How to cycle a Quarantine Tank?

[grimes135]

My 135 is almost done cycling and i just set up my quarantine tank yesterday, iwam looking for some suggestion on how to cycle it. i was planning on putting it on my main tank to get some bio growing in the filter pads but the filter isnt big enough to fit around the lip on my main tank and the level in the sump is too low to put it down there. i was wondering if putting some LR rubble in the quarantine tank with the filter running would produce a mini cycle that would be strong enough and then take LR rubble out or if i should just head off to the grocery store and buy a raw shrip and throw it in there. Any suggestions? thanks

 

[roka64]

You can go the raw shrimp route, or you could seed your media in your main, or you could put a lot of your cured LR into your QT, to possibly skip a cycle. The last would be neat to see happen. Keep a journal and see if you can instant cycle your QT.

 

[grimes135]

i thought about that but from my understanding the biological filtration would be in the live rock and not in the filter, right? so if i had to treat the quarantine tank and i took all the live rock out would that remove all of the biological filtration?

 

[roka64]

What kind of media do you have in the QT's filter?

 

[grimes135]

yeah sorry forgot all of the info about the quarantine. it is a 10 gallon and it is empty except for a couple of pvc elbows, the filter is a HOB Top Fin power filter for 20 gal tanks. it has a cartrige with the filter floss and activated carbon in it.

 

[roka64]

What in the back, bottom part? I am looking for any kind of media, like bio balls or sponges, somewhere the bacteria can grow. Some will grow in the GAC and possibly the floss, but you might need more. Can you put LR rubble in it anywhere (HOB)? Sorry I am not fimillar with that product and am going by a picture I pulled up from google.

 

[grimes135]

on the box it says that the bacteria grows on the filter frame and in the floss mesh stuff, there is no room for live rock of bio balls or anthing like that. if you are looking at the filter, water gets sucked up via powerhead on the right side fill the filter up and then water is forced to flow through the cartridge and back into the tank.

 

[roka64]

Cool, that's what I fugured. You should be ok with the filter frame and floss, hosting the bacteria.

 

[grimes135]

so just through a raw shrimp in there?

 

[melosu58]

In a 10 gallon tank you probably might be OK just putting a few flakes in there. The shrimp might be too much for that size tank.

 

[grimes135]

thats what i thought, how about a couple of cube of blood worms or something?

 

[melosu58]

Not a couple cubes but maybe a half or so. I still like the flakes if you have any. Just 3 or 4 flakes every 5 or 6 days.

 

[roka64]

Sure, raw/unseasoned.

 

[Guest]

My 2 cents

HI,
Maybe some of the live sand from your primary tank 1/2 in or so, and a piece of live rock.
I am starting to think the best bio filter is lots of sand and live rock, every thing else is just water clearing .
I cycled a small tank with a sump using weekly additions of live sand from another tank for about a month some brisstle worms for the sand it cycled really fast.
The only problem was a sudden PH drop, the buffer is used up proably by the bacteria cycling the stuff out of the water.
Doug

 

[Innovator]

Ummm, why not just go the easy route and add water from your almost cycled 135g? There should be plenty of bacteria in the water column by now