Seachem stability or seeding

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zain611

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I have a 28 litre tank and about a month ago squeezed in an extra sponge in the filter. What im wondering is I'm planning on setting up a 130 litre tank soon so should I just seed it using the current sponges I have in the current tank or also use seachem stability. I'm thinking Id transfer the fish and filter media over and wait about a month before I add more fish
 
So you have a small tank and a month ago you added an extra sponge to the filter. And you want to get a bigger tank and transfer fish and filter into the new tank. Is that correct?
If yes, then that works fine and you can usually add more fish within a couple of weeks.

All you do is rinse the new tank and put it wherever it is going to go. Add gravel then either fill the tank with new water and add dechlorinator and aerate for 24 hours or longer. Then move the filter and fish into that tank.
Or you put the new tank wherever it is going to go, and add the water, filter and fish from the smaller tank, and then top the tank up with dechlorinated water. Then just monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple of weeks and away you go.

If you keep the small tank you can use that as a quarantine tank and keep all new fish in it for a month before adding them to the main display tank. All you need to do is get a filter and put one of the sponges from the established tank into the filter on the quarantine tank, and you have an instant cycled quarantine tank for new fish.
After the 4 weeks of quarantine you move the new fish into the big tank and wash the quarantine tank out and let it dry. Wash the filter and sponge out with tap water and put the sponge in the main tank until next time.
 
Thanks Colin, yes Im thinking I might transfer the filter sponges and fish in the new tank and most likely the sand (will have to add more sand due to the new tank being bigger).

Would it be necessary to get seachem stability or would the filter media I transfer be enough? In mid September I'm going on holiday for a week so I'm thinking if I set up the tank the week after from now and transfer the fish and filter sponges the new filter media would have a good colony of bacteria on it if left after a month.
 
Thanks Colin, yes Im thinking I might transfer the filter sponges and fish in the new tank and most likely the sand (will have to add more sand due to the new tank being bigger).

Would it be necessary to get seachem stability or would the filter media I transfer be enough? In mid September I'm going on holiday for a week so I'm thinking if I set up the tank the week after from now and transfer the fish and filter sponges the new filter media would have a good colony of bacteria on it if left after a month.

Once established, the population of these bacteria in an aquarium will be in direct proportion to the amount of ammonia or nitrite respectively. Nitrifying bacteria require 12-32 hours to multiply, which they do by binary division [each bacterium divides into two bacteria]. Nitrosomonas multiply in less time (12+ hours) while Nitrospira require more time (up to 32 hours). In a new aquarium, it can take up to eight weeks for the bacteria populations to reach a level capable of eliminating ammonia and nitrite. So without a source of ammonia, such as fish or decomposition of organic matter, the bacteria will go into a sort of suspended animation or hibernation state; they do not die, not unless something else affects them, though there is obviously a limit to their "hibernation."

You don't mention live plants or not; fast growing plants (especially floating) would basically eliminate any issues with "cycling." But without, using a bacterial supplement might not hurt, even if over-cautious. I have used Stability with good results.

Not sure I am correctly reading the fish adding sentence, so to be clear I would not add fish to this tank until you return, just to avoid any issues arising while you are away which could mean a tank of dead fish when you get back.
 
If you transfer the filter, fish and water from the small tank into the bigger tank, the filter bacteria will not be affected and the new big tank will have an established filter on it as soon as you move the old filter (and its filter materials) onto the new tank.

You don't have to worry about cycling it again if you simply move the filter and its media across. As long as the filter is not left without water and oxygen it will be fine.

Just set the new tank up and transfer fish, water and filter across. Top the tank up. Turn the filter back on and it's done.
 
Thanks guys so to clarify it's safe to just transfer things from the old tank including the fish into the new? The tank has a trickle filter which runs across the length of it so thinking the sponges I transfer will go along it.

I'm planning that I'd set the tank up, leave it running for about 2 days before transferring everything over. Might as well transfer the ornaments as that may have good bacteria on it. Will keep a good eye on the water parameters and possibly do a water change before I go on holiday. I'm going for only a week so don't think that's long enough for a disaster to strike.
 

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