cycling a larger tank for stingray

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
You are right, it is not the tank but the bio-filter that you are cycling. As long as the water is near the same temp and free of chlorine/chloramine and at the correct PH you should not experince any spikes by transfering the filter.

The only flaw in your example is the turnover on a 1000 gallon tank using 2 fx5s would be terrible. But that has nothing to do with cycling and everything to do with mechanical filtration.

IMO using old tank water would have little to no affect on the cycle time considering how little of the BB are free floating but I guess it couldn't hurt anything.
 
Indeed witht he water, even tho i always use water from a tank when i start a new one, dunno why, i just do..What you can earn some points by doing is transfering the sand..
 
I see what is being said now by transferring bio media. If I have a drawer system as I've seen here on the forum, I can actually fill the top drawer with my existing cycled media and then fill the remaining drawers with new media. Eventually as the life in the tank grows, the new media will come into play. Since the existing media is already maintaining the current load, it would then do so in the new tank if I do not increase that load. I like the sand idea as well because I plan on putting the same type sand in the new tank. I would probably take 3/4 of it out of the 120, then place it in the new tank. adding new sand to the 1210 to make up for what is missing. Then each tank would have a somewhat proportional mix of cycled sand to new sand. As time progressed, I can then swap some or all of the original media back to the smaller tank to make it ready again if it hasn't already cycled with the new media I will have placed in it. Or do you think a 3/4 removal of the media, as with the sand, leaving some good media in the smaller tank and then making up the difference.

I know what I said, hope it didn't come across too confusing. lol
 
Should work just fine....pretty much what I just did when we broke down the 500 to buff it and re plumb it.
 
It all depends on how many fish you plan on leaving in the 120 when you do the transfer. I would leave some of the 120 bio-media alone if you plan on having fish in there the whole time.

For instance if you are transferring 80% of the bio load in the 120 to the 300 transfer 80% of the media

Either way with at least some established media I don't think you will have any spikes large enough to be harmful as long as you monitor both tanks closely and do water changes as needed.
 
PeteLockwood said:
What are your current filters?

Its easy to get enough ammonia, just go to an Ace hardware and buy some.
Click to expand...

Nice, I like what you said.

Am sure it's subjective, for me will second the old medias. Haven't read if it's fishless cycle presumably it is. Will 2ndly churn up the nh3 through nh3 rich source, unbeaten food etc. let it bloom, stabilize & eventually sustain.

What we creating here is pretty invisible, that's the fun part *smiles
 
when i set up my new tank i used all my old filter media and seacheam stabilaty

i moved all the old media and added the stabilaty for 7 day and moved the rays in the same day and fed light for 2 weeks with no problems
 
I just started up a new 450gal last month with 100gal sump and transfered a FX5 from my 125 to run in the sump and used SEACHEM STABILITY , lots of it, transfered my clown knife the next day and my year old leo the day after. Never had a issue with ammonia or nitrites or the 'ates. Ther is a big thread on here of people trying this out and seamed to work just like it says it does.
 
Thanks for all the input. My pump arrived today, I orderd just shy of 800 scrubbies..decided to put my sump in the basement below my tank...its in progress. Now if only Santa would drop off the tank and stand! lol
 
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