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Transitioning Phase... (Unknown Weeks) Transitioning into a Journal

Tankless

Member
Joined
6 Jan 2020
Messages
344
Location
London
I managed to get myself a second hand Aquascaper 600 for a reasonable price. I'll need to shut down my current tank to replace it with the new tank. How do people usually transition the livestock? Can I leave them a plastic food container until the new tank cycles. I've got a spare eheim eco Pro external filter which I've started running to help speed up the cycling process when starting up the new tank.

The next few questions are related to the setup:

Lighting: Twinstar 600 SA is what I'm going to purchase (currently have chihiros A601 which will be used until I purchase the twinstar). Are there any alternatives that I should consider within the £250 price range like the Ada Aquasky 601?

Substrate: I am thinking of using Amazonia Light and Amazonia Light Powder. Has anyone use it before? It will transition with Ada la plata sand and the Ada gravel.

Filter: Ehiem Eco Pro 2032 which I will need to upgrade to something that has a higher flow output. Any recommendations?
 
If you can transfer the filter media from your old tank to your new filter, you won’t need to wait and could transfer your fish immediately.

But if you want time to rescape and adjust things without fish, they’ll be fine in a bucket or plastic storage box with your filter and heater attached.
 
I put my fish in a separate tank and wait two months. Never food containers or buckets. Never transitioned immediately.
Keep posting about filter requirements. I am sure that somebody else will have this tank and can give you good advice - you can get some powerful currents in a 600. I could easily overspec.
 
I have existing media, that I can transfer into the filter if needed.

I couldn't find much information about the amazonia light through the forums. I will probably try Tropica Powder instead.
 
Yes, I've had a look. I rang AG, after my conversation with Dave I decided to purchase Tropica Soil Powder and Ada Colorado Sand to contrast with the Dragon Stone that I have.

What's the best way to remove shrimp from the tank?
 
I would say the best way to get most of them would be to put a bottle or a net in there with a bit of shrimp food and wait an hour or however long it takes until a decent amount is in there then take them out and repeat. Then you got to break down the scape and remove everything to get the ones left over.
 
I'll try that with the spare tropica pots I have in multiple areas. I've decided on the Oase Biomaster 250 or 350. Is the 350 worth the extra £30?
 
Never tried either.
I tend to look for a filter of about 8 litres media capacity for a 100 litre tank, with adjustable flow control.
For £200 I would just buy an in line external heater (£30 ebay) and two Jebao 404s (£50 each) with two sets of lily pipes (£25 each). Would give 16 litres filter media and about 2400lph turnover.
That would still leave £20 to be spent down the pub
And you would still have one filter running in case the other failed.
Even one AquaManta EFX 400 with flow controllers, lily pipes and an external heater would give me 8 litres capacity and a cracking weekend down the pub.
And even if I didn't go down the pub, I'm not sure that I would want one. But still worth asking other members.
 
Not sure if this will help you, but I have the Oase 350 on my Aquascaper 600 and wish I'd brought the 600. The 350 isn't bad though and I haven't switched the prefilter foam for the course one yet, so it should do the job comfortably. I can't say anything bad about it, the 350 is adequate, but just wish I'd paid a bit extra and had that bit more.
 
Yes, I've had a look. I rang AG, after my conversation with Dave I decided to purchase Tropica Soil Powder and Ada Colorado Sand to contrast with the Dragon Stone that I have.

What's the best way to remove shrimp from the tank?

Bear in mind that new Tropica Soil Powder leaches a lot of ammonia in the first couple of weeks, so make sure you're measuring zeros for ammonia and nitrite in your new tank before you add your fish and shrimp back in.
 
Hi @Tankless it is my belief that the tropica soil will not leach ammonia any where near as much as the Ada soil so you should be fine to put the fish back in to a mature filter media tank with tropica soil it may not be ideal but should be fine (I've done it a couple of times)

As for filter the 350 is well worth the extra £30 I have both oase 250 and 350 both really nice filters and perfect for the tank sizes 250 45p 350 60p if you do go for the oase remove all the foam apart from the bottom course one add 2 baskets of media (not the oase plastic rubbish) top basket with filter floss to polish works a treat l also have the cardon pre filter foams helps cause there course and again polishes the water

As for the twinstar it is the best in its price range IMO the sa is more powerful than the ea so I'd always go for the sa a consideration is to go with the one with expandable legs because you can alway hang the light from the celing on a suspension kit very easy to be and not expensive but looks brilliant

Cheers
J
 
Agree with Jay on the filter, the 250 won’t do the job on the 600 tank. The 350 is fine but the 600 is even better.

Added bonus on the 600 is that you won’t have to change the prefilter sponges. With the 350 you would want to change to the course orange ones in time.

I prefer the standard S over the adjustable one wherever possible. There is a danger the A will wick water down the brackets if you are not careful. But yes the A model has the benefit that you can mod it to a hanging light.
 
That gives me food for thought. I won't purchase the biomaster until the end of the month.

With regards to the Twinstar standard fixing, can the fixings be removed at a later date to make them adjustable? I will place my order for the Twinstar from AG tomorrow.
 
What's the height of the standard twinstar when it sits on the glass? Is it easy to conduct maintenance whilst it is fixed to the tank?

Also, how noisy is the biomaster as an external filter? The tank is located in my bedroom.
 
I have the Twinstar E that I'm guessing is roughly the same sort of size and haven't had a problem with maintenance. I do sometimes slide it back out of the way a bit, but the 600 is so deep, it's not been a problem. Hopefully there'll be someone on here that has the A or S though that could help you out more on this.

I was surprised at how quiet the biomaster is. Mine is the 350 and just has a very low hum. I'm sure if I stood it on some carpet or a mat though, it would be near enough inaudible with the cupboard door closed.
 
I have the 600s I do the same as @howanic and slide it back on my 60p and dont have any issues doing maintenance and also have the 600 ea but its hung si befo bo issue there again I agree with @howanic mine are pretty quiet in the cupboard

Cheers
J
 
I would go for an Aquael Ultramax. Silent and powerful with a pre filter at a decent price. You can pack media in and still have a fantastic flow. Buy from a LFS not online and you will be fine for technical support. I tried a Oaise filter and despite the hype its performance was awful.
 
I would go for an Aquael Ultramax. Silent and powerful with a pre filter at a decent price. You can pack media in and still have a fantastic flow. Buy from a LFS not online and you will be fine for technical support. I tried a Oaise filter and despite the hype its performance was awful.

Does the ultramax incorporate the heater like oase biomaster?
 
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