Fluval 404 and seeding

[PK Tester]

Hey all...

I was wondering if I could hook my fluval 404 up to my 10 gallon to seed it for my 40 gallon.

I know its overkill but I have plans to have a large amount of fish.

Would it be safe to hook it up to the 10 gal?

[PK Tester]

well nevermind cutting the adapter hose poses a big problem

[BASSNMAN]

You might take some of the media out of your present filter and put it in the cannister when you start up the 40. Fish or fishless cycle? You can also bag some of your old gravel and use some of your old water to get things going.

[PK Tester]

Bass I plan to add gravel from old tanks, float bio-wheels, and add a well seeded sponge filter.

This will be a fish cycle...but theres a lot of supply of bacteria already so I hope there will not be much of a cycle

[vega]

the water current might be strong. a long spay bar would help a lots

[TankGirl]

I think you would have water all over the floor if you were able to hook it up, anyway - the current would churn right up over the sides of that 10.

Your plan to use media and gravel will help a whole lot - I find that very dirty, filthy filter floss is as good as a pouch of Bio-Spira. When I am ready to start a new tank I use the filter floss from a tank that is well overdue for a floss change - the dirtier the better!

[PK Tester]

TG do you think the fluval 404 will causes any problems with my 40g?

[TomK2]

TG do you think the fluval 404 will causes any problems with my 40g?

None at all. You will love it. Put that old used filter sponge in the chamber before your biomedia and your bio-filter will be jump started. The real question is by how much? I wouldnt put the tank at 100% capacity right away. Maybe someone knows guidelines for how much stock in a newly seeded biofilter? TG?

[TankGirl]

Agree with Tom completely - the 404 is no problem for the 40gal, just too much for the 10

You should start out slowly stocking, as mentioned, and I try to think about it like this: If you are taking media out of a 20gal tank to seed a 40gal, for instance, then stock the 40 a bit shy of how the 20 is stocked, so you don't overload your media, and increase slowly over weeks from there.

Think of the seed material as being able to handle a load similar to the tank where it came from, minus a little, since there is more bacteria in the donor tank than just in the filter. Adding slowly gives the bacteria a chance to multiply equal to the increase in ammonia produced.

[PK Tester]

TnakGirl...I agree.

The 12 gal that I am pulling the sponge filter from has about 50 ~ 60 guppies that are all healthy. I need to give some to the pet store or away to some people!

Don't yell at me for so many fish I do almost every other day water changes and have no problems