Quickest way to cycle a quarantine tank?

[Monzie]

Hey all!

We just cycled and partially stocked our 27 gal cube. 8 Harlequin Rasboras and a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami. Everyone looks happy and the water parameters are fine.

Last Christmas, a well-meaning family member gave my son a 5 gallon "complete" setup. It has been sitting in a closet ever since but now I'm thinking it might be put to use as our quarantine tank. We are planning to add some Cardinal Tetras in a week or two and possibly some inverts. Our LFS doesn't have any Cardinals in stock right now and I'm hoping we don't have to resort to shopping at Petsmart or the equivalent. But, if we do, I definitely want to keep those fish out of our main tank until they've done some time in quarantine.

So, my first question is whether a small school of juvenile tetras (say, 10 fish or so) will be able to survive for two weeks in a 5 gallon tank. Or will we have to buy them in a few smaller batches?

Secondly, is there a quick way to cycle the little tank? I've seen a few people who have mentioned putting a pad from their cycled tank into the filter of the new one. This is problematic for us because we have a canister filter on the main tank but a HOB for the little one. My husband doesn't want to mess with taking the canister apart to stick in a "just in case" spare HOB filter unless he knows for sure that's the best way to do it. Right now, I'm attempting to cycle the little tank using a clean new filter and a fake rock I moved from the cycled tank. I dosed it up with pure ammonia and it has been running for 2 days but I'm not seeing any changes in the water parameters. So apparently, there isn't much "good bacteria" on that rock. Should I transfer some of the substrate over from the cycled tank? Or could I take the filter pad from the new HOB and rub it on the inside of the glass of the other tank? There has got to be a way to get some of that good gunk from the cycled tank into the new tank without taking our canister apart...right??

Oh, and a quick bonus question: Is there some fish who could live in the quarantine tank on a permanent basis and keep it cycled while we aren't using it for quarantine? I realize we'd have to transfer that fish over to the main tank temporarily whenever we needed to use the little tank for it's intended purpose. We're planning to keep it pretty peaceful in the main tank. So is there some fish that would be fine living in the small tank with occasional random forays into the 27 gal?

Okay. That's enough questions for now. I'll sit back and patiently await your collective wisdom...

 

[Mebbid]

Using media from an established filter is by far the fastest way. I keep bio balls in my cichlid tank filter for just such an occasion. An easier way would be to stick the filter for the 5g inside the canister filter and then it should be ready within a couple days.

With a 5 gallon tank you will most likely have a really hard time keeping a group of 10 fish alive. I would suggest groups of 5 at most.

 

[madams102]

I also use quarentine tanks and what i do is i have a sponge filter that i have in my largest tank that is hid by decorations and plants. When i need the quarentine tank i just take the sponge filter from the large tank that is already seeded with bacteria and place it in my quarentine tank and its is ready to go. I like to use sponge filters because i can treat the quarentine tank without having to worry about removing the carbon and i like the gentle flow of the sponge filter and the new and stressed fish seem to like the less water movement too. Once im done i just clean the sponge and stick it back int he main tank and the process starts over.

 

[DaveT]

All good advice.

I have a 15l hospital tank and I keep the filter in the main tank (run 2 filters) and if I need to fire up the hospital tank I take the sponge filter out of the main tank, do a partial water change use use 15l of that for the hospital tank... instant duplication of the environment in 10 mins as the hospital tank is running with the same water and part of the main tank filter system

 

[Monzie]

We're currently running an air line through a small bubble stone in the big tank. So I assume I can just replace the stone with the sponge filter...right? Will we still have bubbles in the tank? I'm trying to visualize how a sponge filter even works since a filter is supposed to suck and an air line blows. Hmmmm.... I guess I need to go read more about this.

So, if we go that route, how long would you estimate we'd need to have the sponge in our cycled tank before it was colonized by enough bacteria to seed the new tank? We just did a water change yesterday, so it will be about a week before we need to do it again. Is a week enough time to prep the sponge filter?

 

[Monzie]

Also, do we need to "size up" on the sponge filter, like we did on the main tank's filter? Or will a sponge filter that is rated for a 5 gal tank actually be sufficient for a 5 gal tank??

 

[Mebbid]

We're currently running an air line through a small bubble stone in the big tank. So I assume I can just replace the stone with the sponge filter...right? Will we still have bubbles in the tank? I'm trying to visualize how a sponge filter even works since a filter is supposed to suck and an air line blows. Hmmmm.... I guess I need to go read more about this.

So, if we go that route, how long would you estimate we'd need to have the sponge in our cycled tank before it was colonized by enough bacteria to seed the new tank? We just did a water change yesterday, so it will be about a week before we need to do it again. Is a week enough time to prep the sponge filter?

The sponge filters work by the air lifting the water through a lift tube. It's odd to visualize without actually seeing one running but the air pulling water through the tube creates suction through the sponge. They are actually very efficient but kind of bulky. As far as size goes it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a bigger size filter.

I would say 2 weeks would give a sponge filter a decent amount of growth, it probably won't be enough for a fully stocked tank off the get go though.

 

[Monzie]

Thanks. I'll pick up a sponge the next time I'm at the LFS and get in the main tank as a "just-in-case" for the future. But I won't count on being able to use it for a while. In the meantime, I guess I'll just continue the fishless cycle I started in the little tank. I took the filter pad out of the HOB last night, while we were doing the water change on the 27 gal, and rubbed it on the inside of the big tank's glass. Not sure whether it picked up any good bacteria but I figured it couldn't hurt to try. Ammo is still at 4 in the little tank and no sign of nitrite. Just gonna wait it out, I guess, and plan to add our tetras in smaller groups once the small tank is ready for 'em.

 

[Mebbid]

Try throwing a handfull of gravel in the cycling tank. Doing that I cycled a tank in a week and a half. Also any rinse water from filter pads is a good source of bacteria

 

[Monzie]

Great. I'll do that.

Hey, speaking of gravel... Do I bury the sponge filter in the gravel or is it exposed? They're kind of ugly and if I can't bury it, I'm going to have to figure out how to hide it.

 

[madams102]

The way a sponge filter works is you connect the air line to the intake of the sponge filter or to a small air stone. The air pushes downward through the intake tube and as it rises it creates bubbles that in turn sucks water into the sponge from the outside in. It is one of the most effective bio filtration devices out there. The bubbles will be larger without an air stone and smaller with an air stone its really your preference.

I believe you could probably seed your new sponge filter within two weeks in an established tank with no problem.