Old tank + new canister = ...

David R

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2005
5,025
228
320
42
New Zealand
I've got a 3'x18x18" tank thats been set up for a few years running a 700lph canister. Its a grow-out for some SA cichlids, but with the addition of 10 more clown laoches and 4 fancy plecs I decided to get another 700lph Eheim canister for it (well that and the fact that they were $180 from from $400...).

How long will it take for the bacteria to colonise the media in the new canister? The tank is quite heavily stocked (and fed) so I've been doing 10-20% daily water changes until I'm confident that the new filter is doing its job.
 

L A R R Y

Candiru
MFK Member
Mar 12, 2008
305
0
46
Texas
You can take some of the media out of the othere canister and put it in the new canister, that will speed up things. I've done this when I added another filter to my tank and didn't even bother with doing pwc's
 

HarleyK

Canister Man
Staff member
Global Moderator
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
6,931
1,626
1,453
USA
Howdy,

Simply measure nitrites and ammonia, and you'll know :thumbsup: I understand you still have your old filter running?! If you only added a filter and no fish, you should have no concerns about cycling the tank anew.

HarleyK
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store