Frankenfish Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 Hi. I am moving a large tank tomorrow onto a new cabinet and don't want to lose the existing water as it is now fully cycled, so wondered about keeping 100L or so in a new storage container (one of those ones with a lid and wheels) that you can get from the warehouse. Is it likely that any thing in the plastic could contaminate if I give it a good washout first do you reckon? it would only be for 24 hours at most. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 There's really no need to keep any of the old water, most of the beneficial bacteria lives in the filter and in substrate etc. Though you will have to keep the filter media wet with the old water and get it going asap. No matter what you will experience some form of a cycle again, that's what happens when a tank gets disturbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I've moved fish using those containers, was ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I like to keep as much existing water as possible as it is one less thing to worry about when setting up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexyay Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 It should be OK - I've seen people in the US use them as temporary storage for goldfish (when they found out their bowl wasn't suitable and used them until they could get a proper tank). Water contains very little beneficial bacteria in comparison to filter material but I find that I like to keep it to reduce stress on the fish (especially sensitive fish). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 You can't cycle water, you only cycle the filter... I've used those big plastic bins for moving large fish many times, and as a temporary sump on occasions. The only reason I've kept water when moving fish is to save on the acclimatisation process. If you can take enough old water to fill the new tank ~1/3 full (and have the other 2/3 close enough in temp and parameters) then it makes moving them a whole lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted February 22, 2014 Report Share Posted February 22, 2014 I have kept my fish for several weeks in those bins before.. no problem at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.