Bacteria trasfer with filter media question.

[SCFatz]

Ok...I have a 29g

And and just kicked off a 50 fw hex:

I bought the rena xp3 as suggested.

I had an o ring fail on my hob for the 29 so I bought a new one and upgraded about two weeks ago.I saved the cartridge from the old one and kept it in the housing of my new marine land hob in anticipation of a new tank and the need for bacteria transfer.

Heres what i did.
After the tank was ready I added fish.While they were acclimating in the bags I removed the old filter cartridge and put it in one of the empty baskets in the xp3 and restarted the filter.Then I released the fish.

The first test to show anything at all is the Am test tonight at about .25 ppm.The fish were added sunday so its been three days.

Should I have waited for Am before adding the old filter?Did too many days without food kill off the bacteria?Or are these results to be expected?

The 29g is very populated and I added a total of 9 inces of fish to the new hex.

What to do next?add more media or wait?

Thanks as always,

 

[Lonewolfblue]

It's possible some of the bacteria died. Just keep a close eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels. If some survived, then you might only see a small cycle period. Just try to keep the ammonia levels below 1ppm, .5ppm preferably. And nice tank.....

Would you still be able to run the old filter on the tank with the XP3? Is there other media in it? If there is, then you could run them side-by-side, or put all the media that was in the old filter into the XP3.

 

[Menagerie]

I need a few things clarified.

I saved the cartridge from the old one and kept it in the housing of my new marine land hob in anticipation of a new tank and the need for bacteria transfer.

Did the filter ever dry out? Was this running on the tank with fish? If the filter ran without fish--how long?

 

[SCFatz]

Thanks wolf....yeah it will will overly tested and kept in check....but what did I miss?Or is this to be expected?

Its my first ever transfer attempt but I have read heaps about it.
(Too much I thought,but perhaps not enough lol)

Edit...
never dry..always on the 29 w/fish,either with the old hob or this one.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you have more media, add more. Also, if you have a new sock, put some of the old gravel in it and stick it in the corner of the tank, or if enough room in the XP3, could do that too. Anything to get more bacteria in the system.

 

[tmcgee]

You did do everything correct just realize you will see a mini cycle because
1. You did reduce the amount of bacteria a little bit because there was some housed in the substrate of the 29 gallon.
2. You added a few more fish so even if you had the very same setup of filter/substrate and everything, you added a larger bioload to the system. The bacteria should catch up quickly but until it does just check it and do water changes a little more often than usual.

Good luck and nice tank!!

 

[SCFatz]

Thanks guys.

Tested at .25 ammonia again today.So heres what I did.I bought a new cartridge for the penguin with the bio wheel.I put it in the hob on the 29 and then I took the one that has been in there for weeks and added it to the xp3.

I feel sure that between the bio wheel and substrate the 29 will be fine.
Hopefully this new media will put me over the top in the 50.

I'll post results again tomorrow either way.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Thanks guys.

Tested at .25 ammonia again today.So heres what I did.I bought a new cartridge for the penguin with the bio wheel.I put it in the hob on the 29 and then I took the one that has been in there for weeks and added it to the xp3.

I feel sure that between the bio wheel and substrate the 29 will be fine.
Hopefully this new media will put me over the top in the 50.

I'll post results again tomorrow either way.

The 29G will be absolutely fine. Your primary defense there is the gravel and the biowheel. There's no need for the cartrige other than mechanical filtration. Most of your ammonia removal is via the bacteria on the biowheel and on the substrate. The cartrige only counts as a very small part. You won't see any new cycle occurring.

 

[SCFatz]

almost forgot....tested at .25 am again tonight.O nitrites.I'll keep posting results if anyone is interested.

 

[SCFatz]

I'm there..0 am or just over...just a hnt of green... very hard to notice.
Nitrites 0 and just under five on nitrates.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Looking good......