Could I ?

[NeonWater]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on the forums and I thought id get into it with a question

Im soon to be getting a 4ft tank and want to jump start my filter. Could I use bacteria from a coldwater tank in a tropical tank???

Many thanks

 

[mooey65]

I think you can but don't quote me sorry if that's no help.

 

[drobbyb]

It's the same bacteria as freshwater, so yes that would give you a nice headstart. What you want to do is use 1/3 of the media from your coldwater tank and place it into the new filter. Then place 1/3 of the new media back into the old filter. You proceed with a fishless cycle to confirm your ammonia and nitrite levels have fallen to 0 within 12 hours and you have nitrates present.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, completely agree with drobbyb.

Now is also the time to plan out your filter and filter media. Getting good advice and revising your plan for those things is better done before the fishless cycling gets going, its just easier that way and you don't suffer any setbacks.

Areas to focus on would be deciding where along the scale of 5x to 10x or so of turnover you want your flow rate to fall. What type of and how many filters will give you the desired media volume you feel you will need. Which media types you will choose for mechanical, biological and chemical filtration and which of those you will choose to have in the filter or just on the shelf in readiness. In larger tanks, two filters have the advantage of serving as backups for each other and they also allow you to alternate the cleaning schedule.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[NeonWater]

Thanks alot guys for the quick replys!

Areas to focus on would be deciding where along the scale of 5x to 10x or so of turnover you want your flow rate to fall.

Could you explain what you mean by this please.

Many thanks

 

[drobbyb]

waterdrop is talking about the water turnover rate of your filters. You want at least 5 times water turnover per hour. Say you have a 100l tank. You would want a filter that does at least 500l per hour.