How long to seed new media?

[jandb]

Hello, I just purchased 5 gallon of Pond Matrix. I planned on bagging it and throwing it into an established 75 gallon sump before putting it in the new sump. How long do you think I need to leave it to get it well seeded? Thanks.

 

[UncleZ]

A few days would get the process started. You can significantly speed up the process by taking the new media and rubbing it against or shaking it up the old media first before sitting it in the sump.

 

[mudbuttjones]

I usually just go a couple weeks to be safe

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[Dieselhybrid]

Mix the medias together, throw it in

 

[MilitantPotato]

3-5 weeks. There's a slight risk of a small ammonia spike once you remove it from your established tank, so feed lightly check your levels for the first few days. I've not had an issue with this when seeding filters though. Unless your established tank is under filtered, you're basically stealing bacteria from the established tank.

I do find that the established bacteria is minimal, so the initial stocking should be low, but it will cycle a tank very quickly (a week depending on introduced stock.)

 

[catfishacr]

I would do 2 weeks for sure and 4 weeks would be better

 

[jandb]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to mix some Matrix tonight and let it roll for a while before any stocking.