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If you got the tank with the gravel and it remained wet the whole time to your place, you should do fine as far as whether or not the tank will try to start a cycle. If it does try to cycle, it should be abbreviated. If the filter didn't stay wet for the transit, shouldn't matter too much as long as you have the gravel. Re-using the water is near pointless, as there is very little beneficial bacteria free in the water. Most all is attached to your gravel or anything else in the aquarium and your filter media.

Hopefully, the nitrogen cycle is not a foreign term to you and you have ample testing supplies to track what is going on with your tank.

filter didn't dry kept the substrate in the tank with low level of water so it didn't dry out I have the tank up and running now, and I am very familiar with the nitrogen cycle, lol. Thanks for all the help.

Well, you kept the filter and gravel wet and that's the most important thing. I'd set it up and let it run for a day to let the water/sediment settle then test. If all params are normal, move the fish over slowly. If the pH and all that is the same as the tank the fish are in now, you may not have to drip acclimate. (You can just to be safe - but if all params match the ones in the tank they're in, you could probably just move them over.)

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