Starting new 14 gallon, use changed water from 20

[Noviceafter2yea]

I was supposed to start cycling a second tank a few weeks ago, but didn't.

I am about to vacuum the gravel from my 20 gallon. Can I use the removed water to start a cycle in the 14 gallon. I will only add fish to the new tank once it is cycled. The water readings from the 20 gallon are 0 Ammonia 0 N2, 20 N3, PH 7.9. I do vacuum gravels more than I have read are necessary, but when I do, there seems to be a fair amount of waste removed.

I have 10, 7 week old platy fry that are currently in my QT tank which I would like go back to using as a QT. I also got suggestions from people for bright, colorful, "glowy" fish that I would like to add to my collection. I am hoping I can give away some of my platies, but am preparing to accept I am not going to get takers. Not to mention, I now have a batch of 12 newborn platies currently housed in a 1 gallon, makeshift with bubbler. I may have to move them to the 5 gallon QT. Argh!

I am also worried the fry are going to mate with each other and we all know how not good interbreeding is!

Back to my original - if I were to add vacuumed water from the 20 gallon to the 14 along with pretreated prime water, will it be okay bio-load-wise?

 

[dalto]

You can certainly add removed to water to the new tank but it isn't going to help the cycle. The bacteria isn't really in the water it is in the filter media and secondarily in the other surfaces of the tank such as substrate and decorations.

If you want to kickstart the cycle in the new tank taking some of the filter media from the current tank is the best way.

 

[BBradbury]

Cycling a New Tank

Hello Nov...

Using old tank water won't help cycle a newly set up tank. The good bacteria needs a surface to live. The water doesn't provide a surface. You can remove some of the media from an established tank and put that into the new tank or take out the media from the established tank and squeeze the contents into the new tank. The dark stuff is bacteria that will live on the surfaces in the new tank.

You'll need to add fish slowly to the new tank and test the tank water for a few days to make sure the bacteria is keeping up with the fish wastes. If there's no trace of ammonia or nitrite, you can add a few more fish and test again.

B

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

You can certainly add removed to water to the new tank but it isn't going to help the cycle. The bacteria isn't really in the water it is in the filter media and secondarily in the other surfaces of the tank such as substrate and decorations.

If you want to kickstart the cycle in the new tank taking some of the filter media from the current tank is the best way.

Thanks. I actually use 2 filter bags in my 20 gallon - one with carbon, one without. Could I use the one without to kick start the new one and if so, can I put carbon in that?

Am I asking,for trouble if I do that,AND add the removed water? I am trying to conserve water!

 

[dalto]

You could add the carbon but you shouldn't really need it unless you are trying to remove something specific from the water.

Adding the water is pretty much irrelevant either way. If you are planning a fishless cycle I would say go ahead and use the old water since you will have to remove the water once the cycle is complete anyway. If you are doing a fish-in cycle then I would not use the water as there is no sense starting with 20ppm of nitrates.

 

[Noviceafter2yea]

Thank you all for the I input. I finally began cycling a new tank. I added about 6 gallons of recycled warmer, added the old bio filter and put the new one inside if which has the coal. I aslo added a piece of mop anime wood which I understand will turn the water brown. The additional water added was with pretreated prime wate. Finally I added quick start. I now need to purchase plants - fake or real or a combo of both.

I have heard hornwarnt is good. I think I AM SUPPOSED TO QT those before adding to the new stablished taNk. Could I conduct that process in the newly clinging tank? I admit, I was not succesful I the pSt adding live plants, but I was also not educated about the need to keep them separate first.

A I hVe to admit I am feeling overwhelmed bu having all these tanks and at some point I t he future, I would like to consolidate all the fish into larger tank.

My makeshift tank for the babies is starting to smell. I added prime, but am having a hard time really cleann
Time to clean out the waste that is gathering.

I saw a few cool responses to ways to decorate tanks. I Ike the idea of a black background, but is there a specific type of paint I need fro the application.

Thanks all. I really em you this site and am always so grateful to the respnses from users who take the time to respond. Thank IOU all,