Potential new tank

Im going to look at a juwel vision 180 tomorrow. Its got no heater, or gravel. Im assuming everything else is there. I think its a fair price £110?

What im wanting to know is what do i need to look out for when i goto look at it, ive been told its water tight and had fish in it up until the last few weeks (owner updated size of tank).

Also when or if i buy it, how do i transport it home? Ive got a big van, will it be ok just on a dust sheet on the floor?

Next ? What is the best way to transport gravel and fish from existing tank into potential new one?

Many thanks, possibly in advance

its roughly a 4ft then as long as theres no lumps under it it should be ok with dust sheets better off with foam if he has any check the tank for cracks and chips near the seals as for transfering gravel just use a jug and gently pour it in to cover the bottom then just add more until theres about 1-2" of gravel all over the water use as much water out of your old tank as possible put a saucer in the tank first and pour the water onto the saucer so it dosnt disturb the gravel then its plants and rocks then when its full put the heater in and filter get it up to temp

its 3ft Mick, 180l the bow fronted type. The guys bought a bigger tank he told me and had fish in till a week or two back.

Will i have to cycle the tank again even with my water in it, or most of my water in it?

MY existing tank only 60 litres.

Im thinking get majority of my water out and set it away, possibly get my fish into a small tank then transfer gravel into new tank?

is there a filter with this tank then transfer exisiting filter media to it if not use ur existing filter and ur good to go

theres an external filter in cabinet beneath.

should be ok then you shouldnt need to recycle the tank

hi guys

ive got the tank and it looks on 1st views canny, its got an interior filter. I need a heater for it will i need a 200w as ive seen for other 180l tanks?

Where will be best place to purchase thermostat.

Q/ The interior filter has no method of fixing it to the interior of the tank, has anyone any suggestions how to fix it, also does the whole thing sit inside of the tank inc electrics as the thermostat does. My existing pump isnt totally submerged.

do you have some pics its easier to see what you meen

Personally for what it will cost to fix the internal box back in and then buy the correct media sponges to go in. Plus there should be a power head that goes in the top of the internal canister drawing water from the bottom and back out the top. I wouldn't waste your money or time if you don't have all the bits. Its then going to take 24-48hrs for the sealant holding it in to go off before you can add water to your system.

Firstly to put it back in the tank you need to find a way to hold it in place (G-clamps and a support underneath), this box will then reduce the amount of water you can carry, you also reduce the look of the tank your trying to create.

second is the amount of money its going to cost the get the sealant, sponges/media and then a power head. you probs talking somewhere around £50.

Third an external canister (fluval 205/305) wont cost that much more £65-£80 brand new (these are on ebay with buy it now). They have a much higher flow rate than the internal power head and come with all the filter media and sponges you need. Media last for about 6months and the canister needs its sponges cleaning very infrequently (once a month if not longer). External filters are fantastic, allows more fish and less work.

Hope this helps.

Hi Hodgy

Im certain these tanks come with an external filter when new but i got what ive got.

The internal filter has got the powerhead and the internal sponges/filter pads. It just needs a method of fixing it to the inside or the tank.

I would like to use an external filter but i think it will be easier and quicker to cycle (if needed) with the internal filter.

Is it best to get fluval or juwel gear ie heater/thermostat or will the cheaper intrapet stuff do.

Its upto you, i know with the juwel tanks I've had on the past - Rio 400 and Rio 300 they have both come with built in internal filter boxes. In both tanks we cut them out and used externals. Using Juwel heathers and what not makes no difference, I went to the Range and Portrack Lane, stockton and got some interpet 300w heaters for mine at £15 each. They are cheap there, plus i got all my food and what not as its cheaper than going to the local pet shops.

Also try and use this website, its real cheap, I just ordered a test kit (API freshwater master) priced between £28-£35 at all the local shop. I got it posted for £20 and there readily available:
http://www.mrpets.co.uk/

I reference to fixing your filter in, select where you want it, then put some blobs of silicone sealant (fish safe stuff) in all corners of the filter box that will be touching the tank. Then place something underneath it so that the top of the filter box is right at the top of the tank then use a couple of g-clamps to hold the top in place. I would then use some sticks or polystyrene to hold it against the side of the tank and leave for 48hrs.

Hi Hodgy.

Ordered new filter and heater off ebay.

My next job is to move new fish tank into the place of old tank and swap round.

Trouble is where to start. My way of thinking is to get as much water out of me old tank into the new one but keep enough water in old one to keep it running (as i have guppy fry in there i want to get bigger before i transfer)
So how do i store water in old tank ready to put into new tank once i move them around? Im guessing a 25 l drum or 2?

