can i seed a sw with a filter from a fw/

[Cholbert]

2 questions ( just edited )

sorry i couldnt find a straight answer after hour of searching. i have 2 fw tanks that are good to go and fishless cycling a sw. can i pull the filter from a fw tank and shake or lay it in a sw tank to seed it and then put it back in the fw? Also, ive only been cycling the tank for 3 days ( i know i still got 5 weeks till i can put anything alive in it) but how long should i expect until i start to see algae growing in it so i know when i should start thinking about my clean up crew?

 

[melosu58]

No you wont be able to seed a Sw tank with FW bacteria. They are different. You`ll need to get something that`s from a SW tank to seed. BTW welcome to AA.

as far as the clean up crew "do not" add any livestock to the tank till the cycle is over.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Welcome to AA Remember that your cycle will not take a set amount of time. It could take 2 weeks or 2 months. The only way you'll know it is cycled is when your ammonia spikes then drops, nitrite spikes then drops, and nitrates show up with both ammonia and nitrite being 0.

 

[Cholbert]

ya i have 2 other tanks that are cycled. i would never put another fish in an uncycled tank ever again after all the death learning with my first tank. ( cycled with goldfish ). any idea when i will start to see algae? and after my tank is cycled how much algae needs to be in there so cuc dont starve?

 

[Cholbert]

and its funny but i can sit here and look at my empty sw tank and almost take all my cichlids to the lfs and turn all my tanks sw. gives me somthing to do lol. other tanks are completely finished and nothing ever goes wrong in them so i can nothing to do but water changes. gets boring when somthing doesnt go wrong or ur not building somthing thats gonna look great in the end. mabey ill sell them and start all over lol

 

[Zer0]

Don't worry, once your tank is cycled and on it's way to becoming mature, you will have a lot more to worry about then just water changes. In a good way of course.

As for your algae question, you will start to see algae growth towards the end of your cycle. I started seeing green patches when i still had a small reading of nitrite, and when you have no ammonia and little nitrites, that's when your cycle is coming to a close. But i'm glad you have patience because you'll need a lot of it when it comes to saltwater.

 

[melosu58]

I personally would not want algea in the tank. I dont care when it is. When your cycle is over then add a small clean up crew.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

I had gravel from a 1.008 BW tank work for instant cycling a FW....

 

[mfdrookie516]

brackish tanks have the same type of bacteria that full saltwater tanks need... fw bacteria wont live in saltwater, which is why when converting from fw to bw, you have to do it very slow both for the fish, and so that a new cycle can begin with the bw and not force a full on cycle

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Isn't the only difference in bacteria though the inclusion of the nitrococcus in SW/BW? So the other 3 are the same?