Upgrading a tank

[Ludwiggg17]

Hello everyone, lately I've been thinking of upgrading a tank of mine from a 5 gal into either a 10 or 15 one. So I plan to move all the stuff and shrimp from the 5 gal into the new one. I'll use the same gravel and the same water for the new tank and the filter and plants will come from the 5 gal. My question is, do I still need to cycle it separately with a new seeded filter or is the whole using a mature filter okay? Also is skipping drip acclimation when the water params are almost identical acceptable?

[sdlTBfanUK]

Good to see you back, I assume all is doing well!

As you are transferring everything from one tank to another, and using a neutral substrate (gravel) you can probably do it in one go. If you are getting a new filter as it is a larger tank then I would float the sponge from the new filter in the 5L tank for a week or two to get some bacteria on to it, but it looks like you will be transferring your existing filter which can just be transferred as it is. If you are using some sort of active soil substrate you will need to run that in to avoid any ammonia spikes or other build up of nutrients etc before that is put into the new setup, but you say gravel so this is probably not relevant.

I assume you will catch the shrimp and put them somewhere safe whilst you do all the tank work so I would drip acclimate them for a couple of hours to the new water to be safest, once you have completely set up and filled the new tank! If they are neocaridina shrimps you are transferring and the water parameters are very close you would probably be able to miss the drip acclimating, but I would play it safe and drip acclimate though!

You will also need to ensure the water temperature is matched when you go to put the shrimp in the tank as the shrimp may have been in water that has cooled over the time they were put to one side.

How are the tanks doing, and did the small micro crabs work out?

Simon 

[jayc]

A 5gal into a 10gal is double the change in water.  You should drip acclimate.

Even more so if it was a move to a 15 gal.

 

Simon makes some good points with temp differences.

[Ludwiggg17]

12 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

Good to see you back, I assume all is doing well!

As you are transferring everything from one tank to another, and using a neutral substrate (gravel) you can probably do it in one go. If you are getting a new filter as it is a larger tank then I would float the sponge from the new filter in the 5L tank for a week or two to get some bacteria on to it, but it looks like you will be transferring your existing filter which can just be transferred as it is. If you are using some sort of active soil substrate you will need to run that in to avoid any ammonia spikes or other build up of nutrients etc before that is put into the new setup, but you say gravel so this is probably not relevant.

I assume you will catch the shrimp and put them somewhere safe whilst you do all the tank work so I would drip acclimate them for a couple of hours to the new water to be safest, once you have completely set up and filled the new tank! If they are neocaridina shrimps you are transferring and the water parameters are very close you would probably be able to miss the drip acclimating, but I would play it safe and drip acclimate though!

You will also need to ensure the water temperature is matched when you go to put the shrimp in the tank as the shrimp may have been in water that has cooled over the time they were put to one side.

How are the tanks doing, and did the small micro crabs work out?

Simon 

Yeah all is well with my tanks.

I will be using just the gravel because that's what I'm using in the 5 gal which I plan to upgrade.

Yeah I've got a bucket i could put the shrimp in with some of their tank water. And as what jayc has said, I'll be drip acclimating the shrimps because there'll still be some differences from the old tank and the new tank.

About the micro crabs, maybe you got something mixed up but I do indeed have some local crabs that I thought of keeping but I'm gonna keep that on the side for now because I plan to try to selectively breed my local Caridinas because some have outstanding looks that I'll try to develop, hence the upgrade.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Good luck with it and hopefully we will hear more along the way.

Simon

[Ludwiggg17]

Hello everyone here I am with an update

So it's been a month since I upgraded the 5 gal and I didn't have the chance to document it because I just had about a day of rest from the holiday festivities and after that came school. But since I started the upgrade things have been going smooth. The only negative thing to happen was when I was moving I noticed one particularly beautiful shrimp was missing which I nicknamed 'Gold Dust' and I believe it was what could have been the start of something new. But I have now since introduced a new batch which I caught responsibly in the same place and I'll be looking forward to what could come out of the colony. To add, through some pictures I took I am positive that I have two  species based on the shape and length of the rostrum plus the "teeth" on top. As for plants, compared to the old 5 gal I've opted for a cleaner look by using only java ferns, mosses, and anubias.

Here's the imgur link to the shrimp pics:

https://imgur.com/a/zpau6Tm

[jayc]

14 hours ago, Ludwiggg17 said:

I have two  species based on the shape and length of the rostrum plus the "teeth" on top.

Very cool and interesting.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Thanks for updating us and I am pleased to hear it is going well.

Could you post a picture of the ne tank setup if you get a chance? 

Simon