Cycling 75G Tank...a Few Quick Questions

[squidneh]

I finally have my greedy little hands on a 75g bowfront, a nice and beautiful upgrade for my fishies currently living in the 40g.  I would like to speed up the cycling process by using water, decorations, and filter media from the 40g.
 
My questions are
1. if I put in some water, gravel, and a few plastic plants from the 40g, and it then sits in stagnant water with no filter (can't get one suitable for the larger tank til friday) would it defeat the purpose/kill off the bacteria? Should I stir up the water periodically, etc? 
 
2. The filter for the 40 gallon is, I'll admit, a bit too small and the cause of my furious daily cleaning to keep things in check.  It is an aquatech 20-40, and my shark is quite messy.  I do a lot of gravel siphoning and water changes to make up for the poor filter. Anyways, I'm a bit confused about the components of the filter and which part contains the bacteria..if any.  I feel I may have goofed up a bit and am looking to learn and correct my actions for this new big tank.
     -if any of you are familiar with the filter, which component should I save and add to the new tank? The reason I'm unsure of this is there seem to be 3 parts - the blue sponge which houses the carbon, and then the thicker black sponge that doesn't get changed. I'm assuming it would be the black one...?
    -Can I do this before I get the bigger better filter for the new tank, like just drop it in the water? Or wait and put it in the new filter? However, I'm looking at getting a different type of filter it may not fit in anyways
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Mamashack]

I'd wait until you have the new tank set up and cycled before changing the fish over to the new tank.
If time/space is an issue then you could transfer everything including the filter as it will already be coping with the current stock. It won't however cope with water flow all over the new tank or any additional livestock which would likely throw the tank into a minicycle.
What are your plans re further livestock? 

 

[squidneh]

I'm not planning on adding any additional livestock straight away.  I wasn't planning on adding my current fish right away either - but if it's possible that'd be even better, because space is limited. If I were to transfer everything (filter, fish, decor, gravel) from the 40g to the 75g would it cause a mini cycle or be harmful to the fish? I hadn't considered that an option but would love if I could do so..

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The nitrifying bacteria, and the others with whom they cohabit the bio-films which attach them all to stuff do are not mobile. They do not actively seek out the nurtients they nedd but instead have them delivered in the form of flow. How many bacteria are in any given tank varies with eh bio-load. But in the end (once a tank is cycled) the bacteria are in the tank somewhere or else we would have constant ammonia etc.
 
If one's biological filter media does not offer enough space or flow (because it has been allowed to clog) then the bacteria will colonize elsewhere where what they need is in good supply. What this means is that in any given tank the bacteria can be anywhere and in differing numbers. the one this we do know is where ever they are, it is on surfaces not in the water. In a properly maintained filter one will usually find the most bacteria, but this is never guaranteed.
 
What this means is that to move over the maximum amount of bacteria one should move as much as possible over from an old to a new tank. Start with the filter, then the substrate (in unplanted tanks the bacteria will only be in the top 1/2 inch or less of the substrate). But move over rocks, driftwood and other decor as well to the greatest extent possible. Do not feed the fish for the day or two after the move until you are sure the tank is doing OK relative to ammonia and nitrite. Because you will be moving a lot of the good bacteria this way, even if it is not quite enough, it will reproduce rapidly since it is starting at a pretty decent level. Bear in mind that both the ammonia and nitrite bacteria can double in less than 24 hours.
 
Most mini-cycles are small in intensity and short lived. Most fish can handle low levels of ammonia for a day or two, especially if the NH3 content is not high enough to cause immediate harm.