Filter media - swapping to a bigger tank

[Camescu]

Merry Xmas

Next month I am upgrading from a 23L to a 200L. I'm. I'm currently running a HOB aqua clear 20 filter but will be moving up to a Fluval 406 canister. I'm thinking of putting (squashing in alongside the new) my cycled media in the 406.

How quickly do you reckon it will take for the new tank to be considered cycled?

 

[MartyMA]

Merry, Merry to you!! To answer your question - a guess would be three weeks? A guess is not as good as a test, however. If you are crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, go with three weeks. Short of testing your numbers, seeding will give you a big head start.

 

[Camescu]

No finger crossing. I'll be testing as per.

Thing is, if I move the cycled media across I will need to move the shrimps, assassins and neons as well. So it's either a case of

A) shift the lot on the basis that the tank will have enough BB to sustain what I am moving across, then wait a few weeks before adding more.

B) Treat the new tank as brand new, fail to seed it and cycle it from scratch.

 

[thebritishbloke]

If you don't have much choice in moving the shrimp across, I'd say move your old media in to the Fluval 406 (There's loads of unused space in there when using the media Fluval supply). Then get a biological additive such as Tetra SafeStart and dump it in there, wait a short while and pop in your shrimp etc.

HOWEVER, if you are ok with waiting, just do as above, but without moving your media across. Do a water change from your old tank and add it to the new tank. Add Tetra SafeStart and let it cycle. You may also need to add ammonia, it will take a lot longer but I'm sure there's a lot of people on here who will tell you to do this (or similar).

 

[Toad]

I'm confused, are you moving your entire tank that you have now into the bigger one? Because if you are, just move all the filter material to the new filter, let it run for an hour or two, add the current fish and you're done. If you want to add more fish I'd wait a few weeks and then only add a couple at a time.

 

[Camescu]

Yeah. Entire tank. Then once the BB has built up on the 406 media I will move the transferred media back to the 23L and get that back running as a shrimp tank.

It's really just a way to beat all the waiting. I've got 8 neons in a tank that is too small so I want to transfer them ASAP. I just wasn't sure if the size difference would play a major role.

 

[Ian086]

I would go with option A. All you have to do is add the media to the new filter, making sure it is touching the new Bio media. There will be enough BB to sustain your current stock. Add new stock as normal, not too much at once. I would leave the 'old' media in the new filter for 2-3 weeks to allow BB to transfer to the new media. You can then put the old media back....

 

[Camescu]

Thanks. That is what I was hoping for.

Deposit is on the new tank. Gonna get it in the new year and get it up and running. Been planning all month. Can't wait.

 

[molliwopp]

Me personally i would set up the 200l and use the media to seed by rinsing the media(if its sponge) near the intake of the 406 or swap 50/50 new for.established media (if its biorings) place it into the 406 and then proceed to cycle it normally with ammonia for afew weeks. Its what ive always done if a filter cant be permenantly removed for some time to the new tank. This would save you moving stock that would then have to be caught again. Also a miniture cycle is bound to happen as the sustaining bacteria for the bioload will be spilt, probably unevenly between both filters. It would be very mini though.

 

[Ian086]

Thanks. That is what I was hoping for.

Deposit is on the new tank. Gonna get it in the new year and get it up and running. Been planning all month. Can't wait.

Just make sure to test daily for 1-2weeks. A good liquid test kit(API) is essential. Don't rely on a lfs to test your water accurately...
Any Ammonia spikes, do a large water change ASAP, at least 50%....
Good luck and enjoy your new tank.....

 

[Ian086]

Its a tricky one actually and not very straight forward. Me personally i would set up the 200l and use the media to seed and then proceed to cycle it normally with ammonia for afew weeks as its what ive always done if a filter cant be permenantly removed for some time to the new tank this would save you moving stock that would then have to be caught. Also a miniture cycle ia bound to happen as the sustaining bacteria for the bioload will be spilt and probably unevenly between both filters.

But why cycle, when you already have the BB. Transferring ALL the media to the new filter correctly will easily cover the Bio-load of the existing stock. Adding new stock slowly, testing daily and doing a large WC(if needed) will cover any chance of a mini-cycle

 

[Camescu]

Me personally i would set up the 200l and use the media to seed by rinsing the media(if its sponge) near the intake of the 406 and then proceed to cycle it normally with ammonia for afew weeks or swap 50/50 new for established (if its biomedia like rings) Its what ive always done if a filter cant be permenantly removed for some time to the new tank. This would save you moving stock that would then have to be caught again. Also a miniture cycle is bound to happen as the sustaining bacteria for the bioload will be spilt, probably unevenly between both filters. It would be very mini though.

I was thinking the biomedia (rings) carbon stuff and sponge to be honest.

If I seed then the existing tank has to transfer as it won't have anything left. Alternatively I cycle from scratch. Keen to shift the neons, but keen to do things right.

 

[Camescu]

And yeah, Ian, I use API now (religiously). So it would be a cycled tank for existing but fish in cycle for any new stock (added v slowly of course)?

 

[molliwopp]

But why cycle, when you already have the BB. Transferring ALL the media to the new filter correctly will easily cover the Bio-load of the existing stock. Adding new stock slowly, testing daily and doing a large WC(if needed) will cover any chance of a mini-cycle

I was editing and trying to explain myself more while you were typing a reply. Yes it will cover the existing stock but once the existing filter is removed the bacteria could be split. To be honest the bioload is so small that this is one of the situations where there is no right or wrong answer, both will work and will be more than managable if anything where to rock the boat. Infact you could add the neons to a 200l and the ammonia they would be creating would take a month to become a problem and a single 50% change would knock this back.

So a simple regular water change in the 200 would easily solve the problem.