Can I start my 10G tanks this way?

[spoonman]

Hey all. I am starting 2 10 gallon tanks for my daughters and am wondering if I can start their tanks by putting their HOB filters on my 84G established tank for 3 or 4 weeks to let a good bacterial colony build up in them, then put together their tanks and move the filters to their tanks with dechlored water and a couple of fish. Then over the next weeks add a couple fish at a time until I have 10 or so small fish in each. I figure the fish would provide the needed bioload to keep the bacteria growing and it would adjust to the smaller tank and be ok. I would of course keep an eye on the parameters and make sure they were good. I dont see why this wouldnt work. I may be wrong. Please let me know if I am way off base here. Or have I stumbled on a great idea. Eureka!!!

 

[mgamer20o0]

you can take some of the media out of the filter that way you can start right away. but yes you can put the hobs on the 84 then move them over.

 

[kangster]

just a question...but can you also place a plant/plants instead of a filter media?
will that provide enough bacteria to start filtering out ammonia?

 

[mgamer20o0]

start but not with fish. there is something called a silent cycle where you put a bunch of fast growing plants in once the start to grow add the fish slowly where the plants use up the ammonia. a single plant or a couple plants really wont cut it for the most part.

 

[Fromthelbc]

start but not with fish. there is something called a silent cycle where you put a bunch of fast growing plants in once the start to grow add the fish slowly where the plants use up the ammonia. a single plant or a couple plants really wont cut it for the most part.

anarchis works good for this method...

 

[kangster]

i was really asking in terms of the beneficial bacteria on the surface of the plants...leaves and stems...
i guess the surface area would be too small for that purpose...

i heard the plants only use up ammonia and nitrate...so is there going to be a nitrite spike phase with the silent cycling method?

 

[mgamer20o0]

no not a nitrite spike. this should only be done with more advanced fish/plant keepers. seeding it from the other tanks is the safest way.

 

[Nippy Fish]

You can use a filter from your larger tank that has existing bacteria in it, but your 10g will still go through a new tank cycle. It won't have enough bacteria in it to avoid the cycle, it will only help it go through a little faster. If you really want to speed up the process, also use a few handfuls of substrate from your larger tank, and use a nitrifying bacterial product. I cycled a 20 gallon tank in 11 days this way, without fish. I also added a few pieces of driftwood from an existing tank and I added a tiny pinch of flake food every day (this was my ammonia source), increasing the amount each day until I reached the amount I would be feeding my target population of fish. I tested every day and watched the tank go the the nitrogen cycle, and on day 11 the parameters were ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10. I was able to add all the fish on day 12.