You're welcome sajacobs! Im glad to hear that his illness is getting a little better!
I also use those tests, they're very good! And as Skwishee says they last quite a while, I use mine every few days and I still have loads left

Also.....I'm doing at 25% water change today.  Should I put some of that water into the new tank?

Thanks

got my test kit.  Much better than strips.  I put the water drained from bertie's temp tank into the new tank.  I tested the water:

PH: 7.6
hight ph: 8.4
ammonia: .25
nitrites: 0
nitrates: 0

It occurred to me that bertie's fish water hasn't been circulating for very long in the new tank.  So I'm guessing tomorrow's testing will be a better indicator if I need to do a water change to bring down the ammonia.

Here's the start of going down the "big tank" rabbit hole

Hope it'll be a pleasant ride!
Everything seems in order I'll second scrivens advice with the bigger buckets. It's not really necessary to age the water when you use water conditioner, so do that only if it won't present problems

Yes, you should change water whenever the ammonia is high! Did you move the fish to the bigger tank already or was this the readings of the small one?

I would wait at least 2 days with moving him so that the temperature can settle and stabilize in the new system, just keep pouring the "used" tank water into it whenever you change some for Bertie and the cycling might get pretty far just with that
Test the water in the new tank after the two days and see how it looks!

Thanks Skwishee,
I forgot about your post.  I will go back and reread.

Ok...I'm a sap.....but thank you so much...all of you helping me.  Bertie is on the mend...his fins are looking healthy again.  You have all been so patient to guide me and without that I wouldn't have cleaned bertie's tank so often (I did twice today...with second ammonia reading 1 before water change rather than 2).  Thanks for helping this uneducated stranger and her fish.  You guys are the best

Glad to hear Bertie's getting better!!  Believe me the feeling you get, when you release them into a massive tank, it's just the best moment ever. To watch them swim.... swim.... swim and even swim some more!

Can someone give me the link for water guidelines for ph, nitrites, ect?  I saw it somewhere on this site but now I can't find it

Thanks

Good to hear you're getting there! Note that a healthy tank will be smelling sort of earthy, not like fish. It usually gets the fishy (pun not intended) smell while there's ammonia present - the tank is cycling - or something else is wrong with the water quality.

As Orandagal said, what counts is that the water chemistry is stable, generally goldfish can enjoy a pH from 6.5 and even up to 8.5! Nitrates aren't really toxic until they reach a level of 40, but changing some water when it reaches 20-30ppm is usually a good idea, just to be sure that your fish will stay healthy! Water hardness couldn't matter much less to goldies, unless it'd suddenly change, as with everything. Their bodies and how they work are completely controlled by the water around them, so it's important to keep it constant and safe. (Imagine how you'd feel if your body temperature would drop by two-three degrees all of a sudden?)

When it comes to temperature, fancy goldfish prefer water that's a bit warmer than you'd think, many professional breeders, vets etc recommend a temperature of between 24-26 degrees Celsius, so a heater might come in handy for smaller systems in particular. Mine keeps its temp pretty well, it's only during summers it gets a tad hot in there and in winters it gets colder, but no less than 20 degrees usually (not that they'd be harmed by that either, but some fancies will get swim bladder issues or fungal infections if kept in too cool water.)

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Seriously though, thank you I'm reading those books now and then whenever there's something hard to explain going on in my tanks so I refreshed my memory not too long ago :'D

   Love it!!!

Thermometers are basic tank equipment, very simple, cheap and important. Particularly in smaller tanks where the temperature might be changing without a heater. You may want to get one for the new tank, just because

I wouldn't change out the full 50% for .25ppm, but I would indeed remove a few buckets, maybe 25-30% and add a lot of beneficial bacteria. He's probably used to having some ammonia present by now, so it should be enough. If someone has a better answer on this, feel free to correct me!

Aww, that's really sweet of you to be checking on him

Great that the nitrites/nitrates are starting to show up! You're definitely getting somewhere When I had used old tank water in the new system it seemed to go straight from ammonia to nitrate, or at least nitrites wouldn't show up on the tests. Either way, that's what you should be expecting, now that the ammonia is starting to go down, the nitrites will spike, which are also pretty harmful at higher levels, but of course not at all the same way that ammonia is.

Larger tanks also tend to have much better lighting than small bowls or tank-kits, that probably also makes him look that much more lovely

We'll be moving out of this tiny apartment soon, so me and the fantails are preparing to move a third time within 3 years...

I usually try to keep the new tank water roughly the same temperature as the tank, it's alright with a 1-2 degree fluctuation, but nothing much more than that It is normal that the water is cloudy while the tank is cycling, it's the beneficial bacteria multiplying and settling

Heh, my tank is already cycled, so all I have to do is take it down and assemble it in a new spot, no problem