how long do i need to leave media from another filter in my canister? i just need to remove the media from one of my aquatechs. ill still have the media from my aquaclear 70 and my other aquatech.
it really doesn't take much time for a filter to house bacteria..usualy afew days.. but most will err on the side of caution and let a filter seed for 2 weeks or more.
remember bacteria will multiply exponentially until it reaches the level of the food.. so it won't take much time to catch up...usually hours.
I rarely seed filters these days and prefer to rinse media(sponges) from established tanks to 'seed ' a new tank.
I've teted this method many times and have seen tanks stablize in as little as 2 days