Will my tank be instantly cycled?

[Catfish Lover]

I already have an established planted 55g running 2 c4 fluval filters rated for 70g. It houses 6 black mollies, 9 albino Cory cats, 10 bloodfin tetras and 9 cherry barbs. I plan on starting another planted 55 that I plan on putting 15-20 serpae tetras 8 peppered corys and 1 bristletoe nose pleco. My plan is to transfer 1 of the filters from the established tank to the new one and a couple of the plants. Will the filter have enough beneficial bacteria to give me an instant cycle where I can put all the new fish in at once? Or should I still stock slowly? The filter has filter pad/ polyfiber/ and biological media inside.

 

[SpellEcho]

I did the same thing when I got my 10gal but I only put half of the sponge and half of the bio balls into the new filter, and it's pretty close to being 100% cycled, so I'd say it would be pretty close if not all the way cycled, but I wouldn't rush it.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I did the same thing when I got my 10gal but I only put half of the sponge and half of the bio balls into the new filter, and it's pretty close to being 100% cycled, so I'd say it would be pretty close if not all the way cycled, but I wouldn't rush it.

So maybe half the fish load, then the rest weekly until I get my stock where I want?

 

[SpellEcho]

So maybe half the fish load, then the rest weekly until I get my stock where I want?

I would do the change over leave it for 24h test the water and see what your parameters are. If their high I'd do a 50% PWC and wait another 24h to test again. If everything looks good then you can add your fish right away.

 

[SpellEcho]

I also took half the water from my other tank to put in my 10gal to help it along.

 

[Catfish Lover]

I would do the change over leave it for 24h test the water and see what your parameters are. If their high I'd do a 50% PWC and wait another 24h to test again. If everything looks good then you can add your fish right away.

You mean just switch over the filter with no fish, test the water and if its ok add the all the fish?

 

[SpellEcho]

You mean just switch over the filter with no fish, test the water and if its ok add the all the fish?

Yeah so a fish less cycle

 

[SpellEcho]

Cause If the ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are high you don't want to kill your fish

 

[Catfish Lover]

You do know their is no beneficial bacteria in the water. Their was no point In switching half the water. Maybe I'll let someone else chime in with advice also.

 

[SpellEcho]

You do know their is no beneficial bacteria in the water. Their was no point In switching half the water. Maybe I'll let someone else chime in with advice also.

I am aware of that, and the point is that the water is already cycled no ammonia, no nitrites or nitrates.

 

[Catfish Lover]

Why couldn't I just fill up the new tank with new water, their wont be ammonia, nitrates or nitrites in it either

 

[SpellEcho]

Why couldn't I just fill up the new tank with new water, their wont be ammonia, nitrates or nitrites in it either

Yup, should be good. Just add the right chemicals to your water.

 

[H2OJO]

I think its wise to wait approx 24 hours to let the water filter through if you are using brand new water.

I wouldnt fill all of it up with brand new water as you could shock the fish. Remember thats the equivalent of doing a 100% water change

 

[Catfish Lover]

I think its wise to wait approx 24 hours to let the water filter through if you are using brand new water.

I wouldnt fill all of it up with brand new water as you could shock the fish. Remember thats the equivalent of doing a 100% water change

Ok, I'll let the transferred filter run through for 24hrs, but that doesn't completely answer my question. Will the transferred filter give me an instant cycle?

 

[jlk]

Ok, I'll let the transferred filter run through for 24hrs, but that doesn't completely answer my question. Will the transferred filter give me an instant cycle?

Its all relative. Say you have a cycled, overstocked 75g cichlid tank. You move a piece of media from this tank to an uncycled 5g betta tank. Yes, this would be instantly cycled. But if you reverse this and move a piece of a media from a cycled 5g betta tank to an uncycled 75g cichlid, the media will not help as the bioload of the betta tank media is not sufficient to support the bioload of a cichlid tank.

So, in your case, your moving half the media from an established tank to an uncycled tank. Its probable that this media can support half of the bioload of the cycled tank. I would start stocking the new tank very slowly and gradually increase the stock as parameters permit. Keep an eye on your cycled tank for spikes when you remove the media, too. Just use common sense and let your numbers tell you when its safe to increase the stock.

 

[Fett999]

As jlk said, keep an eye on the cycled tank. You will end up with a mini cycle as the bb tries to catch up, and the filter you transfer over will only be cycled for half the bio load of the original tank. Also, if you leave the tank 24 hours without fish, which I would probably recommend if you're using all new water, then the bb in the cycled filter will start to die off with no ammonia source to feed on, so you will not have enough to cover a full half of the bio load that the original tank has.
Just add gradually and test regularly.

 

[Jack sort]

I moved from a 10 gal to 30 gal and had great success. All I did was move the filter, water and one of the decorations to the new tank and ran 2 filters for about a month. I tested the water daily and did around a 10% water change every 3 days. Even though the cycled filter was for a much smaller tank I never had any problems with my water chemistry.

 

[Fett999]

That would work without a problem because you're transferring everything across and have the same bio load on the filter from 1 tank to another. The difference here is that instead of transferring everything across from 1 tank to another the filter is being split between 2 separate tanks, one of which has the same bio load as when both filters were running together and another, which will have its own bio load needs.
It's no different to having a house full of people who have just enough for them all, and then taking half that food to another full house of people. Instead of one well fed house full you have 2 half fed houses.

 

[tarpon]

I would do the change over leave it for 24h test the water and see what your parameters are. If their high I'd do a 50% PWC and wait another 24h to test again. If everything looks good then you can add your fish right away.

if there are no fish as an ammonia source, then the parameters will all read 0, thus making it pointless to wait, testing water with no fish in it.

 

[tarpon]

I am aware of that, and the point is that the water is already cycled no ammonia, no nitrites or nitrates.

cycled tank water does have NITRATES. youre better off leaving it out all together