Fast Cycling - Would this work?

[Nick Park]

I currently have two tanks in our living room. A tiny 60 litre with various tetras and a 450 litre bow front containing various cichlids. I run two filters on it - an Eheim 2229 and a Fluval FX6.

After a lot of persuasion and emotional blackmail, I have persuaded my wife that a third tank would look nice in our hallway. I am picking up an additional tank tomorrow - a 600 litre with a sump underneath (not being familiar with sumps at all, this is going to be a very steep and fast learning curve. I'd like to get it cycled ASAP to transfer some fish which are not aggressive enough to survive happily with the mbuna in the current 450.

If I replaced half the existing media (sponges and ceramic rings) in the FX6, would that be likely to upset the balance in my existing 450? Also, would that speed up the cycling in the new tank? Or are there better ways to quickly cycle the new tank.

 

[MyGiants]

So you want to put halve of the dirty media into the new filter. And replace new media back in the old filter. Yes that would work.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

That should work, provided you don't dump a ton of fish all at once into the new tank

 

[Nick Park]

So you want to put halve of the dirty media into the new filter. And replace new media back in the old filter. Yes that would work.

It's really just a quarter of the total dirty media in the old tank being replaced, as I'd be leaving the Eheim alone (full of bio balls).

I figured adding the dirty media into the sump of the new tank would seed it with beneficial bacteria and (hopefully) that would multiply much quicker than if I was cycling from scratch.

 

[Nick Park]

That should work, provided you don't dump a ton of fish all at once into the new tank

I've a couple of mentally retarded blood parrots that I want to rehouse (4 inch & 6 inch). I was thinking of throwing half a dozen kribensis in first, let the bacteria build up a bit more, then add the BPs a week or so later?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I've a couple of mentally retarded blood parrots that I want to rehouse (4 inch & 6 inch). I was thinking of throwing half a dozen kribensis in first, let the bacteria build up a bit more, then add the BPs a week or so later?

Seems a bit fast, might wait another week before adding the bps

 

[zyh]

put that fx6 or ehiem and 50% water from previous tank into the new one fill the rest with water till the filter work and just add like 20gal a day ezpz

 

[TheWolfman]

That’s the way I would do it. Go easy on feeding and test the parameters for the first two weeks and you shouldn’t have any problems.

 

[blackwolf911]

I really think the old water helps a bunch with a fast cycle..just doing the media alone with new water may not work..when I cycled my 300 gallon I moved everything I had in a well established 110 gal tank including the gravel into a sump and I still had trouble with the cycle. I dont think anyone can give you a definite answer. It may work or it may not..its always an experiment

 

[xraycer]

Fill new tank with ALL new water, add half the already established bb media to new set up, and add retarded, ugly BP.

Unless your old tank is way over populated, and your parameters are running at the brink of crashing, you will be fine.