Jump starting a 10 gal.

[scalesojustice]

i have an established 10 gal and an empty 10 gal with all the trimmings just laying around and i want to "jump start" the new 10 gal by running the new filter in the established tank. how long should i run it for? i figure there is no such thing as too long, but how long should i wait. i figure that it will be about 5 days until i'm ready to fil the empty 10 gal, but is that too short?

i was planning on only adding a couple fish to the new 10 gal. i was thinking a betta and a couple other smaller fish, maybe bottom feeders (any suggestions), so i wouldn't overload the bacteria that will only be established in the filter.

thanks!

 

[rich311k]

A month would be best. You could probably get away with two weeks.

 

[dskidmore]

I'd add a bit of fish food right inside the new filter, so the food gets trapped in the floss/sponge. Then you know you have plenty of food for the bacteria right there. (Don't overdo it though, don't want to start a cycle in the old aquarium.)

That or a little bit of overfeeding will beef up the biological filter, just keep an eye on your ammonia/nitrite levels to make sure you're not overdoing it, and do a big water change after you move the filter to the new home.

 

[collegelife101]

what you don't want is for the tank to become dependent on the bacteria in that second filter, which is going to consume part of the ammonia in the tank that the original filter used... so yeah, doing something to cause more ammonia to be produced, such as overfeeding, will work.

 

[7Enigma]

If you can take some of the filter media from the established tank, and some substrate, and plants/decorations you can virtually instant cycle the 2nd 10 gallon tank. I would cut feedings to 1/2 in both tanks if you do this however to make sure you don't create ammonia spikes in the new or old tank.