"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
I'm going to be moving 2 YoYo loaches, 3
Cory cats, 2-3 Glowlight Tetras & several
otocinclus from a 20G long to a 55G. Both
are moderately planted. Plants are easy care
such as crypts, Java Fern, maybe a sword or
two, & some floating plants.

The 55G has been set up for about a month.
Since I moved plants, driftwood, and decor
from the 20G, the 55G is already cycled.
I.e., ammonia is zero, nitrites are zero, nitrates
are present but low. Filtration is a power filter
and a powerhead. At the moment, both are
running without filter material.

Question is when to move the fish. Right
now the pH, GH & KH levels in both tanks
are close in value. Nitrates, though, are
high in the 20G (where fish currently live),
around 30-40 PPM. Nitrates in the 55G
are /=5 PPM.

I just did a partial water change (4 gal.
extracted) on the 20G and will retest
nitrates. I suspect I will continue doing
small water changes for a few days to
get nitrates lower.

From my readings it's suggested fish
shouldn't experience sudden changes in
water parameters, even from "dirty" to
"clean". The gravel in the 20G is three
years old and I doubt I can get it *very*
clean without yanking out some large
plants with extensive root systems. BTW
I don't do CO2 injection. My plants do
fine without it.

Can anyone suggest a target nitrate value
for the 20G that will make it safe for me
to move the fish to a much cleaner
(in nitrate terms) environment in the 55G?

I.e., is a value around 20 PPM nitrates in
the 20G reasonable, or should I try to get
nitrates lower? In the 5-10 range?

Thanks -

Gail
==============================
PH and hardness was the only thing I ever concerned myself about when moving
fish. I never bothered to check the nitrate levels.... no problems so far.