Cycle Time

[Lanzuis]

Hello everyone!
 
I am cycling a new 90G Tank - I already have an established 26G Tank and I have a question

 
If I were to take all the decorations, and substrate from the current tank - and take some sponge out of the filter and put it in my new filter - and then add Fluval Bacterial Enhancer - Would I be able to add fish after a days cycling?
 
EDIT: Forgot to add - I am going to move all the fish from the 26G Tank to the 90G - Should I introduce the hardier first, or all together?

 

[fluttermoth]

Are any or all of the fish moving from the small tank to the larger one?

 

[Lanzuis]

Are any or all of the fish moving from the small tank to the larger one?

 
Eventually, all the fish - But I don't know whether to introduce the hardier fish first or all of them together.

 

[fluttermoth]

It would be easier to move everything; all the decor, all the filter media and all the fish at the same time. Your current media is already cycled, for the amount of fish you have now, so you don't need to cycle at all, as long as you move all the media.

You must feed sparingly (don't feed the fish at all for two or three days before the move) and test often in case of mini cycles (where some of the bacteria die back after being moved), for the first week or so.

If you do experience a mini cycle, all you need to do is a few extra water changes while the bacterial colonies grow back; should only take a day or two.

 

[Lanzuis]

Alright! Thanks for the info!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If you area able to move over everything from the smaller tank to the larger one, hopefully you are moving over most of the bacteria. There is one caveat however. Depending on the tank, a fair amount of the bacteria can be in one's substrate. When this is in an unplanted tank (no plants w/ roots in the substrate), the nitrifying bacteria is only in the top 1/2 inch or less. So it helps to make an effort not to move your substrate in such a way that what was in the surface layer is not all buried when moved to the new tank.
 
However, when it comes to potential spikes, bear in mind that both the ammonia and nitrite bacs can still double in well under a day. If you see a small spike I would advise against doing any water changes unless your fish are clearly in distress. Such spikes should pass fairly fast because the bacteria will multiply back to full strength pretty fast.Water changes will simply serve to slow this return to stability in terms of the cycle.
 
But when it comes to ammonia, it is important to watch the NH3 component more than the total ammonia reading. There is an explanation of all this in the recently posted article on the site here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/