I have a ten gallon tank thats been setup for about 6 months. It is planted. I recently received a 20 gallon and I would like to transfer my fish to that. I know you can speed the cycle by putting in gravel (eco-complete in my case) and plants. I don't want to put all my fish in the 20 gallon right away, so I think it is best to leave them in the 10. I'm just wondering, how much water does the 20 gallon need to cycle? I want to only fill it up enough so my plants don't die but are easy to plant and arrange. I also need to move the 20 to the stand that my 10 is on now so I don't want it to be too heavy where it may start to leak. How long do you think it will take to cycle if i put in some eco-complete from my old tank, about 5 plants including anacharis and float my filter floss from the 10?
Cycling New Tank
- Thread starter stussy28
- Start date
If you transfer some filter media from the old tank to the new tank's filter instead of floating in the tank it will usually go through a short mini cycle within days. Another alternative is to set the new tank up on your stand with some of your old substrate and plants then add your fish, top it off and run the filter from your old tank on it with the new filter for a week or two. Running both will help seed your tank and new filter -and- keep the ammonia/nitrites low during the cycle because the old filter will pick up the slack.
Just my $0.02
Ric
Just my $0.02
Ric
I don't know if I can do that because I have some shrimp and a DP. If I can do them in a fishless cycle, should I do WCs everyday?
If you want to do it all at once, you can as long as you transfer the filter over. (instant cycle) All you need to do is this:
I'll give the directions the only way I could understand them (like they are on a frozen pizza!).
1. first, take off the filter, but make sure the water stays in it.
2. syphon out most of, but not all the water (85-90%). This should make it light enough to move (a buddy can be useful).
3. net the fish and put them in buckets.
4. put the new aquarium in place.
5. move the gravel, filter, air stones, decor, heater... in place.
6. fill with water (don't forget water conditioner).
7. get all equipment running.
8. add fish.
as long as the gravel, decor and filter media (filter media being most important) aren't out of the water until they are dry, you shouldn't have to worry about losing beneficial bacteria.
I'll give the directions the only way I could understand them (like they are on a frozen pizza!).
1. first, take off the filter, but make sure the water stays in it.
2. syphon out most of, but not all the water (85-90%). This should make it light enough to move (a buddy can be useful).
3. net the fish and put them in buckets.
4. put the new aquarium in place.
5. move the gravel, filter, air stones, decor, heater... in place.
6. fill with water (don't forget water conditioner).
7. get all equipment running.
8. add fish.
as long as the gravel, decor and filter media (filter media being most important) aren't out of the water until they are dry, you shouldn't have to worry about losing beneficial bacteria.
Are you taking down the 10g altogether, or did you want to run both tanks? If you're taking down the 10, then, like snoopy65 said, just transfer your old filter to the 20, along with whatever substrate and plants you want to keep, and you should have an instant or nearly instant cycle.
If you want to keep both tanks up and running, you can try what I do to start new tanks. I take out about 1/2 of the filter media from an established tank, either by cutting a sponge in half or by opening up a bag of bio-balls and taking out half. Then I add that half to my new filter, keeping it wet, but making sure that it never comes into contact with dechlorinated water. I've never had a measurable cycle establishing new tanks in this way, but I usually do large water changes for several days, just to be safe.
If you want to keep both tanks up and running, you can try what I do to start new tanks. I take out about 1/2 of the filter media from an established tank, either by cutting a sponge in half or by opening up a bag of bio-balls and taking out half. Then I add that half to my new filter, keeping it wet, but making sure that it never comes into contact with dechlorinated water. I've never had a measurable cycle establishing new tanks in this way, but I usually do large water changes for several days, just to be safe.
I am in a similar situation. I have a 10 gallon, but I am upgrading to a 55 gallon. Would the suggestions above still apply when upgrading to a bigger tank?
As long as you can find a way to stick some old filter media inside your new filter, you will significantly speed up your cycle.
fyi, you don't necessarily have to arrange filter media the way the manufacturer says to do. I usually remove my carbon layers and instead run an extra sponge or floss layer, that I have a whole sponge to tuck inside a new filter whenever I need to set up a new tank (or, I also give it away to friends who need a cycled sponge).
Whatever you do, make sure to test the water once or twice a day, on both tanks, for at least a week or so, and do water changes if you see a mini-cycle. Either tank could have issues--the old one, because you've taken out some of its bacteria, and the new one, because it'll be running with a limited amount of bacteria, at least initially. In most cases, as long as both tanks continue to have an ammonia source, the bacteria populations will catch up within a few days.