after much heated debate with my wife,we have decided on a different 75 gallon instead of the 125 since this is going to be our first "large" tank and since we are new to fish keeping. the 75 we first found online was almost twice the price as the exact same 75 we found at our local pet store! so next weekend we will be bringing it home.any way, the pet store attendant told me that i should transfer everything from my old tank to the new tank since i have a healthy eco system.is this good advice? cuz i really dont like the gravel thats in the tank right now, everytime i clean it i feel i didnt get it clean enough. the pet store attendant also tried to dissuade me from getting sand substrate because it gets sucked up when you clean and every time fish swim they churn it up too.what are the pros and cons of sand? also wondered if i could get some sand from down by the river to use or would it not be healthy cuz its from a river.

Your gravel will contain some beneficial bacteria, but most will be in your established filter.
Just see what YOU like and get that substrate.
A lot of members here use sand and most of them say it's easier to clean then gravel, for the dirt will stay on top.
I say get the tank, put the very well rinsed and washed out sand into the tank and than fill it up with your old tankwater.
Or if you like half new water...
Put the filter on the new tank and you'll be ready to move the fish.
I upgrade a tank like that in one day last year and it worked like a charm.

Glad you found a better deal.
I bet you'll be on the look out for a bigger tank in no time, when your fish starts to grow and grow...lol
Been there, done that...

They're right if you can transfer as much out of your old tank as you can it won't take as long to cycle. Don't clean your filter, just swap it over to the new tank.
As for your gravel. Move all your water and gravel into the new tank as it is teaming with bacteria then scoop out the gravel and put in what you want. Rinsing off your old gravel in your new tank with old tank water. If that makes any since.
While river sand may sound like the thing to do I would worry about introducing somethig undesirable such as pollution, parasites,leeches,preditory insects, just to name a few. Get play sand for children and wash it well.

Eric J.Twk. wrote:


Very much aggreed, don't take the risk .
Better spent some bucks on trustworthy sand.

i bought 50lb of playsand at lowes, for $3.46, at my lfs the sand i wanted was $30 for 30lb. (altho to give the LFS credit, the sand was black, and it was "LIVE")

Not sure from your thread if you have already bought your 75 gl tank?
but i would go for the 125 as no harder to look after than a 75, easier in fact as water quality will easier to look after etc etc, and of course any upgrade is a lot further away.

As for the changing, yes it can all be done in one day, as you know when your new tank is coming if you have something to put any extra water in? (i assume your old tank is smaller that 75 so you will need extra) you could treat it and have it settled rather than taking a lot from the tap,

I upgraded to a 150 gallon when i realised my old tank wasn't going to be big enough for two O's, and i had to do a lot of jigging about as new tank was going where the old one came from, so meant moving water etc three times, but fish settled VERY quickly
and all went well
Good Luck

I recently moved from a 55 to a 135 and I planned it out very carefully. I found at the time, having the steps printed out in front of me was very useful

see if this post helps you with things you may not have thought through.

www.oscarfishlover.com/oscar-fish-advice...-to-a-new-tank-steps

thanks,meghan, i think that will help me through it pretty well.

go for sand if you want it but dont get it from the river, you dont know what little bugs and things might be in it

The important thing when upgrading the tank is try to use as much old tank water as possible in the new tank and move your old filter over to the new tank, dont let it dry out while doing the move. I am assuming you are going to get another filter for the new tank (as the tank is bigger and will need more filtration). If you dont plan on keeping the old filter running on the new tank then run both for a couple of months then remove the old filter. Dont forget to treat any new water with dechlorinator and to match the temperature of it