How To Properly "clone" A Tank?

[Arei]

I'm getting a larger tank in a couple of days, which I plan to move all the inhabitants of my current tank over into.

I do have 2 pieces of filter media (a small sponge and the stone things that come with a small aquaclear filter to grow bacteria on, that I used for the newer filter I got for the current tank) that have been in use for a couple of months I plan on sticking in the filter of the new tank.

From this point I'm unsure of how to proceed properly. Do I do this, then add maybe 3 of my platies and let them chill out until the bacteria have been able to multiply enough to cycle? Since the bacteria do need an ammonia source... If I do this how long will it take? It's a 30 gallon tank btw. I want to make sure I get the filter cycled enough there is zero stress to the fish.

 

[Uriel]

Umm I'm pretty sure that if you want 0 stress for your fish and are able to run the tanks side by side so to speak for 3-4 weeks. Then you want to fishlessly cycle the new tank using the media previously mentioned from the old tank to seed it. You can buy house hold ammonia to cycle the tank. I get mine from boots the chemist cause it contains no additives. There is a big section at the top about fishless cycle which will cover it in more detail.

In the beginners resource centre.

 

[Arei]

Huh, I thought the cloning process was completely different from total fishless cycling from scratch.

 

[fluttermoth]

If you're moving all the fish from your current tank, you can just set the new one up and move the filter media and the fish into the new tank at the same time; think of the filter media as being paired with the fish, not the tank.

Just test every day for a few days in case you need to water change while the bacteria get used to their new home and you should be fine.

 

[Tolak]

Huh, I thought the cloning process was completely different from total fishless cycling from scratch.

It is. A few basic things need to be understood to have success cloning a tank. A mature colony of nitrifying bacteria is capable of doubling every 24 hours. Your current colony of nitrifying bacteria in your mature filter media is capable of providing the biological filtration for the stocking you currently have. We don't live in a perfect world, these things are generalizations within certain parameters.

For an easy example, let's say you have a 20 gallon tank with 20 guppys and a suitable cycled and mature filter, running smoothly. Half of that mature media will support 10 guppys. You could take half the media, 10 guppys, and set up a second tank with half the mature media from the first, and be reasonably assured of an instant cycle.

Not living in a perfect world, capable of doubling every 24 hours doesn't mean it will. There are a few basic guidelines I follow when cloning tanks, something I do on a regular basis. First, don't take more than 1/3 of the mature media from a tank for cloning. Second, fast the donor tank for 24 hours before removing media, feed lightly for the next week, less food means less waste produced. Third, follow the same fasting & feeding with the newly cloned tank. Fourth, keep an eye on the water, be ready to do large water changes, this means test, watch behavior, or just change water to add a margin of safety.

Getting back to our example tank, if we take 1/3 of the mature media, which we know will provide the bio filtration for 1/3 of that stock, 6-7 guppys, and add it to a new tank with 10 new guppys we can be reasonably assured of success, following the basic guidelines. Getting to reality, few people stock a tank such as that, and set up a tank such as that, so some guesstimating needs to be used.

Larger fish generally produce more waste, smaller generally less. You would need very little mature media from a large tank fully stocked with African cichlids to clone a new tank with 10 guppys. Taking 1/3 of the media from our example tank would in no way be adequate for cloning a new tank to house a breeding pair of jack dempseys, or similar large fish.

Also understand that cycled media is not mature media. Mature media holds a longer term colony of nitrifying bacteria, at least a few if not several months old.

 

[Arei]

The sponge/rocks do take up 1/3 of the space in my filter currently, so I guess that would be the 1/3 of media I'd be placing in the new tank. Also would taking some gravel out of the cycled tank help? As well as moving over my moss ball and maybe my small piece of driftwood (I dont want to keep it in the big tank but I hear that driftwood holds onto bacteria well, so might that introduce even more into the new tank?)

I don't really want to move my pleco until I'm assured the bacteria colony has multiplied decently, as I hear Gold Nuggets are a bit more fragile and I don't want to expose him to rapidly changing levels that could put him under stress (for costing $30, I will not risk it).

So if I disclude him, I've got 8 platies, 6 black neon tetra, and 1 SAE. What would be a good number (and type) to move over into the the new tank when I move the media? I kinda figure its not great for the SAE because there won't be bacteria

 

[Tolak]

If you're going to do a straight switch from one tank to another just move all the fish with all the media. If you want to clone a tank using your existing stock, as long as the tank is large enough to house them I'd take 5-8 platys, and 1/3 of the media for the new tank. This number depends on the size of the plec and sae. If they are larger 8 will work, if smaller go with 5.

Many folks with AC filters run two sponges & either the BioMax, which is the stones you mentioned, or floss. The extra sponge provides more area for nitrifying bacteria, and is easily replaced when used for cloning a tank. I'd pick up a second sponge, and use 1/3 of the mature sponge & 1/3 of the BioMax for the new filter. Don't bother with the carbon if you are running it, it's done doing its job after a few days, and basically becomes an inert but poor bio media.

 

[Arei]

The pleco and SAE are still juvenile (Pleco is not even 3 inches, the SAE is not even 2).

In my current Aquaclear there's the large sponge, the AC 10 sponge and biomax (that I took from the old filter I set up before which was too small), and an AC size 50 Ammonia removing insert (that was the only size they had in the store so thats why its so large). It's now over a month old and its suggested that it be tossed after a month, so I was planning on doing that. Would it be ok to just move over the sponges and biomax? In the end I will probably be using 2 sponges and biomax. (I only got the ammonia remover during my frustration with the fish-in cycling, I don't think its necessary any longer).

Though, I may do the cloning method because I was hoping to still use my existing tank to house some neon tetra.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I'd just toss the ammonia removing insert. WD