The Puffer Forum

ive been looking around the forum on what to do with moving my 3 f8s from their 30g brackish tank to my 75g that had freshwater tropical fish in it earlier today. i returned the couple trop fish to the LPS and proceeded to completely clean the 75g i vaccumed all the water out save a few inches and cleaned the filters out. i filled it back up with tap water treated it with conditioner got the filters running right now and the only thing in it is all the gravel that was in it to begin with. the library seems to not be working correctly maybe its my browser but i cant find anything helpful with cycling the tank. i have two filters in the 30g i could move one to the 75g and jumpstart it with the media thats in it but that is as far as i know to go at this point. some direction on what i should do next is appreciated. the only fish in the house right now are the 3 f8s so if i cycle with fish i would have to go buy one which i will do if it will be the quicker way to get this tank cycled.

What SG are the puffers in right now?
A total cleaning wasn't necessary, unless there was some disease present, or was the tank not cycled? Did you "clean" the filters, or just rinse them in tank water?
What are the parameters on the 75?

Make the 75 the same SG and temp and move everything over from the 30 to the 75 and you will keep all your bacteria I beleive but wait for the experts before doing it

@sevenyearnight i cleaned them in the sink the filter media and actual filter they were both dirty along with the gravel and all that there are no parameters of any meaning on the 75 its 75 gallons of fresh tap water. the sg ive had the 3 f8s in for the last couple years is 1.005~1.008. i have all their decor in the 30 with all the good bacteria on them along with their two filters with bacteria on the media including little bags of arganite stuffed down inside them id like to know if i can just move everything over from one to the other like the post above me says or if i have to follow some other process.

Yes, match the salinity and temp, move everything you can over from the 30, both filters, decor (even if just temporarily on the decor if you want to redecorate later)

ok now if i move everything over do i need to wait a certain amount of time to let the bacteria do their magic before i put the f8s in there? will the bacteria die from being put into sterile water? ty

If the SG is the same and temp is the same im fairly certain you can move everything at the same time, including the fish. The bacteria shouldnt have any problems what so ever.

ok sounds good although id like to hear from some other experts if possible before i commit to this.

+1--good enough?

You don't want to wait, put the fish in when, you're done transferring everything. The ammonia that they constantly excrete is what the bacteria is going to need to feed on, and it's going to be the same amount since it's the same amount of fish. The greater amount of water will have no consideration since the bacteria clings to surfaces. Just move as much as you can over, but most of the bacteria will be on those 2 filters.

+1 is good enough ty for the response! although i wasnt sure how much salt to put in i just dumped about a half a pound in and stirred it around guess ill check it tomorrow and dump in some more if i have too

Ummmm... -1. Great way to kill off all your good bacteria.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19348

I don't think he intended on keeping the bacteria intact on the 75 gallon, just relying on the already brackish adjusted bacteria from the 30.
However, you should never mix your salt in the tank, it should be done in a separate container, undissolved solids can settle in the gravel. And that a sure way to kill off your bacteria and fish if they are present. The salinity needs to be consistent before added. You should also follow some kind of formula, and not just dump random amounts in, since the salt needs to mix for several hours, it's better to know the exact amount and not waste time or salt. Use a separate container with a powerhead to ensure everything is fully dissolved.

+1!

ok they are moved to new tank and seem to be doing fine thanks for the help ill try and get some pics on here soon