Mature Media How Long?

[Joshwainwright]

Hey,
Today I set up and installed my new Fluval 205 external filter and I was just wondering if it would be best to run it with my old filter, or to put my old filters media into it. Which would be faster?

Also, how long will it take for the media to mature?

 

[Assaye]

Hey,
Today I set up and installed my new Fluval 205 external filter and I was just wondering if it would be best to run it with my old filter, or to put my old filters media into it. Which would be faster?

Also, how long will it take for the media to mature?

If the old filter/media currently been fed with ammonia, either pure ammonia or by being kept in a tank with fish?

If it is "live" media (i.e. has a living bacteria colony) then the media is already matured and can cope with whatever bioload it can currently cope with, if kept fed with ammonia. If the media has dried out or been left unfed for 12 hours or more, you'd be looking at a full cycle which could take 1-2 months.

If you do have mature media and you want to use a new/different filter, just move the old media across. If you are OK to use the old filter, that might be better as any bacteria living on the filter surfaces will be preserved. I wouldn't recommend running two filters together to get a new filter matured as you end up with a split colony and could have a mini-cycle if you remove the old filter.

 

[Joshwainwright]

The old filter is currently still running in my tank alongside my new filter. There are fish in the tank so the bacteria is being fed with Ammonia and has been for the past however long.

I plan to stop using my old filter and to move on to using my new filter alone, what is the best way I could do this?


I am guessing I should do this:

• Keep both running for a few days
• Move the old media into new filter and remove old filter
• wait for new media to mature
• Remove old media

 

[waterdrop]

The guess about running the filters side by side is off by a few months (it can take months to see any effect this way.)

The useful way to do this is to figure out a way to work the media from the old filter into the new filter (without blocking the designed flow inside the new filter) and then to treat the tank as being in a Fish-In Cycling Situation.

The goal in Fish-In cycling is to test twice daily about 12 hours apart and be a bit of a detective, figuring out what combination of percentage and frequency of water changes will keep both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) below 0.25ppm before you can be home again to test and potentially change water again.

In your case, if the media transfers ok (sometimes it can "stall" after a re-location,) then you may see double-zeros (zero ppm ammonia and zero ppm nitrite) pretty much from the beginning, but it should never be assumed.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Twinklecaz]

I thought the bacteria only had to be "fed" with Ammonia every 24 hours ish to keep it alive?

 

[Tolak]

If kept wet with an O2 source you can expect a 10%-15% die back rate every 24 hours with no ammonia source. This is why you can get away with shipping media the same as fish, a few days in transit poses no real problem if packed properly. Nonetheless, when I ship media I add a bit of frozen bloodworm, this creates a bit of ammonia as it deteriorates, lessening the die back of nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Joshwainwright]

I cannot seem to find room for the media in my external, I did put it in, but it didn't sound nice at all.

It sounded like it was going to blow up on me.

 

[IAmATeaf]

What media is in the external and in which trays? and are you sure that the noise wasn't just trapped air?

With my Fluval I have to rock it gently front to back and side to side to get rid of any air, leaving a few minutes gap between each rock.

 

[Joshwainwright]

I have biomax in the upper two baskets and carbon in the bottom...

 

[IAmATeaf]

Not an expert but I've read that you only need to put the carbon in to get rid of meds, also carbon doesn't last that long, maybe a week or 2 so you could take that out and put the sponges from the internal there.

 

[Harlequins]

I agree remove the carbon in the eternal and put your mature media in there,

 

[Joshwainwright]

Ok that sounds like a plan, will the carbon still be ok to use afterwards, when my filter is readyy?

 

[Joshwainwright]

Will the carbon still have the same offect if I dry it out and use it at a different time?

 

[meguro]

carbon will last about 3 days, so if u used it for less than that time it will still be ok to use but obviously not as good as a new piece. leaving it to dry wont make any improvement.

if ur old media wont fit, cut it into smallers pieces and get as many in as u can

 

[Joshwainwright]

The carbon was in my filter for a day, and I have removed it to make room for my mature media...