Does pre-established water and filter media "speed up" cycling a new system?

[Snagrio]

Currently have a 55 gallon system that's been established for a number of years that I'm planning to expand to a 100+ (125 is my aim) setup, as in all residents will be moved from one to the other. My question is, if I use some water, gravel and filtration media from the old system, how does that affect the cycling period?

And a bit of an extra add-on, I'm going to try live plants again for the first time in years and I'm unaware how that works in regards to tank cycling. I'd like them to get started for a few weeks before introducing the fish (which include boisterous clown loaches) so they won't get pushed around and disrupted, but when is it safe to put plants in during the cycling process?

 

[mcordelia]

Look up the concept of "silent cycle" on the forums. @essjay jas a couple of posts where she has explained it nicely.

Regarding transferring water: don't bother, not enough bacteria

Transferring filter media and gravel: definitely. If you don't want the gravel to mix, put it in a mesh bag or sock that has no detergent residue.

 

[Essjay]

Do you intend to keep the 55 gallon running?

If you don't just move everything into the bigger tank - substrate, filter and fish. You can put the old media into the new filter and fill the gaps with new media since the new tank will be at least double the volume of the old one so it will have a bigger filter. Move them all into the new tank at the same time and you don't need to cycle it. Just keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite for several days and wait a few weeks before getting more fish, and add them a batch at a time.

You can always cycle the tank if you want to add a lot more fish quickly.

If you've been doing 50%+ water changes every week, you don't need to use the old water as your tap water will be virtually the same as the tank water. But if you haven't been doing large weekly water changes, use the old water.
You will probably find that the substrate is very messy. Just clean it up in some old tank water that you took out before removing the substrate (any water left will get horrible when you remove the substrate)



Silent cycling is where you use a lot of plants. They need to be fast growing plants rather than slow growers - floating plants are particularly good for this. The tank is set up and planted, then you wait until you see signs of growth. If you add fish too soon, the plants could die then you'd be doing a fish-in cycle. Another member has suggested taking a photo of the tank as soon as it's set up so you can tell easily if they are growing by comparing them to the photo. Once the plants are actively growing, fish can be added to the tank a few at a time. Ammonia and nitrite should be checked daily after each addition to make sure they don't go above zero.

 

[Herpin Man]

Yes, it can speed it up dramatically. I use a piece of filter media or gravel to seed a new tank, and find that it is cycled in days, instead of weeks.

 

[Snagrio]

Do you intend to keep the 55 gallon running?

If you don't just move everything into the bigger tank - substrate, filter and fish. You can put the old media into the new filter and fill the gaps with new media since the new tank will be at least double the volume of the old one so it will have a bigger filter. Move them all into the new tank at the same time and you don't need to cycle it. Just keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite for several days and wait a few weeks before getting more fish, and add them a batch at a time.

You can always cycle the tank if you want to add a lot more fish quickly.

If you've been doing 50%+ water changes every week, you don't need to use the old water as your tap water will be virtually the same as the tank water. But if you haven't been doing large weekly water changes, use the old water.
You will probably find that the substrate is very messy. Just clean it up in some old tank water that you took out before removing the substrate (any water left will get horrible when you remove the substrate)



Silent cycling is where you use a lot of plants. They need to be fast growing plants rather than slow growers - floating plants are particularly good for this. The tank is set up and planted, then you wait until you see signs of growth. If you add fish too soon, the plants could die then you'd be doing a fish-in cycle. Another member has suggested taking a photo of the tank as soon as it's set up so you can tell easily if they are growing by comparing them to the photo. Once the plants are actively growing, fish can be added to the tank a few at a time. Ammonia and nitrite should be checked daily after each addition to make sure they don't go above zero.

All the fish I have are in the one system and they'll all be moving to the bigger tank so no, don't have a reason to keep the 55 running and the current filters (two heavy-duty HOBs) will be moved with them. Though I will be adding further filtration in the form of a canister as I do plan to add more fish down the road after everything's settled and stabilized after the move.

So I guess now with what you've said the issue won't be cycling in of itself due to everything being transferred over simultaneously, but my concern lies with getting plants established post-transfer considering how disruptive the likes of clown loaches are (already know substrate-bound plants are all but out of the question for that reason).

 

[mcordelia]

You can always have the two tanks running simultaneously for th first few weeks, the plants don't really need anything other than water movement and ferts to start with. Then you will be in better shape when you move stuff over, since your plants will already have had a chance to get established a little.