Cycle inquiry...have established tank to aid

[hamburgler]

Alright so i am setting up a 20g in my dorm room...already have a larger established tank at home. The new tank is going to have sand opposed to gravel and a whisper as opposed to aquaclear filter.

I currently have the biological pad for the whisper sitting in the AC on the big tank, and the bio bag in front of a submersible filter.

How long should i do this to seed the filter media? Is there anything else i can do to avoid a long cycling process in the new tank?

THanks!

 

[theotheragentm]

Are there fish in the tank that you've moved from an old tank? The theory is that if you move substrate, fish, and filter, you should see no cycle. If you're not taking substrate from an old tank, you might see a mini cycle. If you have no fish in the tank right now, it doesn't do much good to have the old filter media in as the bacteria there are going to die off without a food source.

 

[neilanh]

Are you planning on a fishless cycle? There's great articles to explain how to do it. Since you have an established tank available, that can drastically cut the time on your cycle as well.

I get the impression that you added the filter from the whisper onto the larger tank. The longer that's in there, the better, as the more bacteria it will build up. HOwever, if the normal filter for the AC has been in for a while, you can steal that and cram it into the whisper after the new tank is setup and filled. Just steal the filter from the AC (if it's been there a while) and put a new one in the AC.

One thing to keep in mind, is when transporting your seed material with all that bacteria on it, to bag it with tank water from the tank you're taking it from. If it dries out while you're taking it to the new tank, it's no good.

 

[hamburgler]

The tank is going to be a completely new setup with new fish, substrate, etc.
Its going to be a few weeks before it is setup so i'm thinking if i use the seeded media it will be all set.
I'm also going to take a bunch of gravel from the tanks at the shop i work at, maybe even see if i can scrape some bacteria off the filtration units. There will be food for the bacteria as the gravel from the tanks at work will be full of waste.

I am aware about keeping everything wet, just moved my tank a month ago.

alright, i think i just needed to get my thoughts written out to see where i am with this.

thanks for your time!

 

[neilanh]

Yup, if your setup is a few weeks away, your plan is perfect, and the addition of the gravel will help too.