New Tank Situation

[jpmarini3]

Hi all,
Just set up a 55 G tank, with a new filter, gravel, everything. No fish in it yet. It has been running (with one 30% water change) for about 2 weeks. I have not started to add ammonia or anything for a fishless cycle yet. I was wondering if I could get around it...
I have a 35 G tank in good condition, which has an aquaclear filter that's been running on it for about a year...I figure this is loaded with the bacteria I need...can I throw this filter onto the 55 G? (I will eventually have both filters on the 55.) Can the 55 be cycled within a week or so with this on it?

In the meantime, I would need something to replace the old filter on the 35...If I throw the new filter on it I'm afraid I would get an ammonia spike...however there are only 3 fish in the 35 right now.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

JP

 

[webber555]

If you take about a third of the media out of the 35G filter and put it in the 55G filter you could start stocking... slowly. Essentially you would have enough cycled filtration to match a third of your 35G stock list. So for example if you had 30 small fish in the 35G you could put 10 in the 55G with the media out of the 35G filter. I would be conservative and take no more than a third of the media so the 35G can cope (keep an eye on water test results and water change as necessary) and stock very lightly in the 55G at first, only adding a fish or two each week.

As you only have 3 fish in the 35G, you may have to stock very lightly. What type of fish are in the 35G? What do you plan on putting in the 55? That will help decide whether it's achievable by seeding from the old filter.

 

[the_lock_man]

Since you only have 3 fish in the 35gal, your filter isn't really "loaded" with bacteria - it's got enough that will process the bioload of those 3 fish.

Theoretically, yes, you can take up to a third of the media of one filter (and replace it with new media), and put it into the new filter. That would theoretically give you enough bacteria to process the equivalent bioload of one of your existing fish (bearing in mind that some fish produce more waste than others).

When you wanted to add further fish to that tank, you couldn't rely on the bacteria to reproduce quickly enough, and would probably get into a mini-cycle.

I would suggest that you take that mature media, and use it to seed a "proper" fishless cycle - you should find that it helps speed up your cycling process. Doing it this way would allow you to fully stock, once it's fully cycled.

Edit: To answer one of your questions, the reason that a third is the proportion being bandied about is that this will be a small enough amount that the existing colony of bacteria will recover from losing quickly enough to not get into a mini-cycle, so long as you replace the media with new - it gives the colony somewhere to expand back into.

 

[jpmarini3]

Thanks for the input everyone - I had 6 fish in the 35 G until about 2 weeks ago....2 clown barbs, 1 danio, 1 pictus, 1 krib, and 1 flying fox. The FF, krib and pictus remain. The bacteria load should be ok.

I was thinking of putting both filters on the 35 for a few days so the new filter could catch up a little bit. Then put the aquaclear (old filter) on the 55 for a few days and then switch everyone in, along with new filter. Will this work? They are both hang on filters but different brands, so switching media between the two might not be an option. I plan on eventually putting in another krib and a school of tiger barbs, depending on my pH, in the 55.

 

[Miles_hot]

Running both filters in the 35 will only mean that some of the bacteria in the 35 die off (assuming you leave the 55 filter there for long enough to start to cycle. The water does not transport the bacteria - the only true method of kick starting the filter is to physically transfer media.