Log For Cycling My Twenty Gallon High

[bruinsbro1997]

Well everyone seems to be doing logs nowadays on cycling tanks, so why not give it a shot?

Day 1! Yay cycling begins! Currently putting in a new sponge in my old filter and going to switch it out with my old sponge which will go into the twenty gallon filter. Am I already making a mistake or is this fine?

Going to go down to the LFS and grab a API Freshwater Test Kit! Then will buy gravel and some plants and let cycling begin!

How am I doing so far?

 

[Crypto]

Hello,

So your adding established filter media to a new filter and putting new filter media in the old one? am I correct?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Yep. Is that okay??? I have never cycled a tank in my life so I'm pretty clueless on it.

 

[Crypto]

Yep, that is just fine! The new cycled filter media should cycle it within a few days (That means you need to start adding fish soon so the bacteria wont die ~ lack of ammonia).

 

[zparticle]

Currently putting in a new sponge in my old filter and going to switch it out with my old sponge which will go into the twenty gallon filter. Am I already making a mistake or is this fine?

I'm sorry I can't make sense of that, lol. Are you replacing the filter in existing cycled tank with a brand new filter? Isn't that a bad thing? Removing the bio filter from a running tank seems like a bad idea.

I'm probably just misunderstanding.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Yes that's what I'm doing, I was thinking if I put the sponge in I have now into the filter I have for my twenty gallon and start cycling, it will go by faster. By the time its done cycling won't the new sponge I have put into my main tank's filter be seeded?

 

[zparticle]

Well most of the bacteria live in the sponge so if you take it out the main tank is going to be without any bacteria that could crash it.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Oh yeah, sorry if I got you guys mixed up! I also have two other filter medias in the tank, carbon and ceramic crushed up stones. Will those have enough beneificial bacteria you think?

 

[Crypto]

Hello,

If they are the ones that were in the old filter, then yes, that should be enough

 

[eco23]

Hang on...we're getting off to a somewhat good but confusing start.

How are you cycling? Fishless or with fish?

First, unless it is a ton of established media (a heck of a lot more than a sponge) the idea of cycling in a few days is borderline ludicrous unless we are talking about an extremely light bio-load.

I'll be happy to help as much as I can...but I need to know what the method is. If fishless, what is the ammonia source? If fish-in, what are you considering stocking it with?

 

[barterking85]

Yes that's what I'm doing, I was thinking if I put the sponge in I have now into the filter I have for my twenty gallon and start cycling, it will go by faster. By the time its done cycling won't the new sponge I have put into my main tank's filter be seeded?

What I would do is put the new filter media in front of the old one and leave it running on your cycled tank for about a week the switch the new media into the filter on your new tank try it that way and you should have no damage done to your established tank

I don't like taking any chances with my cycled tanks that's why I buy lots of extra floss media and stuff it in my filters so when I get a new tank I can just pull some out and add it to my new tanks filter

 

[bruinsbro1997]

What I would do is put the new filter media in front of the old one and leave it running on your cycled tank for about a week the switch the new media into the filter on your new tank try it that way and you should have no damage done to your established tank

I don't like taking any chances with my cycled tanks that's why I buy lots of extra floss media and stuff it in my filters so when I get a new tank I can just pull some out and add it to my new tanks filter

Alright, got it!

I think I'm going to let this thread die off, sadly the twenty gallon high was returned. And my thirty gallon will be given away to my little cousin. Fortunately, my mom bought me a forty gallon breeder, but to keep from getting off topic that will be a whole nother thread. So thank you for the responses guys!