I am setting up another tank. I want to use 50% of the water out of a well established tank. My 120 has been up and running for some time. I am starting a 110. I want to take the ceramic rings out of one canister and put them in a different one on the 110. The 110 has a sump and will have a Fluval 305. How long do you think it will take to cycle?
Will this work???
- Thread starter ziggy2
- Start date
If you move some media over, the new filter will basically be part cycled right away 
The tank will be safe for a few fish from day one, but of course it wont be fully cycled for a full population.
So add a couple of fish on the day you move the media, if you put the media in the new tank with no bioload then the bacteria will start to die, and that defeats the whole idea.
Then you gradually add more fish over the next 4-6 weeks untill you have the tank fully stocked. If you take your time building up fish numbers you shouldn't get any noticable ammonia or nitrite spike.
Cheers
Ian
The tank will be safe for a few fish from day one, but of course it wont be fully cycled for a full population.
So add a couple of fish on the day you move the media, if you put the media in the new tank with no bioload then the bacteria will start to die, and that defeats the whole idea.
Then you gradually add more fish over the next 4-6 weeks untill you have the tank fully stocked. If you take your time building up fish numbers you shouldn't get any noticable ammonia or nitrite spike.
Cheers
Ian
Ian covered it fairly well except that you really won't gain much of anything by using the old tank water.
I used to do this as well but anymore I just transfur media and use fresh water. I havn't noticed any differance in cycling time but I have noticed that it takes a LOT longer for the TSD (total desolved solids) to build up when I use fresh water so I can let it run longer without needing a water change and that helps the tank stabolize quicker IMO...
I used to do this as well but anymore I just transfur media and use fresh water. I havn't noticed any differance in cycling time but I have noticed that it takes a LOT longer for the TSD (total desolved solids) to build up when I use fresh water so I can let it run longer without needing a water change and that helps the tank stabolize quicker IMO...
Agreed, you dont need to use old water, 99% of the bacteria live in the media. It's the filter you have to cycle, not the water.
I would fill the tank with water, turn on the heater and filter for a day or 2 to let the tank stabilise. Then move the used media and a couple of fish in. After that, just monitor the water conditions, as long as everything stays good add a few more fish each week.
Cheers
Ian
I would fill the tank with water, turn on the heater and filter for a day or 2 to let the tank stabilise. Then move the used media and a couple of fish in. After that, just monitor the water conditions, as long as everything stays good add a few more fish each week.
Cheers
Ian
I don't know if I agree. You're right, the bacteria don't so much live in the water (they are on the media), however, their food is in the water. If you take a bunch of live media and put in all new water, you will wind up with more die off, especially if you only add very few fish to start it. They would starve. It will take a while for the few fish to build up enough waste to feed them, in such a large volume of water. That may not be the case in smaller tanks but in a 110? I would add a portion of the established water.
I don't use old water either, never had a problem running a dirty filter in the tank for a day before starting slow with inhabitants. That said - the parameters of your "fresh" water can make or break this process whatever you do.
JoelR;1209872; said:
In an established tank the ammonia and nitrite should be near zero. Less than the test kit can measure, but enough to feed the bacteria.
In the new tank there will be practically zero as well, but as soon as you add some fish and they start breathing, traces of ammonia will start to appear and that will feed the bacteria you moved in at the same time. Within hours you will have a running nitrogen cycle in the new tank. The bacteria dont die of starvation instantly, but if you left them there for days with no food source they would.
All you really achieve by using tank water is to move some nitrate into the new tank. Now if you are growing plants that might be a usefull thing, but for fish, less nitrate is better and it wont affect the nitrogen cycle bacteria at all.
Cheers
Ian