Best way to transfer from 40g to 125g?

[BmoreBraap]

Hey all, looking for some suggestions on the quickest but safest way to transfer or cycle my new 125. With black Friday I took advantage of an upgrade tank a little sooner then expected, but I think my fish will appreciate it. I also got an Fx6 filter along with it.
Most of the upgrade tank post I see the size differences are not this drastic so you guys have been able to use new/old filters on the other tank for insta cycles. I know I cant due to size issues here and my current filter can only handle up to a 50g tank. Is there anything that I can do to speed the cycle along or am I starting fresh? The 40 has only been cycled(and had other fish in it) for a cple months and 4 3" discus for less than a week now. I do have about 40 lbs of gravel in the 40 that I will be removing this week after reading about issues with using it. Not sure if I can use that in the anyway to help cycle. Appreciate any advice.

[Clawhammer]

You should be able to move your fish and current filters to your new tank on day 1 since the bioload will not significantly increase. Just monitor your cycle and do a large water change if there is a ammonia or nitrite spike.

[Ryan925]

If you are trying to use your bed fx6 either move the media from old filter to it or run both until media in the fx6 establishes bb

Test your water daily and make WCs accordingly.

Ditch the gravel for sure

[atlantadiscus]

Agree,fill the new tank,get water up to temperature,toss in some De-chlorine chemical and move the fish.I would set up your old filter on new tank right as you move the fish,quickly swapping it not allowing the filter material to dry out or go without running more than 5 minutes or so.Set up new filter also and get it going.You can even place some your old gravel in a media bag and insert into new canister filter to quicken seeding it.Simple.

[Ryan925]

Agree,fill the new tank,get water up to temperature,toss in some De-chlorine chemical and move the fish.I would set up your old filter on new tank right as you move the fish,quickly swapping it not allowing the filter material to dry out or go without running more than 5 minutes or so.Set up new filter also and get it going.You can even place some your old gravel in a media bag and insert into new canister filter to quicken seeding it.Simple.

Little side spin off of that. I am about to start my stand and sump build process. I plan on putting the media from my canister into the sump to seed the new media.

The process will tank some time of removing fish, draining tank, moving out old stand, moving in new stand and setting up the sump and overflow.

The media will be in water during this time but no circulation. Should I be putting media into a bucket or something with air stone during the down time?

[Clawhammer]

Should I be putting media into a bucket or something with air stone during the down time?

Since nitrifying bacteria are aerobic, they need oxygen to survive. If this process is going to take a few hours, it would be best to put the biomedia in an aerated bucket or container (airstone). Those plastic totes come in real handy during these kind of projects, both for fish and filter media.

[BmoreBraap]

Awesome! Thanks guys. That's exciting I can make the move immediately. I don't need my 40g cycled since all fish will be making the move from that tank to the 125, so I will put the hang on back filter from the 40g onto the 125 for the first month. Great idea on the gravel too atlanta, I was wondering If i should put it all in a dish and put it in the 125 but the media bag makes more sense for at least a few weeks.
Should I avoid adding any more fish for the first month due to an increased bioload that the new filter cannot handle? I do plan on adding 6 more discus and 6 more corycats at some point to complete the 125. Current stock is 4 3" Discus, 8 cardinals and 4 corys in the 40g. Been doing 30-60% WC daily.

[Clawhammer]

Awesome! Thanks guys. That's exciting I can make the move immediately. I don't need my 40g cycled since all fish will be making the move from that tank to the 125, so I will put the hang on back filter from the 40g onto the 125 for the first month. Great idea on the gravel too atlanta, I was wondering If i should put it all in a dish and put it in the 125 but the media bag makes more sense for at least a few weeks.
Should I avoid adding any more fish for the first month due to an increased bioload that the new filter cannot handle? I do plan on adding 6 more discus and 6 more corycats at some point to complete the 125. Current stock is 4 3" Discus, 8 cardinals and 4 corys in the 40g. Been doing 30-60% WC daily.

Any new fish should be quarantined 4-6 weeks. You could use your current 40 as a quarantine tank for the new fish after making the move.

That being said, nitrifying bacteria, once firmly established, can ramp up pretty fast to deal with new bioload. Just monitor ammonia and nitrite for the first few days and do a large WC/ dose of Prime if you detect anything.

[atlantadiscus]

Ryan,in your situation- can you just set up a 5 gallon bucket of aquarium water and run your Eheim on that as you prepare the sump and stand operation.The bacteria will get plenty of oxygen that way.

[Ryan925]

Ryan,in your situation- can you just set up a 5 gallon bucket of aquarium water and run your Eheim on that as you prepare the sump and stand operation.The bacteria will get plenty of oxygen that way.

Ah good call atl. I'll do that. I have a 30 G tote for the fish from when I did my substrate change

[Phillydubs]

I made the mode today from a 40 breeder to a 72 bow with a 29 gal sump. It was actually rather easy

[BmoreBraap]

I made the mode today from a 40 breeder to a 72 bow with a 29 gal sump. It was actually rather easy

How did you?