Cycling Tank Using Established Tank Water

[Melman]

Hi all,

I am currently setting up my new tank with a view to transferring fish from my existing 100 litre tank into the new 260 litre. There is no rush to set this up as the tanks are in different locations within the room however to assist the cycling of the new tank would the following be a good idea . . .

Fill the new tank about half way with new treated water then do a water change on the existing tank. Instead of tipping this water away should i add this to the new tank to start the bacteria cycle? I figure i could do this 3 times a week for 2 weeks and cycle the tank quicker? Is it that simple?

How would you guys go about this? I know i said there is no rush to set the new tank up but i do want to move the fish ASAP but only once its 100% safe to do so!!

Thanks

 

[Athena]

No - adding old water to a new tank will be of no benefit at all as the majority of beneficial bacteria live within your filter and a little will be in the substrate.

What you need to do is to take some of the filter media (chop some of the sponge off from inside the filter) and put it inside your new filter - you will probably have to cut a piece of the new filter sponge off to make room for the bit you are putting in.

This will give the filter a kick start to the cycle.

Athena

 

[Melman]

Ok i will take a bit of media out of the existing filter and place that in the new one. hopefully that will speed the process up so my fish can enjoy their new home soon

Thanks

 

[Jazzzz]

If you add the bits of filter media only it will all be dead in a day or 2 You must add amonia to the water as if cycling properly it will simply shorten the time required for a full cycle.

Of course it would be 100% safe to simply half fill the tank with old tank water and half with fresh and then simply pop your old filter in the new tank and transfer the fish strait away after a month and a bit simply remove your old filer.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Melman

If you set up the new tank and move the all filter media from the old filter to the new one, you can move the fish in immediately. It will process their wastes no matter where they are. Since the media will already be cycled, there's no need to do anything else. After a week or two you can gradually add more fish and the beneficial bacteria will reproduce to keep up with the additional food available to them.

 

[Thommo]

Hi Melman

If you set up the new tank and move the all filter media from the old filter to the new one, you can move the fish in immediately. It will process their wastes no matter where they are. Since the media will already be cycled, there's no need to do anything else. After a week or two you can gradually add more fish and the beneficial bacteria will reproduce to keep up with the additional food available to them.

Yup,
Thats what I was going to say

If some types of media do not fit I would put all the medai you could from the old one into the new one and run both filters on the new tank for a while. Thats if you can't get it all into the new one. Otherwise just get the media and jam it into the new filter and presto, new tank cycled
You could also seed the new filter if you don't like that option by moving the fish with the old filter and put both the old and new together in the tank and let them run for a month or 2 and then remove the old filter or have 2 filters on the tank 2 is always better than 1

CHEERS
Thommo

 

[Melman]

Thanks for the replies everyone

The media that is in my current filter wont fit in the new one so i think i'm going to go down the 2 filters route for a couple of months.

Basically if i were to simply put my old filter in the new tank and run both filters i could put the fish in the new tank practically straight away? (i guess i'd have to as there would be no filter on their old tank)

I suppose its the equivilent of a giant water change?!

Thanks again

 

[JenCliBee]

Thanks for the replies everyone

The media that is in my current filter wont fit in the new one so i think i'm going to go down the 2 filters route for a couple of months.

Basically if i were to simply put my old filter in the new tank and run both filters i could put the fish in the new tank practically straight away? (i guess i'd have to as there would be no filter on their old tank)

I suppose its the equivilent of a giant water change?!

Thanks again

Yes, basically the bacteria in the filter you are moving over is sufficiently seeded for the amount of fish the tank is currently stocked with, so moving over with the fish is fine.

Running the new filter side by side for a few weeks will help seed the other filter quicker.

jen

 

[Melman]

Should i move as much water accross as possible as well as the filter

 

[JenCliBee]

Should i move as much water accross as possible as well as the filter

Makes no difference, as stated above the water itself has no real benficial bacteria, as long as the new water you add is dechlorinated and added at roughly the same temp as the old tank you could fill with completely new water with no detremental effects

jen

 

[Melman]

Sounds good to me, is it worth putting the filter in the new tank for a few hours before adding the fish or can the whole process be done in one big go?

Sorry if some of these are stupid questions i just want to make sure i get it right cos i'd hate to lose any of my fish!!

Thanks again for all the help.

Mark

 

[JenCliBee]

Sounds good to me, is it worth putting the filter in the new tank for a few hours before adding the fish or can the whole process be done in one big go?

Sorry if some of these are stupid questions i just want to make sure i get it right cos i'd hate to lose any of my fish!!

Thanks again for all the help.

Mark

Just make sure when adding the dechlorinator you give it 10 or so mins to work other than that you should be able to move everythink over straight away

No questions are stupid m8, if anythink you asking so many should be praised , if only everyone had the same approach

jen

 

[hollanda88]

Just make sure when adding the dechlorinator you give it 10 or so mins to work other than that you should be able to move everythink over straight away

No questions are stupid m8, if anythink you asking so many should be praised , if only everyone had the same approach

jen

Yeah just make sure its dechlorinated otherwise you have a big problem on your hands lol. Give the water a good stir too to make sure the dechlorinator hs moved about

 

[Melman]

Yep will do, i dont want to have that problem (again!!). Thats why i'm asking so many questions this time.

If i dechlorinate the water this weekend but dont put the old filter and fish in until next weekend would i need to treat it again. Would any bad bacteria reemerge or is it destroyed permanently once its been treated once?

Thanks

 

[JenCliBee]

Yep will do, i dont want to have that problem (again!!). Thats why i'm asking so many questions this time.

If i dechlorinate the water this weekend but dont put the old filter and fish in until next weekend would i need to treat it again. Would any bad bacteria reemerge or is it destroyed permanently once its been treated once?

Thanks

Dechlorinator as far as im aware isnt for any other purpose than removing heavy metals and things like chorine in the water, so yes you could do it the way uve just said but is the any reason why you would want to? and not move the fish and filter over as soon as possible.