Maturing A New Filter

[Hawkins]

i have a new tank and it came with a filter, its the "Aqua 40 Silver" tank, its 28L.. i think the filter was AquaFlow 1, or something

anyway i was wondering how long it would take for the filter to mature in my new filter if i put it in the new tank, i am going to put a used filter in the tank to keep it working, and to allow the new one to mature..

just wondering how long i would have to wait before taking the old filter out

i dont want to swap sponges with the old filter because they arent the same shape so it wouldn't work as good.. going to run them both until the new one is done

ps. yes i waffle i cant be bothered to type properly ^^ not in the mood

thanks

 

[tenohfive]

Generally if you're putting a new filter to mature in an old tank, you want to leave it a month. As you're putting it in a new tank which hasn't got the same built up crud of ages...I'd say stick 6 weeks to be on the safe side.

Better still, if you have an old tank running stick the new filter in that - after a month it should be fine to move across.



My 2p.

 

[Hawkins]

but putting it in a running tank will only gain the bacteria off the substrate, which makes up 1% of the overall bacteria.. i think if i put it in for a few days it will be ok.

 

[tenohfive]

No, putting it in a running tank will get bacteria from the water - same as your existing filter does. What will happen is that over time the waste processing will be split between the two filters.

Personally when I do that I put the filters at opposite ends of the tank to make sure sufficient water is going through both - just be careful if the new filter is alot more powerful than the old one (which doesn't sound like its the case.)

A few days is nowhere near enough.