Jumpin the cycle

D

Dub-Dub

AC Members
Sep 27, 2004
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Okay, so I went from a 2.5 gallon prison to a 29g. I took all the substrate (wrapped in cheese cloth) and the old filter and moved them to the new tank. Kept the same fish, and have not added any yet.

How long should I wait before I remove the old materials? I've been testing, and I seem to show the same readings as before... Nitrates but low or no Nitrites. In my mind that would make sense, since it is the same amonia producer with all the same amonia eaters. But I don't want to remove them too early and then see a harmful spike. It has been just about 3 weeks.

Converserly, by having these amonia eaters in there from the old tank, will they suck up all the amonia before others can grow?

Trapped in a cell of logic... save me.
 
I take it you have a new filter running that you'd like to be the sole filtration, returning the other to the smaller tank? Run them together for about 2 weeks, then slowly remove the 'old' media from the system. The bacteria colonies will spread out to the new filter media, and then establish larger colonies as you remove the old stuff.

You'll want to monitor while you're doing this to make sure you don't remove too much at once, but it should be fine.
 
LOL, so I should go put the bundle back in... I literally just took it out while doing a water change. It has been in for two weeks, so maybe I'll leave half of the substrate in for another two weeks... then maybe half it again.

Classic story of inheriting the remaining fish from a tiny, overcrowded, undercared for tank (from my girlfriend's roommate who stopped taking care of the fish - so I took him home) and going totally overboard and getting a tank 10x larger... just want to make sure he's taken care of right from here on out.
 
I've got a 29g with a Fluval 200, if it matters... in case some filter types germinate faster.
 
As long as the old material is in an area with good flow, the bacteria will spread out to populate all areas of the tank. So, a bag of gravel sitting on the bottom of the tank is not nearly as useful as the same bag of gravel hung with the filter flow going over it, or even put inside the new filter.

Re feeding the new bacteria, bacteria are growing and dying all the time. They expand, slowly, to be able to consume all the ammonia and nitrite in the tank and to cover all surfaces in the tank. If you can wait 3 weeks, that could be better, but no one really knows how long it takes for the bacteria to move around.
 
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