kk, ive been having some remodeling done and its taken longer then I thought. I have a 55 gallon sitting downstairs empy and dry now. Its the tank my 6 inch rhom was in. He has been temporarily living in a 10 gallon. This weekend I want to empty the old gravel out of the 55, clean it, bring it upstairs and restart it. I plan on using new gravel. I plan on getting it up and running, then putting the filter media from the 10g in the filter for the 55 to get it jump started, maybe put some of the gravel out of the 10 gallon in a mesh sac in the 55 too to get more bacteria in there. If I do it this way how long will I have to wait for it to be cycled? estimate?
how long to cycle this?
- Thread starter mfgl
- Start date
There are products such as Seachem’s Stability that can be used to add beneficial bacteria to your new tank… I have heard mixed reviews on them and since cycling the tank is still VERY popular, this shows us that relying on them is not the common practice…
I’ve never used them personally as I have had established tanks to borrow seeded media, etc from for many years…
Is your plan to set up the 55 gal… transfer the filter from the 10 to the 55... Bag up the gravel from the 10 and put it in your 55... Then move the fish from the 10 to the 55... It wasn’t mentioned, but also move the decorations from the 10 to the 55... Then break down the 10?
Or borrow some things from the 10 and put them in the 55... And keep both tanks running?
If… you move everything into the 55 and break down the 10... Then you will be moving “all” of the bacteria that is currently able to handle your fish’s bioload into the 55 gal. Sure some will be lost/killed in the transfer, but as long as you move the bulk you should be fine… our beneficial bacteria has a fast doubling time… also the 55 gallons of dilution capacity will help absorb any small “spikes” you endure…
If… you borrow from the 10 and get both tanks running… Then what is the ammonia source for the tank the fish is not in? For you to cultivate the bacteria it will need a food supply / ammonia source. Also keep in mind when you take bacteria from one tank and transfer it to another, the established tank is loosing part of it’s bacteria. So spikes / a mini cycle on the established tank is not at all uncommon…
As always… anytime you start making changes such as this… test for ammonia in both tanks and do water changes as necessary to keep any ammonia/nitrite levels as low as possible to avoid damaging fish (fishless cycles are the exception to this rule).
I’ve never used them personally as I have had established tanks to borrow seeded media, etc from for many years…
Is your plan to set up the 55 gal… transfer the filter from the 10 to the 55... Bag up the gravel from the 10 and put it in your 55... Then move the fish from the 10 to the 55... It wasn’t mentioned, but also move the decorations from the 10 to the 55... Then break down the 10?
Or borrow some things from the 10 and put them in the 55... And keep both tanks running?
If… you move everything into the 55 and break down the 10... Then you will be moving “all” of the bacteria that is currently able to handle your fish’s bioload into the 55 gal. Sure some will be lost/killed in the transfer, but as long as you move the bulk you should be fine… our beneficial bacteria has a fast doubling time… also the 55 gallons of dilution capacity will help absorb any small “spikes” you endure…
If… you borrow from the 10 and get both tanks running… Then what is the ammonia source for the tank the fish is not in? For you to cultivate the bacteria it will need a food supply / ammonia source. Also keep in mind when you take bacteria from one tank and transfer it to another, the established tank is loosing part of it’s bacteria. So spikes / a mini cycle on the established tank is not at all uncommon…
As always… anytime you start making changes such as this… test for ammonia in both tanks and do water changes as necessary to keep any ammonia/nitrite levels as low as possible to avoid damaging fish (fishless cycles are the exception to this rule).
That's how i setup new tanks as well.Im going to keep the 10 gallon going and do something else with it. I would just change filters in the 10, since its very old anyhow, and then put it in between the filter and the back of the filter houseing. The 55 dried up downstairs so I assume all the bacteria in the current gravel is dead, so either have to clean it and try again, or switch to new color.
mfgl;3327397; said:
Gotcha...
Well the "safest" way to do it would be to set up the 55 with new/clean everything... move some media, decor, gravel or something into it (being cautious not to remove so much from the 10 gal though)... then promptly begin adding ammonia per the fishless cycling method...
Or you could do the same thing and promptly add fish, although with this method you will want to do many water changes in the upcoming couple of weeks.
It is often believed that doing water changes slows down the cycling process. I would disagree since as long as the ammonia is detectable, there is available food ready to feed the growing bacterial colony.
It all depends on how much of a hurry you are in to get fish in the tank. You can take the slow easy route, or the faster route that takes more work...
I would just rinse it thoroughly with hot water...
Many people do use a mild bleach solution to clean aquarium items though. If you do just be sure to rinse it extremely well to ensure you do not leave any bleach behind.
I wouldn't consider what may be left in the gravel to be "toxic", but it will be dirty and it is a lot easier to clean it in a bucket than in the bottom of the tank...
Many people do use a mild bleach solution to clean aquarium items though. If you do just be sure to rinse it extremely well to ensure you do not leave any bleach behind.
I wouldn't consider what may be left in the gravel to be "toxic", but it will be dirty and it is a lot easier to clean it in a bucket than in the bottom of the tank...
kk here is what I did. I took all the gravel and big rocks out of the 55 today, cleaned it really well. I then put about a 3 gallon bucket worth of gravel, and all the big rocks into the 10 gallon today.
How long will it take for some BB to build up on this stuff?
I plan to have someone help me carry the tank outside tonight, clean it well tommorrow. I already cleaned all the accessories and lids. After I clean it I will reset it up. Putting in the remaining new clean gravel. Plus I want to buy a 20 pound back of black gravel to darken up the natural colored river gravel.
Next ill change the filter on the 10 gallon, put the old filter from the ten gallon into the filter housing of the 55 gallon with its new filters, and add some cheap fish to the tank.
After you guys answer me on how long it will take to get BB on the gravel and big rocks, then I will move them over to the 55, and transfer my fish, who should kill the cheap fish and hopefully all will be well with him, and ill start something new in the 10 gallon....maybe breed some food for the rhom.
Thats my plan anyhow. Hopefully by next week rhom will be back in his 55 if all goes well.
How long will it take for some BB to build up on this stuff?
I plan to have someone help me carry the tank outside tonight, clean it well tommorrow. I already cleaned all the accessories and lids. After I clean it I will reset it up. Putting in the remaining new clean gravel. Plus I want to buy a 20 pound back of black gravel to darken up the natural colored river gravel.
Next ill change the filter on the 10 gallon, put the old filter from the ten gallon into the filter housing of the 55 gallon with its new filters, and add some cheap fish to the tank.
After you guys answer me on how long it will take to get BB on the gravel and big rocks, then I will move them over to the 55, and transfer my fish, who should kill the cheap fish and hopefully all will be well with him, and ill start something new in the 10 gallon....maybe breed some food for the rhom.
Thats my plan anyhow. Hopefully by next week rhom will be back in his 55 if all goes well.