starting a 10gal from a 29gal

J

jaymasta

AC Members
Jun 3, 2006
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hey guys so I have decided Iam going to get my 10 gallon back up and running, I have a planted 29 gallon with 9 gouramis and a cray fish thats been running great for about 9 months, I want to move the cray fish for sure, and perhaps a fish, but the cray fish is growing ALOT faster then I anticipated(he just molted for the 3rd time in 3 weeks) I would like to have plants in it as well, it will be easy to put 2 CFs rated at either 13watts each or 18 watts each....anyways Whats the best and quickest way to get the cycle started, I have got lots of gravel, plants, caves, biofiber in my 29gallon that I could easily move over or some of the water perhaps, so any adivce on getting this tank going as quickly but safley as possible would be great, at first Iam just going to be putting in my crayfish and some plants and see how it works out.....
thanks for your help in advance
Jay
 
ok the tanks fully up and running now I haven't put anything in it yet, except a handfull of gravel from my other tank, I have a powerhead running in it with a filter on the suction side of the power head, iam going to move over my biowheel filter from my old tank, which is the penguin 170, and buy a larger canister filter for that tank, so anyways how long do I wait before I add stuff, or until I can add my cray fish?
 
I dont know anything as to the hardiness of crayfish, but you could add more grave from your established tank, the filter will help too. In order to be sure the tank is safe you need a test kit to check your levels.
 
Some gravel from the established tank will definitely help. I also use a bacterial solution to help get the biological filtration started. If you put plants in the new tank immediately, that will also help reduce nitrogenous waste products (ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite).

I have read on some sites that plants will eliminate the need for cycling completely, but I wouldn't recommend it. Plants can be tricky because they need the right light levels, temperature, pH, CO2, nutrients. Therefore, I don't rely on them to get rid of all waste products, just as decorations and backup. Plus they help increase dissolved oxygen levels and compete with unsightly algae.

The suggestion of testing your water is always a good one. In summary, use some gravel from your old tank, put plants in as soon as you can. After that, it's probably safe to put your crayfish in a day or so after that. Monitor ammonia levels. I suspect there won't be any (unless crayfish are waste-producing machines). Once you feel confident that ammonia is under control, add fish! It won't take nearly as long the the 1 month recommended cycling time for brand-new aquaria. Good luck and let us know what fishies you end up getting.
 
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