Upgrading tank questions...

[WhiskeyTrouble]

I currently have a 100 gal bowfront with a modified overflow to run at aprox. 65 gal (to leave room at top). I am upgrading to a 125 gal aquarium which I plan on running full. (Im building an above tank cricket/mangrove terrarium on one side so the fish still have spitting room) Im switch to 2 fluval 305's instead of the sump I have now. I have had the new filter media in my sump for a little over two weeks now and DONT plan on using ANY of the older bio media. (the large bio balls wont work in the cannisters)
My questions are
1.) should i have the media submerged at the bottom of the sump or will the trickle work alright?
2.) how long should I leave it to culture before making the move
3.) how much of a cycle should I expect my new tank to experience?

thanks!

 

[mgamer20o0]

if you leave the filter on it will seed. i would give it 2-3 weeks. depending on your stocking levels in the tank your seeding from and the new tank you may or may not have any problem. personally i would put the filters on the old tank move them to the new one and do a fishless cycle.

 

[WhiskeyTrouble]

The only problem im having with doing something like that is the new tank has to go where the current one stands. as far as trying to set the new one up to cycle while the current one still houses the fish, it would make it impossible to move. Im kind of just looking for reassurance that there would be enough bacteria in the sand, attatched to the wood and plants, and in the new media ive been running for a few weeks. My current bio load is sizeable for the tank that is in operation but will be minimal for the new tank and filters. I have stabilized my salinity (not increasing it) so that the bacteria has a better chance. I have thought about running one of the two new cannister filters is addition to the sump on the current tank but that may blow my fish out of the water haha. I guess I will wait as long as i can. one of the archers has become too territorial and the other wont even come out. Chances are that increasin the tank size wont help much but the new one is 6 feet long rather than bowfront to give more room for seperation and/or chase.
id better keep a lot of brackish water available incase it goes through a rough patch and hope for the best.
thanks.

 

[mgamer20o0]

the filter is where most of the bacteria is. yes there is bacteria on the sand wood plants everywhere but the majority tends to be in the filter. you will most likely have a mini cycle. how about floating the old media in the tank for a week or two?

 

[WhiskeyTrouble]

I could do that too. I think if i remove the media trays (not the mechanical side) from one filter, i could probably just pack it with the old bio balls for a while. atleast a few handfulls of them. Ive had all the ceramic media i plan on using in the sump about 3 weeks now. Im going for it next Wednesday. That will make the media a little over 30 days old. That should be plenty.
Thanks so much for your suggestions!

 

[mgamer20o0]

should be ready to go. good luck.