Filter Media

[Fishy friend2]

So my dad might start a 10 gallon freshwater tank and I don't want him to go thru fish less cycling so I am going to give him some of my mature filter media and 4 gallons of tank water yow long does he have to wait till he can add fish

 

[fishguy2727]

That depends on how well it is instantly cycled. The safest thing to do is have that mature media seed a fishless cycle, not replace cycling. He should still add ammonia until the bacteria are established.

 

[Fishy friend2]

How do I know that the bacteria are established

 

[Jinty McGinty]

Giving him your water is of no benefit to the tank.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Okay so what about just some media if I give him a filter cartridge how long does he have to wait

 

[Corydoralover]

i agree about the ammonia part fishguy

 

[Fishy friend2]

Sorry I accidentally said I have to wait but I edited it

 

[Jinty McGinty]

I'd have thought (from reading on here) that putting in already cycled media would mean the filter was established and he could add some fish straight away. I might be wrong though.

 

[Fishy friend2]

That's what I thought too

 

[fishguy2727]

Mature media has enough bacteria for that tank's bioload (fish mass plus food).

In order for it to handle a new tank it has to grow to handle that tank's bioload.

It can give him a headstart, but it won't instantly cycle it for him to just start adding fish.

As with any fishless cycling, he will need to add ammonia every day. He needs to test ammonia and nitrite daily. If he never gets any then yes, there was enough bacteria to instantly cycle that tank for that amount of ammonia and he can start adding fish slowly, as usual. If not he needs to keep adding it daily until the ammonia and nitrite both go back down to 0ppm. Then he can add fish.

It is possible to instantly cycle a tank for fish, but if the media you give him has so much bacteria to instantly cycle his tank, it took out that much bacteria from your tank. Using mature media to seed a tank is a good idea, but I wouldn't simply assume it will match his starting bioload. If he is too impatient to properly cycle the tank, maybe aquariums isn't the hobby for him.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, you can add fish straight away; I do it all the time for settin up new tanks. It's bit more risky if you have to transport the media for any length of time, so test often and feed little, on both tanks, for a week or so to make sure the bacteria survived the move.

Make sure you stock appropriately too; if, for example, your tank had 40 neons in it and you gave 1/4 of your media to your dad, he could put 6 or 8 in his tank.

lol; looks like me and fishguy are going to have to agree to disagree on this one

 

[Fishy friend2]

Actually I was just wondering he teaches high school and it's only a week till school starts so I didn't want him to not get home til 8 every day and have to do it after work

My tank has 3 danios 2 goldfish and 1 ghost shrimp his tank is gonna have 6 endlers 1 Betta and 5 ghost shrimp

 

[Fishy friend2]

So can he do it instantly

 

[Fishy friend2]

Or does he still have to wait I think instantly considering that the media kept my tank with goldfish crystal clear

 

[fluttermoth]

How 'crystal clear' your water is is irrelevant; sulphuric acid is crystal clear too, but it won't do your fish much good!

How big are your goldies, what's the filter and how long has it been cycled?