Re "cycling" tank possiblle

[Lunchbox209]

Is there such thing as making a established go through a cycling process again

 

[Lunchbox209]

*established tank

 

[jcolon]

Yes ... either by

1. Removing BB from swapping out substrate and or decor, or by changing the filter media without seeding.

2. Introducing more bio-load into the tank .. like adding a bunch of fish all at once.

3. Dumping into the tank untreated chlorinated water during a big PWC ... at that point your basically starting from scratch.

Ideally there's no reason an established tank should have another cycle.

 

[Lunchbox209]

Ok I ask this cause I want to do a drastic makeover on my 55 so I'm guessing if I take everything out and replace with all new stuff it would basically be a brand new tank right??:shrug:

 

[jcolon]

Ok I ask this cause I want to do a drastic makeover on my 55 so I'm guessing if I take everything out and replace with all new stuff it would basically be a brand new tank right??:shrug:

All this will depend on the stock of your tank. If you have low bio-load fish it may not be as drastic. Otherwise, if your replacing all the substrate / plants / decor then yes ... chances are you will have a mini-cycle at least. Your saving grace is you'll still have bacteria in the filter ... it's just they'll have to take up more of the slack until new bacteria grows ... so be ready to do some testing and PWC's.

To lessen the effect ... you could

1. Make over the tank in sections ... do 1/3 - 1/2 now .... wait a week or two and do the other(s). That'll allow some BB from the old to colonize the new.

2. Do the makeover and put some old substrate in a media bag and put it in the tank. The same for decor ... just put it right into the tank temporarily. The BB on the old substrate will help to seed the new substrate. If you went this route it would be CRITICAL that the subtrate / decor / plants stay wet. BB dies once it dries.

I personally haven't done any makeovers, but if I did ... the above is how I'd do it. I'm sure plenty of members have done this and came away with minimal issues.

Good Luck! Post some pics!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Ok I ask this cause I want to do a drastic makeover on my 55 so I'm guessing if I take everything out and replace with all new stuff it would basically be a brand new tank right??

As long as you dont replace the filter and keep everything wet until use you don't need to re-cycle.

 

[Lunchbox209]

Yea cause I have gravel as my substrate and fake plants and I have seen some beautiful tanks on this site that have made me want to go the natural plants and looking way