Issues Transferring Bacteria

[confusion]

So, I put a piece of filter floss in one of my biowheel 350 filters on the 55G tank about 2 months ago with the intent of pulling it out and adding it to another tank that might need to be kickstarted.

Well, I have a very pregnant molly that I want to save the babies from, so I moved her into my 2.5 hospital so she can have the babies. I had an old POS tetra filter that came with a 10G tank. I took the floss from the big filter, and strung it over the filter frame in the tetra filter, all the while making sure it didn't leave a bag of water from the 55G tank. Seems like if anything should work for kickstarting a tank, that would.

But, it didn't. I just checked the params, and after 24hrs, my ammonia is at 1.2ppm, which is safe for my ph (6.4), but on the rise. No nitrates, no nitrites. Completely not cycled.

I have had many similar experiences - exchanging bio wheels, taking out filter cartridges (I bought all bio wheel 350 filters so I could interchange the media if I needed). None of that ever worked.

The only thing I have gotten to work is with canister filters. I now have at least one rena XP canister and one bio wheel 350. When I got my 29G tank last month, I bought a new XP2. I took the XP2 off my 30G and hooked it up to the 29 and it was cycled instantly, and the 30G retained it's cycled without missing a beat.

So, I'm left wondering... where does the bacteria live?

Here's my suspicions:
On the insides of the hoses of the canister filters
On the insides of the water intake on the HOB filters
On the walls of the inside of the filters
Possibly on the glass of there is water flowing past it.

Here's how I know...

I can cycle an uncycled tank by carrying over the full HOB filter from a cycled tank.
I cannot cycle a tank by simply moving the fitler media from the same filter
I can cycle a tank by simply moving my entire canister filter from a cycled tank to the uncycled tank.
I cannot cycle a tank by moving media from a cycled canister fitler to a canister filter on an uncycled tank.

What I have not tried is moving the hoses or empty HOB filter housing from one filter to another. I strongly suspect it will work.

Am I crazy?

 

[Underwurlde]

These bacteria are sessile. i.e. they live stuck on things. For this reason Filter sponges are 'sponges' because of their large surface area.
Also present in the substrate, on plants, on ornaments, side of the tank etc etc

Tried using Mulm to seed a new filter from a mature setup?

It will still need to cycle although the cycle will be far quicker...

Andy

 

[confusion]

I haven't tried using mulm, but I suspect it'll work. when I get some time, I want to play around and find out if a filter housing from a cycled tank (with new filter media) will cycle a tank. I'll post the results when and if I get a chance.

 

[Underwurlde]

Erm, surely if you already have a mature filter then just squeeze out and clean the old filter media and use residual mulm to seed the new filter. Bit of a no-brainer IMHO....

Andy

 

[confusion]

seems like it would be, trouble is, it doesn't work. Here's what I've done (repeatedly on various tanks over over the last year):
Take a filter pad (heavily mucked up) from a filter that's been running for a long time (>3 months).
Put filter pad immediately into new filter on new tank, muck, mulm and all - fish are in the new tank.
Check stats over next 24 hours - not even a little trace of nitrites, nitrates or reduction in ammonia.

 

[Underwurlde]

Yeeeeees,

That is because you are only seeding (be it with a filter sponges, Mulm / whatever). The new filter still has to cycle i.e. build up a new colony to suit the levels of ammonia present. BUT because it is now seeded, this cycling process will now only take a couple of weeks instead of potentially month(s). The BEST way to seed is with Mulm.

If I wanted something to work immediately I'd run a new filter seeded with mulm from the old filter. I'd keep it in a bucket of water that I'd have to feed with ammonia. After a couple of weeks I'd have a ready to go filter... Can't think of any other way of doing it.

Or am I missing something that you're saying?

Andy