Swapping Media.....

[mattlee]

i have just bought a secondhand larger tank and was wondering if i filled with water, left to run for a day to check for leaks, got water to suitable temp then added all my ceramics and sponges from my current tank into the new external, would it be ok to add my fish the same day?

im possibly dreaming but if my current media is cycled and has no probs then it will still be cycled but in the new canister.....

the new tank is almost 3x larger though, does this matter?

just thought i could save going through another cycling....

please feel free to tell me im being daft but the logics there surely.....

 

[JohnRossDele]

you could squeeze some media from the sponge in your current tank and mop it up with the sponges from the new filter

 

[Inchworm]

Hi mattlee

If you use the same media and the same fish, there is no reason why it shouldn't work. I switch fish around this way quite often. When I do, I like to use about 1/4 of a tank full of water from the old tank, and fill the rest of the tank with fresh. This has nothing to do with free swimming bacteria, because the most of it is in the filter media, but it does seem to settle the new tank in more quickly.

To be on the safe side, wait a couple of weeks before adding any more fish to the new tank.