Hello:

I was thinking about getting my new 28 gallon tank set-up and starting to cycle this weekend. I am going to keep it mostly bare bottom with some 2 inch flat round river stones and a couple of plants in pots of gravel. I have the river stones, but the plants are still on order. I have a Penguin 150 biowheel- the second filter is also still on order.

My two fantails (about 1.5 inches each) are currently in a 10 gallon tank that is in the process of cycling (I set up the 10 gallon on 10/27/2007). This tank has a Whisper 10i internal filter on it (about 90 gph). I was doing water changes every couple of days, but I am now up to daily changes to keep nitrites down- here is some history:

11/3/2007: NH3 = 0.25 ppm
11/4/2007: NH3 = 1 ppm; 30% water change
11/5/2007: NH3 = 0.5 ppm;
11/6/2007: NH3 = 1 ppm, NO2= 1 ppm; 35% water change
11/7/2007: NH3 = 0.25 ppm, NO2= 1 ppm; 50% water change
11/8/2007: NH3 = 0 ppm, NO2= 1 ppm; 35% water change

I add 1 tsp of Amquel+ during each change.

Here are the options I think I have:

1) Leave the fish in the 10 gallon that is currently cycling and at the same time do a fishless cycle on the 28 gallon tank. Move the fish to the 28 gallon after it finishes its fishless cycle.

2) Move the fish to the 28 gallon tank now, abandon the 10 gallon tank's cycle, and put the Whisper 10i in the 28 gallon tank to help get it cycling quicker.

Are there other options I'm not thinking of? If option 2 is the better choice, how long should I wait between setting up the new tank and moving the fish to it?

Thanks!

Hmmm, well they are both options you can choose. I have a 29g that I am trying to cycle now with my two fish in it and I tell ya, I wish I could have done a fishless cycle as it would have been faster and easier.
I think what I would do is buy another small filter for the 10g, to give you over 100gph filtered. As both of your fish are fairly small, I would leave them in the 10g for now and go ahead and set up the 28g tank and let is do a fishless cycle.
You are going to need the extra filtration for the 10g for both of your fish to stay in there, but since it is already starting to cycle, I wouldn't abandon the cycle now. It shouldn't take long for the 28g to cycle fishless, then you can move them both to the 28g and have the filtered 10g for another fish if you wanted, or use it as a hospital tank. You may have to do extra water changes on the 10g with both the fish in there, but it shouldn't be too hard to keep the water clean with an extra filter on there.
That is just my opinion. Maybe someone more experienced may have more ideas for you as I am only on my first tank! LOL!

Nickie has good advice. Congrats on all the new equip!

Nickie, I think that your idea is a good one- I do plan to put other fish (not goldfish) in the 10 gallon when I move the goldfish, so I might as well get it cycled. Also, I don't really like the Whisper 10i internal filter that much (it came with my betta's 2.5 gallon tank), so I should probably get something better for it. It was really too big for that tank- not in terms of filtration, but in terms of how much volume it took up. Also, it's a bit dirty to maintain- when I changed the cartridge, grey filmy crud would get released into the tank- it was cleaned up really quickly, but I didn't like seeing my tank dirtied up like that- it can't be good for the fish (this was when I had it on my betta's tank- obviously, I haven't changed the cartridge since I put it in the 10 gallon).

Thanks for the advice!

Good luck to you! I plan on getting another filter for my 29g, too. Right now, along with an Aqua-Tech 20-40, I have a Whisper 10-30 and I don't like it, either. I plan on changing the filter pads tomorrow when I go buy some and I hate the fact that it will prolly shoot stuff out into my tank. I really like the Aqua Tech for the surface splash it gives, so I may get another one of those. I really want another HOB filter, regardless of what kind I get. I may just pick another up tomorrow instead of getting the filter pad for the Whisper. I guess I can always take the Whisper out and use it for a QT tank or a back up filter or something????