"seeding" new 210g build

[Zimbick]

Ready to begin cycling, have seeded small quarantine tanks in a hurry in the past this time I have time and lots of options. I plan on breaking down a 75g & 29g established tank once this 210 is cycled, so I can steel rock, wood, and a handful of gravel from said tanks as well as pre-filters foam, etc.. to seed the 210g. I figured a few days running and I could add a fish at a time until they're all there and than I can take all the other tank "décor" and move it. Opinions? Best way to seed the bioballs in wet/dry? Throw a pre-filter from an FX5 right on top of them? I know most of the good bacteria is on hard services and filter foams. I'll also be adding the FX5 to the 210g after I breakdown the 75g, I'll just freshen the Purigen.
Thanks

 

[JK47]

when I seed a tank I empty a filter into the new tank. Gunk and all. I give that 24 hours to settle down and add fish. Other people do less and that works for them. I like easy so it's dump it all in or backwash a whole filter into the tank (equivalent of the foam pads in your FX5).

Make sure your UV (if you run one) is turned off completely until the tank is fully cycled.

 

[Zimbick]

Heck that works too...
No UV until everyone is moved, it will take some time to move all the fish, I will start with the wife's angels...they eat lot, they don't fit my Tapajos biotope so I'll trade them in anyway.

 

[JK47]

Heck that works too...
No UV until everyone is moved, it will take some time to move all the fish, I will start with the wife's angels...they eat lot, they don't fit my Tapajos biotope so I'll trade them in anyway.

You're trading in the taps or the angels? Keep the taps man!

 

[Zimbick]

Yes, trading the Angels! She was tired of my pleco habit so I had to get her something that swam around she could see, I will admit the red tailed shark is the prettiest I've seen, may keep him if he can handle the current. The 210 is getting all my Rio Tapajos plecos, pair of dwarf pike cichlids, and Retroculis Xinguensis until they grow enough for 300g Xingu tank.

 

[TheWolfman]

When I went from a 75 gallon to a 210 way back when. I remember setting up the new tank with new sand and then just taking everything from the 75 water and all and putting it the 210. Then moved all the filters over then the fish. Soon after I set up the new canister filter. I eventually broke down my hob filters and did away with them. I added stability for the first week and tested the parameters daily. The tank cycled pretty quickly after.

 

[Zimbick]

I'm feeling pretty good about it, my FX6 on my 300 needs maintenance so I think I'm gonna do the dump thing with it like JK47 suggested, then add the Angels, test parameters and than break down the 75 and move it's filter over, as well as rock work & wood. Think that should do it. Filling it tomorrow and starting the process...

 

[TheWolfman]

That’s a good plan a lot of B.B. will come in with the decor. Just keep a close eye on the tank on the beginning.

 

[Insite]

for whatever reason, i personally have never had good luck seeding tanks. invariably, it takes me nearly as long to cycle as it would have if i hadn't seeded. with my latest tank, i did day by day measurements of the whole ordeal to prove the point to myself. in all, seeding may have saved me a day or two. i seeded my sump with ALL of the filter media from an established 55G.

i personally ALSO have a great deal of trouble waiting for my tanks to cycle before i add fish. i like to add tons of fish right away. each time, i tell myself i will wait. i get one, maybe two. then boxes start showing up at the airport & i'm in deep.

because of these things, i have developed a good plan that works well (for me) for dealing with inevitable ammonia & nitrite spikes. this is not hard & if i do it, i lose no fish. a few things of note, in my experience:

1. Seachem Prime does a GREAT job of detoxifying ammonia. you can fully rely on it to keep your fish safe during an ammonia spike. Add the recommended amount daily once ammonia shows up.

2. Seachem Prime does a HORRIBLE job of detoxifying nitrite. It does literally NOTHING; don't rely on it at all. I can't believe they market this feature. If you plan on it working....your fish will die.

3. Simple table salt DOES do a good job of detoxifying nitrite. It doesn't even take very much. For my tank w/ 300 total gallons of water, about a cup of table salt worked just fine. Make sure it's NaCl and not aquarium or marine salt. It binds to the gills and prevents uptake of nitrite.

4. if nitrite gets over 5PPM, change some water. be sure to add back the salt.

5. keep the temps a couple of degrees lower than you normally would. keep the pH below 6-7. the reasons have to do with oxygenation & chemical toxicity. high pH & higher temps make the situation more dire if you start to have problems. after you are back to zero nitrite/ammonia, raise the temp & raise the pH to wherever you want it to be.

6. keep UV sterilizers off for about one month AFTER the nitrites zero out.

7. this has nothing to do with the cycling of the tank, but i like to use granular ferrous oxide to strip phosphates & silicates from the water while the tank cycles. keeps the ugly diatoms from getting out of hand.

 

[Zimbick]

Thanks for the details, and yes, I too have the problem with boxes showing up and trips to the airport, exactly why I'm setting up the 210. Three tanks of livestock minus my future breeding stock are going into the 210g. Thankfully I can add these fish slowly. After that I'm setting up three 40g breeders with a 75g sump with K1 for my breeding project. Than I'm cut off, the wife to be is getting a grumpy. I just got back into the hobby after a 15yr break and am full speed not to mention my 300g Xingu tank.