Speed Cycling Second Tank

[boxcar]

i'm getting a nano tank soon to rehome my betta and was wondering if i put some of my substrate (aquasoil amazonia) from my established tank into the nano tank will it speed up the cycling process as it will have live bacteria already on it.i'll be moving about half my substrate into my nano tank as i'm rescaping my established tank with some soil and coloured gravel.
 
secondly if i cut a piece of my sponge from my filter and add it to my nano filter will that help too?
 
thanks in advance,

 

[the_lock_man]

The filter media is a better bet than the substrate. Whilst there is some bacteria there, more bacteria live in the filter. You can take a maximum of a third of the filter media from your existing filter, and if you replace it with the new media from the new tank's filter, there will be no ill-effects on the existing filter - the bacterial colonies will multiply back to their old size within a few hours.

 

[Sophie]

The filter media is a better bet than the substrate. Whilst there is some bacteria there, more bacteria live in the filter. You can take a maximum of a third of the filter media from your existing filter, and if you replace it with the new media from the new tank's filter, there will be no ill-effects on the existing filter - the bacterial colonies will multiply back to their old size within a few hours.

 
+1
 
Are you cycling with Ammonia beforehand?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

lock- I am a bit curious as to how you know that the bacteria in a filter are fairly evenly distributed in the bio-media? In order to be able to state that one can move a maximum of 1/3 of the media and not have any issues, this would have to be pretty much the case.
 
How do we know, for example, if you have 2 sponges in an AquaClear filter that 1/2 the bacteria would be in each sponge. Bio media does clog, so there will be places where there might be little or no bacteria and then other places where there is a higher concentration even within the same sponge. One sponge might hold 3/4 of the bacteria and much of that might be more in one half of the sponge as opposed to the other.
 
About the only thing I am reasonably certain of is that the ammonia and nitrite oxidizers live in the same bio-film together. So the odds are good when one moves media that they will move the normal proportion of both types of bacteria.
 
The danger is not that one might move too little bacteria but that one might move too much. My inclination would be to use a more conservative approach. After all, the worst that might happen is one moves less bacteria over and it then takes an extra day or two to get the new tank up to full strength.

 

[ech0o]

lock- I am a bit curious as to how you know that the bacteria in a filter are fairly evenly distributed in the bio-media? In order to be able to state that one can move a maximum of 1/3 of the media and not have any issues, this would have to be pretty much the case.
 
How do we know, for example, if you have 2 sponges in an AquaClear filter that 1/2 the bacteria would be in each sponge. Bio media does clog, so there will be places where there might be little or no bacteria and then other places where there is a higher concentration even within the same sponge. One sponge might hold 3/4 of the bacteria and much of that might be more in one half of the sponge as opposed to the other.
 
About the only thing I am reasonably certain of is that the ammonia and nitrite oxidizers live in the same bio-film together. So the odds are good when one moves media that they will move the normal proportion of both types of bacteria.
 
The danger is not that one might move too little bacteria but that one might move too much. My inclination would be to use a more conservative approach. After all, the worst that might happen is one moves less bacteria over and it then takes an extra day or two to get the new tank up to full strength.

+1,  the mere presence of the bacteria is really what you are looking for.  The reproduction rate of the bacteria is fast enough that you are looking a day or two difference moving the least amount of media as opposed to a larger amount, which then causes your main tank to cycle for a couple days.   Also, the substrate is a very good idea, more bacteria is housed in the substrate than i think most people give credit.  I have found that with a small enough bioload, you can effectively use this cycling method without ever detecting ammonia/nitrites in the water, although most people still suggest a fishless cycle even with the cycled media.