How Long Does It Take

[coldcazzie]

I think that's the right phrase?

I mean putting a new filter in a stocked tank to cycle it, before moving it into an unstocked tank.

Also, at that point would the filter be able to handle the same bioload as the original tank, or only half that bioload?

Ta!

 

[KittyKat]

What you suggests takes 6 weeks (4 is absolute minimum). At that point, each filter should theoretically be able to handle about 60-75% of the original load. That wouldn't be a problem if after moving one of the filters, you fed about 60% of normal feeding and increased that over a few weeks. You should be able to stock 100% right away if you do not feed too much to start off with.

What would work better: split cycled media 50/50 between filters, stock both tanks right away. Careful on the feeding again, start with 50% of normal and increase over a few weeks.

Of course, whatever you do.. don't forget to check your water parameters regularly!

 

[OldMan47]

I have done much what you suggest and placed a filter into a tank with the running one. About 4 or 5 weeks later I came home with a pair of swordtails from a club auction and placed that filter into service. The filter was not ready and I had to deal with the nitrite spike in that tank until I did a proper clone on the filter by washing a dirty filter in the tank and letting that get the new one going. The day after I did the filter clone my old way, the new filter was taking care of the nitrites.

 

[coldcazzie]

I see...

I cant see me being able to move it into the other tank until at least the end of Jan, as I have to set the entire thing up from scratch (ie, nothing comes with the tank at all!) - and it went into the stocked tank on the 1st Dec. That would give it 2 months in there - which is the length of the average cycle...I guess all I can do is put it in and monitor stats and see what happens!

 

[KittyKat]

Two months is almost guaranteed to do the job, in my experience. If you can move at least a little bit of old filter media into the new filter, that really goes a long way towards getting the second filter cycled.. the main thing to remember is that neither filter will have as many bacteria as the original had at the start of cycling.

 

[mattlee]

sorry coldcazzie to hijack the thread but im in a similar position right now. i had a mature sponge filter thats quite large possible big enough to handle 200L easy that i put in my cory tank ive been running a non cycled external for about 8 weeks along side it. i now have another tank for more corys and want to put about 7/8 corys + fry in there removing 2 from the tank thats cycled. would my external handle the bio load of corys which will be about 10 in total in a 100L tank if i removed the sponge filter to the new tank to do the same thing over again?

does that make sense.....!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AdAndrews]

the same happened with me, that it did with OM.. i did it for 5 weeks and then found it wasnt ready. Its hard to tell.

 

[coldcazzie]

Two months is almost guaranteed to do the job, in my experience. If you can move at least a little bit of old filter media into the new filter, that really goes a long way towards getting the second filter cycled.. the main thing to remember is that neither filter will have as many bacteria as the original had at the start of cycling.

Yeh I realise that. However, the tank is currently divided and the inhabitants will be split over the 2 tanks, so that wont matter.

sorry coldcazzie to hijack the thread but im in a similar position right now. i had a mature sponge filter thats quite large possible big enough to handle 200L easy that i put in my cory tank ive been running a non cycled external for about 8 weeks along side it. i now have another tank for more corys and want to put about 7/8 corys + fry in there removing 2 from the tank thats cycled. would my external handle the bio load of corys which will be about 10 in total in a 100L tank if i removed the sponge filter to the new tank to do the same thing over again?

does that make sense.....!!!!!!!!!!!

er... no? lol

 

[mattlee]

ill try and make sense this time.....
i have a sponge filter thats fully cycled in my cory tank (100L) and have been running a non cycled external along side it for about 2 months. the tank contains 13 corys and a few shrimp.
i have bought a new tank to split the corys and want to move 7 from the cycled tank to the new tank, leaving 6.
i have 5 in quarentine to go into the cycled tank to make 11 corys.
so what i was getting at was - if i removed the sponge filter from the cycled tank to the non cycled tank along side another uncycled external filter would both tanks be ok?
the cycled tank will in effect loose 2 fish and the sponge filter which will be seeding the new external in the new tank containing 7 fish....


hows that this time........?

 

[coldcazzie]

Much better lol!

I honestly don't know though - I've never done anything like this before, so I'm as clueless as you are. I guess the one you would have to watch would be the one with more cories in it - even though it would lose 2 fish it would lose more overall media so you'd have to watch that one more carefully for an ammonie spike I would have thought...because the other one the bioload would drop by half, but that one would barely drop at all...

I think...?

 

[mattlee]

Much better lol!

I honestly don't know though - I've never done anything like this before, so I'm as clueless as you are. I guess the one you would have to watch would be the one with more cories in it - even though it would lose 2 fish it would lose more overall media so you'd have to watch that one more carefully for an ammonie spike I would have thought...because the other one the bioload would drop by half, but that one would barely drop at all...

I think...?

arent we rubbish...!
can anyone help?

 

[kribensis12]

Honestly, I only wait a week. I put some old media forma cycled tank into a new tank, and give it a week (with the fish in it) and take the old sponge out. I have never had a problem with spikes of any kind.