quick question about starting a tank

Question
at the moment I have a 35 gallon tank with a variety of fish and it is doing well I kind of adopted the tank from my mother in law so I am still pretty new to it all but I enjoy it alot and plan on getting a much bigger tank so I can add more fish and some different species I am buying a 220 gallon tank and was wondering whats the best way to get it all started and safe for the fish I already have and whats the best type of filter to get for it ect....  

Answer
Hello,

The best way to cycle a new tank is to add fish to it and allow it to cycle normally. There are some short cuts that you can use to help though.

1) Rinse the filter media for your new filter in some water removed from your old aquarium.

2) Put as much of your old water in the new tank as you can (not including the stuff you rinsed the filter media in)

3) Put a layer of your old gravel over your new gravel.

All of this should help to get some beneficial bacteria into your new aquarium and speed up the nitrogen cycle. I also recommend a product called Cycle.

As for what type of filter you should get, I recommend a biological filter. Fluval makes great canister filters for larger aquarium. Aquaclear also makes suitable filters, but sometimes they can get gunky and stop running properly, endangering your fish. The impellor in them needs to be cleaned quite regularly to keep them functioning properly, so I currently have them on my two big tanks as back up filters only.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
Stephanie