Cycling From Media

[drufly]

I am helping a friend set up a 400 ltr tank and was wondering if I Cud donate from my filter, how long wud it take for the big tank to cycle. I have a 300 ltr.

Thanks dru

 

[Squidward]

I am helping a friend set up a 400 ltr tank and was wondering if I Cud donate from my filter, how long wud it take for the big tank to cycle. I have a 300 ltr.

Thanks dru

Yes, you could donate some media.

He would have to start stocking very slowly from the start. The bacteria in his tank would need Ammonia to keep going.

Add a few fish, and test regularly to make sure the new filter is working properly.

 

[Gilli]

You can certainly speed up the process by using mature media, it may even cut the time taken to mature it by up to half (from scratch it will tke between 6-8 weeks) but there is no set time and it depends on how much mature media you put into the new filter. Never remove more than about 30% of mature media from an established filter if that tank has a full stock of fish. Removing too much may cause that filter to crash. Once you have put the mature media into the new filter it is important to keep it fed. This can be done with pure ammonia or by adding a fish or two. Do not add too many fish in one go using this method

 

[drufly]

TThanks folks, goin today to set up. Should I tell him to buy a few fish today or wait till tomorrow? When I say donate, is it sponge or is it the rock or white cylinders I need to move?

 

[fluttermoth]

I think your mate should wait until at least tomorrow to get fish. You won't lose many bacteria overrnight and it allows you to get everything sorted; make sure the filter and heater are running properly, that the tank doesn't leak, all that sort of thing.

It doesn't matter what media you donate; whatever is easiest to get into his filter Don't give away more than a third of your own, or your tank will have an ammonia spike!

Do go slowly with the stocking, and check for ammonia daily at first, just in case the media doesn't 'take' for some reason.

If I'm cloning filters, what I do is pop a bit of fish food (because I don't keep household ammonia around) in the new tank and leave it for a couple of days until I have an ammonia reading. Then I put in my mature media (usually in the evening) and test again next morning. If the ammonia has gone I know I'm safe to get my fishes

 

[Doc7]

Suppose one wanted to start a second tank - would a good way to colonize a new filter, without donating "media" per say, be to swish the sponge around in the new tanks water? The detritus will initially look really horrible in the new tank (if it looks anything like my bucket after I swish/squeeze the sponge) but it would eventually mostly all end up in the new filter I would think - is there any beneficial bacteria and enough to start a cycle doing this? In this case I would still wait until I had a "fishless cycle" completed but wondering if that's a good way to seed a filter or if donating actual sponge material would be much better or a little better.

 

[fluttermoth]

Donating actual sponge or other media is much, much better. What you suggest would certainly do something, but the bacteria do cling onto the media quite strongly.