Ive took the old filter pad out of old tank and put it in the water in new tank with a pale full of cycled water, i will put the filter pad in with new filter pads in new filter? YES?

Im hoping to move the tanks around once i get heater and new filter into position in new tank.

Is my way of thinking right so far? Once ive done all this when should i put fish into new tank i was thinking of putting a few in at a time to see how they fair. Obviously i will run tests on the new tank as its running.

Many thanks guys n gals.

What i would do is get yourself some pure aquarium from the local shop, generally £10 (I'll come back to this).

What i would do is get the old tank emptied as far as you dare. I doesn't matter if you have to turn heaters and filters off for a period. Move the old tank to where it is going to be place and add all the water back into it and turn the heaters and filters back on. Basically a simple tank move.

What I would then do over the period of a week or two, depends how active you are, do a water change on a daily basis. Instead of throwing the old water out I'd top the new tank up. When your water is getting up and its possible to get the heaters and filters on I would get them going. Keep adding water until it is full. It is completely up to you if you want to go with 50% fresh water from the tap and de-chlorinate it and then the other 50% from the old tank or 100% from the old tank which has been taken from from a daily water change. Once the new tank is full let the tank settle and temps stabilise (I waited 24hours, If you get a white cloud wait for it to clear as this is a bacteria cloud and can cause issues). Thats the hard bit.

Now the tank is completely full you can enjoy the easy bit. Go to you local aquatic centre and choose the fish you want to stock. Or net some of your current fish into a bag (in the same fashion as the shops do), now leave them float in the top of the new tank and add some of the water from the new tank to the bag so the fish can get used to the difference in water quality . Then swap some of the filter media (half) from the old tank to the new tank so that you have half new and half mature in each filter. You are now at the point where you want to add 10 of the pure aquarium balls into you tank. They are a fantastic solution to been able to put fish straight in (I'll explain more). Now that you have your filter 50/50 and running again, your pure aquarium is in the tank, net the fish out of the bag and release into the new tank. All is now done, your tank just requires time to fully mature.

***Details of Pure Aquarium***
I have been down to Paddock Farm and they are absolutely raving the stuff thats why I bought it. When the rep came in he said the company that make it are that confident in it that they would re-emburse the shop for any fish that died if the stuff didn't work. The guys at the shop then went on to set up a 5x2x2 tank, brand new heater, filter, substrate etc. Nothing had been used before. Topped the tank up with de-chlorinated water and then added a full tub of Aquarium Pure into the tank. Followed 5minutes later with around 40-50 fish (rosy barbs, lemon tetra's, red eye tetra's and a few others). They state that they have never had a casualty yet, I was their when they were setting it up and over the last 3weeks I have been about 5times and never once seen an issue with the tank. They state it is impossible to overdose with pure aquarium as it only releases the bacteria as and when it is needed so even though they had put a full tub in it may take a week or so for the balls to completely disappear. I therefore used the pure aquarium solution in my tank but not quite to the same scale, I used some old filter media just to boost things and add 5balls of PA as and when I add new fish or at least once a week.

Hope this helps.

wow!!!!

Lots to take in. I thought it was just a case of transfering half water out of old tank into new, top both up with fresh water with tapsafe then add old filter media into new tank.

Thanks for the reply hodgy, ive added some old water into new tank already.

Is the water out of old tank ok to be stored in a drum, if i start doing water changes now?

Thanks Tim

It will be as a tempary solution, personally I would get yourself on the paddock farm website and order some pure aquarium. Get you old tank moved, New tank placed n then just top up with fresh de-chlorinated water. Get up to temp add the filter media with live bacteria in it, half a tub of pure aquarium n then throw fish in.

That is alot to take in ???.

I set my bowfront up in an hour on monday lol simple transfer from tank to tank new substrate in the bow then transferd enough water from the other tank to the bow then put my fish in the bow i left enough out(as if i were doing a water change)then topped up with declorined water easy as fishpie.

Also if you have a filter running with media in it already and have also used water from an already running fishtank my thoughts would be that the bacteian in the new tank should be thriving as we type. dont spend money if you dont need to.

we all have our own ways of setting up tanks. mine being the faster the better

Well got new tank up and running, full of water inc 25% ish outta old tank topped up with tap water and aquasafe. Also stuck a bottle of stress zyme in and some of me sponge outta old filter.

Whats the next stage, do some water tests.

Ive added an ornament ive acquired (large 2 piece ship wreck) i also wanna get some slate, a cave and a piece of bogwood in there before i add any fish.

Thanks for all the advice so far guys.

If you've got it running you need some way of getting ammonia in so that the bacteria don't die. I'd throw a couple of fish in for the time being or add some pure ammonia.

the hardest fish around is the zebra danio half dozen will help kick start the filter