Tropical Tank

[AnT2nY]

Hi,

I have a tropical fish tank been setup for 8-9 weeks all cycled and checked with fish swimming healthly in it.

My sister is going to buy a new setup for herself, would it speed up her cycle process if i was to put her new pump into my tank for a few weeks. would it make any difference to my tank having 2 pumps running?

Thanks

 

[jsoong]

Yes, this is the classic way to instantly cycle a tank.

<By pump - I assume you mean filter ....>

You can either run both filters in the established tank for 4-6 weeks to seed it before transfer, or you can just use the filter pads if your main filter is big enough. <Take the pads out of the new filter, stuff it into the established filter & run that filter with 2 sets of pads for 4-6 week ... Of course, you need a filter big enough to allow you to run 2 sets of pads....>

Running 2 filters is generally not a bad thing. The only concern might be too much current for some sensitive fish. Most of your common tropical fish will be fine with extra current. An option might be to shield the output of the filter with a baffle if you have fish that is uncomfortable with the water flow.

 

[AnT2nY]

Thanks yes filter,

I have a biorb 60l tank, its standard filter is at the bottom but i do have a fluval filter too as the standard one didnt seem to be doing a good enough job plus there is no current from the standard one just air bubbles at the top.

I suppose i could just replace the standard filter sponge in mine and put it in the 2nd chamber on her filter maybe give her a few handfuls of the lava rocks from the bottom of my tank

i presume i put all this in then still put amoninia in and test for nitrites nitrates and amninia as usual? how long should it take to establish her tank?

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

yes it would speed up the cycle, but the bacteria wouldnt be established from the new filter and wouldnt be very safe for fish imo. ud basically need to re-cycle ur tank as far as i can see. this is like putting old tank water in a new fish tank to build bacteria in the filter media... wont do much good.

i agree with trying to fit both sets of filter pads inone filter, bacteria will mix between them and will multiply faster.

my info may be very wrong, but that was my understanding x

 

[AnT2nY]

ok, think i understand....

Her filter is much larger than mine, so from what i understand its just the filter sponges.

So take my filter out remove the sponges.
put them on the outer side in the filter so water passes through the established sponges then the new ones then put the bigger filter in my tank until her's is ready to put water in probably 2-3weeks.

Then when her's is ready ill put my standard filter sponge into her filter then run it for how long would you say it will take to be ready to add fish to? (i have 2 filters confusing myself)

 

[jsoong]

Yes, you can run the bigger filter in your tank instead of the small one. Just so we don't get confused, I will just talk filter pads ... "old" means the ones that is currently in your tank, "new" means any unused filter pad.

OK, you replace your current filter with the big one, put both old & new filter pads in so both get water flow. <Make sure nothing dries out in the change process!> Run this filter for 4-6 weeks. For the first week or so, check your tank's levels to make sure you have not disturbed anything important causing a mini cycle.

After the new pads are seeded, you have 2 choices:

1. Immediately add fish. Because the new pads has low bacteria load, it will not be able to support many fish. <This is especially true if you have a small tank, & you want to start a bigger tank with it.> You can at most add 1/2 the bioload (of the old tank) to the new tank at the start. It will be much safer to start much lower and add fish very slowly (one or 2 every 2-3 weeks), meanwhile monitoring the water parameters daily & doing pwc's for the inevitable mini-cycle. I have done this before & mini-cycle generally lasts a week or 2, but normally don't give too high a peak & fairly easily managed with some pwc.

2. Build up the bacteria with fishless cycling. This is the safer method. You take the seeded pads & run it in the new tank. Then you add ammonia to feed the bacteria to grow it out so it will support a heavy bioload. The process takes maybe 1-2 weeks. You know you are done when you add 4 ppm of ammonia to the tank, and all of it is gone to nitrates the next day. At this point, you can add all the fish you want at once. Keep an eye on the levels for a few days afterward, but if your tank can handle 4 ppm of ammonia, it should not show any spikes at all.

 

[AnT2nY]

thanks,

i have added the bigger filter to my tank now with new and old pads in, will be testing the water daily anyway

I think i will tell her to go for the fishless cycle it just seems the better less cruel choice.

unlike what the people who sell you new tanks in shops .. run a brand new 60l tank for 3 days with dechlorinated water then add fish at will! glad i googled it before buying my tank ive had one death on the night after i added my first 5 guppies 4 weeks ago.