New juruense- filter seeding question

[tbradley97]

Hi I am purchasing a juruense in the next few days for a 20g growout tank.
My question is....if I left the new 20g filter running on my established 150g oscar tank for a week, would I be able to put the filter back on my 20g and put the fish in immediately to seed the tank??
Or will I kill the fish with the water cycle?????

 

[Davis102613]

In the past I've seeded a tank with a filter, but also seeded it with some of the gravel/sand.
I'm not sure if a week is long enough for the filter however.

 

[tbradley97]

Would it help if I cleaned my old filter sponges in the new filter?

 

[SkeptikalScabies]

Seeding it with an used filter, old tank water (from a water change) , and some substrate would probably establish it PDQ

 

[jeremoose]

Seeding it with an used filter, old tank water (from a water change) , and some substrate would probably establish it PDQ

All of this except the old tank water, old water won't cycle your tank.

 

[Zeke]

Yep. Clean out filter pads and use the gravel from another tank. Make sure that the bacteria has some food source , like a fish making some waste. Practice makes perfect.Good luck.

 

[tbradley97]

How much sand would I need to use? And would I be able to put the sand in a short tupperware container instead of mixing it with the new substrate?

 

[tbradley97]

I also have two 8" peices of driftwood I will be placing in there at time of filter switch. The wood has been used for about 4 years so far so I know its filled with all kinds of good gunk.