Setting Up Fry Tank With Water From Main Tank

[silver-dollar]

hi all, just joined the site

have had tropical setup running for about a year now, recently bougt some dalmation mollies, 2 of which are very pregnant.
i have bought a 30l tank and filled it today.

i have used black gravel previously used in my main tank (but not for a month so is basically new washed gravel with i guess no existing bacteria)

i have filled with water from my main tank, and squeezed the sponges from my filter into the water - the water is now cloudy and bit of plant debris have covered the bottom of the tank.

i have set an airstone running and the heater is also in place.

i have a small fluval filter (fluval plus 1) on order which should hopefully arrive tommorow. i plan on stirring up all the gravel etc so the plant debris gets sucked up by the filter when in is installed!

my question is : how long before i can realisticly use the tank for my fish/fry?

im hoping using the mature water and squeezing the filter sponges in there will help things along.

any help / advise appreciated.

 

[dass170280]

hi all, just joined the site

have had tropical setup running for about a year now, recently bougt some dalmation mollies, 2 of which are very pregnant.
i have bought a 30l tank and filled it today.

i have used black gravel previously used in my main tank (but not for a month so is basically new washed gravel with i guess no existing bacteria)

i have filled with water from my main tank, and squeezed the sponges from my filter into the water - the water is now cloudy and bit of plant debris have covered the bottom of the tank.

i have set an airstone running and the heater is also in place.

i have a small fluval filter (fluval plus 1) on order which should hopefully arrive tommorow. i plan on stirring up all the gravel etc so the plant debris gets sucked up by the filter when in is installed!

my question is : how long before i can realisticly use the tank for my fish/fry?

im hoping using the mature water and squeezing the filter sponges in there will help things along.

any help / advise appreciated.

hi ive done basicly the same but my tank was a 60l it took my tank 2 days 2 clear so just wait put old filter media in ur filter... i put fish in on the 3rd day and was all fine been set up for 2 weeks now with no probs hope that helps

 

[elisew]

Welcome to the forum

The best and quickest way of getting the fry tank up and running is to not only use water from your main tank but take some of the media from your main tank filter and put it in the new filter when you get it, then you can put the fry straight in as though they`re in a matured tank already. You`re much better off doing it on the day you have the fry there, if you do it before without any fish in the tank at all to continue adding to the waste then the bacteria you already have may die off.
By using the gravel you won`t really be carrying enough of the beneficial bacteria across so it`s possible to experience a crash in the cycling of the tank which could cause your fry to suffer.


Hope this helps

 

[silver-dollar]

Welcome to the forum

The best and quickest way of getting the fry tank up and running is to not only use water from your main tank but take some of the media from your main tank filter and put it in the new filter when you get it, then you can put the fry straight in as though they`re in a matured tank already. You`re much better off doing it on the day you have the fry there, if you do it before without any fish in the tank at all to continue adding to the waste then the bacteria you already have may die off.
By using the gravel you won`t really be carrying enough of the beneficial bacteria across so it`s possible to experience a crash in the cycling of the tank which could cause your fry to suffer.


Hope this helps

hi, i have an external fluval 205 on my main tank. i havent received the internal for my fry tank - hopefully arrives tomorrow - but im pretty sure it only has a specially shaped sponged in the yet to arrive filter. could you possibly elaborate on how to use media from my main tanks filter? or is this not possible in my case.

if it isnt possible would a few more squeezes of my existing filter sponges into the fry tanks water be enough to start using the tank staright away aswell?

ps thanks for all replies so far.( btw i can put a couple of neons tetrsa into the tank if need be to keeop the bacteria going as suggested above)

 

[anon02]

hi all, just joined the site

have had tropical setup running for about a year now, recently bougt some dalmation mollies, 2 of which are very pregnant.
i have bought a 30l tank and filled it today.

i have used black gravel previously used in my main tank (but not for a month so is basically new washed gravel with i guess no existing bacteria)

i have filled with water from my main tank, and squeezed the sponges from my filter into the water - the water is now cloudy and bit of plant debris have covered the bottom of the tank.

i have set an airstone running and the heater is also in place.

i have a small fluval filter (fluval plus 1) on order which should hopefully arrive tommorow. i plan on stirring up all the gravel etc so the plant debris gets sucked up by the filter when in is installed!

my question is : how long before i can realisticly use the tank for my fish/fry?

im hoping using the mature water and squeezing the filter sponges in there will help things along.

any help / advise appreciated.

In effect you are banking on existing bacteria being able to cope with any ammonia produced, before the plant matter in the tank rots and adds to the ammonia load

You will need a test kit and to keep a very close watch on what is happening

 

[silver-dollar]

Does this mean I will be better removing the plant debris that came from my sponge squeezing?

hi all, just joined the site

have had tropical setup running for about a year now, recently bougt some dalmation mollies, 2 of which are very pregnant.
i have bought a 30l tank and filled it today.

i have used black gravel previously used in my main tank (but not for a month so is basically new washed gravel with i guess no existing bacteria)

i have filled with water from my main tank, and squeezed the sponges from my filter into the water - the water is now cloudy and bit of plant debris have covered the bottom of the tank.

i have set an airstone running and the heater is also in place.

i have a small fluval filter (fluval plus 1) on order which should hopefully arrive tommorow. i plan on stirring up all the gravel etc so the plant debris gets sucked up by the filter when in is installed!

my question is : how long before i can realisticly use the tank for my fish/fry?

im hoping using the mature water and squeezing the filter sponges in there will help things along.

any help / advise appreciated.

In effect you are banking on existing bacteria being able to cope with any ammonia produced, before the plant matter in the tank rots and adds to the ammonia load

You will need a test kit and to keep a very close watch on what is happening

 

[elisew]

I personally would empty out what you`ve put in the tank already and start from scratch, using water from your existing tank and replacing the new filter media with some from your existing filter but do it on the day you need to and not before.

anon gives good advice about the testing kit, anyone who keeps fish + fry should always have a test kit to hand. The API freshwater test kits are one of the best and I think most members here use that one

 

[silver-dollar]

I personally would empty out what you`ve put in the tank already and start from scratch, using water from your existing tank and replacing the new filter media with some from your existing filter but do it on the day you need to and not before.

anon gives good advice about the testing kit, anyone who keeps fish + fry should always have a test kit to hand. The API freshwater test kits are one of the best and I think most members here use that one

ok, update

the filter didnt arrive until today
i wrap some of the cotton wool type stuff from my main tanks filter around the sponge in the internal filter before putting it in - hopefully this is the right way of doing it??

the tanks been running since last thursday with the airstone running and now the filter for about the last 10 hours,

i put 2 neon tetras in the tank on thursday night,

i did a 50% water change on friday night and about a 30% change today before installing the filter to keep things fresh for them.

moe or less all of the plant debris from my first day sponge squeeze was vacummed out on friday night during the water change.

just tested the water

ammonia 0
nitrite 0.5
nitrate either 5.0 or 1.0 (was inbetween the 2)

not sure if this reading were affected much by todays water change or not as i stupidly forgot to test the water before!

how is this sounding to people/ i'm hoping to transfer the mollies asap!

thanks for any advise

 

[OldMan47]

If you squeezed out the mess from your mature filter where a new filter could pick it up, you would be seeding the new filter with the right bacteria. I often do a fishless cycle on a new tank that way since having the right bacteria present in large numbers allows the new filter to quickly develop its bacterial colonies. Moving the water from tank to tank is almost a waste of time. There is little of value in your used tank water. The bacteria that we want to grow for biological filtration live in the filter media, not in the open water.