New Setup

[Lion007]

This is probably a typical question that youve answered loads of times, but i cant find it in a search.

Could i use my old filter & 60-80% of my old water in a new setup to keep the bacteria etc & would it still need a cycle?
And if this is safe to do - how long app would it take to run in before i could add my stock & how long would i need to leave it before i could take the old filter out & use the new one?

Sorry for sounding like such a noob lol, but up to now ive just taken the advice that ive heard from my local pet store - of letting it cycle for 48 hours with nowt!, i must have been extremely lucky not to experience any problems so far lol

Oh and before i get swarmed with "Read how to fishless cycle" i have done - just looknig for a quicker method

 

[Puffdaddy]

I would just take the old filter media out of the old filter and put in the new filter if there is any way possible to help kick start the new filter media. There is no need to use the old water.

 

[doresy]

If your old filter is from a cycled tank then it will still be cycled if you put it in a new tank. (the filter is the cycled thing, not the water)

You can put in fish upto the same quantity that the filter was dealing with previously.

All this is reliant on certain conditions though......The filter must be taken from the old tank with fish and then put in the new tank with fish without a break otherwise the bacteria will die. Another method is to keep the filter alive by adding ammonia INSTEAD of fish.

If you do the above then the filter will be cycled but the new tank will not be considered 'matured'

If you are unsure or you do not have fish then add enough ammonia to raise the level to about 4ppm. If the ammonia goes back to zero in under 12 hours and no nitrIte is detected then the filter is still cycled

 

[Lion007]

Thats superb mate cheers! Yeah the old filter is cycled & i have a stock of fish ready all in my old aquarium.

One thing im still not clear on though - with the new tank i'll be getting an external filter which i want to use - as its much easier to clean than the internal fluval ive got at the minute & looks alot neater.

If i run this aswell as the old filter - how long should i leave it before i can remove the old filter & for the new filter to have built up the bacteria?

Thanks for the help

 

[doresy]

Thats superb mate cheers! Yeah the old filter is cycled & i have a stock of fish ready all in my old aquarium.

One thing im still not clear on though - with the new tank i'll be getting an external filter which i want to use - as its much easier to clean than the internal fluval ive got at the minute & looks alot neater.

If i run this aswell as the old filter - how long should i leave it before i can remove the old filter & for the new filter to have built up the bacteria?

Thanks for the help

How similar (type and quantity) is the media in your old and new filters?

 

[Lion007]

They are pretty similar, both use foam & carbon pads. However the new one will use 4x foam pads - rather than 2 that the old one uses. & also uses that BioMax Biological Filter Media stuff.