# want a 50 gallon for spilo



## MikeG (Nov 20, 2004)

Hey, as the title states i have a 3 inch spilo in a 38 gallon (36x12x20) i am running 2 emperor 280's . first off i was thinking of upgrading to a 50 gallon (36X18X18) that is the biggist tank i can fit in this space. will that size tank do for life? and secondly, and i stress that this is the most important part of this post. If i buy the 50 gallon and i fill it up with the tank water that is now in the 38 gallon can i put my spilo in the 50 gallon right away? will the 50 gallon be cycled since i am using old tank water? i will also be running the filters from the already established 38 gallon tank on the new tank and using the old substrate and deco, but i will obviously have to add some new substrate. or will i have to go through the whole cycle process all over again? please try and respons asap as i was hoping to go out and buy the tank today if possible.


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## NakedSavage (Apr 9, 2008)

Im pretty sure as long as your using the same filtration with the biomedia already established you should be good to go, but im sure youll have plenty of other opinions here shortly.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

As long as you preserve the media in your filter for the transfer you should be fine assuming it is already established in the first place. I would change out the water 100% and re-acclimate the fish personally, but if you use the 38 gallons of old water you will be able o bypass the acclimation part. Since bacteria is not free floating the old water will have nothing to do with cycling. When it comes to cycling, the filter and media is the only thing that matters.


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## jsadlersos (Mar 11, 2008)

The bacterial colony doesn't live in your water, but on the bio media.....if this is cultured just re-use that and you should be fine.......and a 50 gal should be able to house one spilo for the rest of its natural life.


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## MikeG (Nov 20, 2004)

k thanks everyone, im think im gonna go buy the tank today, one problem my stand is 42X17.25 so the tank would be over hanging .75 inches. i think i might have to wait and buy another stand ur just cut out a piece of ply wood thats exactly thr size of the tank to put under the tank.


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## MikeG (Nov 20, 2004)

MikeG said:


> k thanks everyone, im think im gonna go buy the tank today, one problem my stand is 42X17.25 so the tank would be over hanging .75 inches. i think i might have to wait and buy another stand ur just cut out a piece of ply wood thats exactly thr size of the tank to put under the tank.


k heres the problem... i cant seem to find a 50 gallon tank! i didnt think it would be a problem, as i know all-glass makes a 50 gallon tank in the dimensions i previously specified. But for some reason no one around here (toronto) seems to carry them, and i have had no luck finding them online so far. Does anyone have any suggestions?? that tank is the biggest i could go and in my opinion the footprint is perfect for my needs. any help would be appreciated.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Dr. Giggles said:


> *As long as you preserve the media in your filter for the transfer you should be fine assuming it is already established in the first place. I would change out the water 100% and re-acclimate the fish personally*, but if you use the 38 gallons of old water you will be able o bypass the acclimation part. Since bacteria is not free floating the old water will have nothing to do with cycling. When it comes to cycling, the filter and media is the only thing that matters.


Agreed ^^^

Fill a cooler up with tank water, place the fish in the cooler. Then drain the 38g tank, and clean the gravel as you go. Make sure the filter media stays wet during this process. Set up the new tank, and start filling. Once it gets full, turn on the filters, and let it run for at least 30 minutes (the longer the better). Then, acclimate the fish to the new tank, and then drop him in.

As with moving any fish, definitely keep an eye on him for the first 24-48 hours. I would also keep the light off for the rest of the day to help ease his stress.

Other than that, you should be good to go.










Oh, since you only have one spilo/mac then you could get away with a 55g tank. 55g tanks are very cheap. Even though it would only have a width of 12", max size of a spilo/mac is around 8" (give or take 1"). That would work for life IMO, as long as you stayed with one fish.


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