Cycling 40 gallon tank using my 10 gal?

[bloodlucky]

OK so I'm getting a 40 gallon and I'm trying to reduce the amount of time to cycle by introducing media from my 10 gal

I thought of a few ways:

1. Moving all my decor/live plants from the 10 to the 40

2. Moving a lot of my substrate from the 10 to the 40

3. Taking my filter cartridge out of my Aqueon 10 gallon filter and swishing it around my 40 gallon

4. Moving some of my water from the 10 to the 40


Is there any other methods I missed? Even using techniques like these, how long would you say the cycle would take? Should I still do it fishlessly?

 

[Zimmanski]

This is a great thread, I was going to ask the same questions because I'm upgrading from a 30 to 55. I had another idea where I soak the 2 new filter pads in my 30g for a week then put them in the filter for my new tank when I get it. I hope someone has some awesome advice!

 

[Chronos313]

I went from a 30 to a 55 and what I did was I used my new filter on my 30 and had the filter from my 30 inside it for roughly two weeks and I seeded that way. I had no issues once I did the complete switch

 

[andresdeo]

If you follow all the points you mention and introduce your stock gradually I believe it could be an instant cycle. If you get the filtre you plan on using on your new tank in advanced you could run it for a week or two in your 10 gal and that would help seed the new filtre as well. Hope you post some photos of your upgrade.

 

[bloodlucky]

If you follow all the points you mention and introduce your stock gradually I believe it could be an instant cycle. If you get the filtre you plan on using on your new tank in advanced you could run it for a week or two in your 10 gal and that would help seed the new filtre as well. Hope you post some photos of your upgrade.

So your saying I run my 40 gallon filter in my cycled 10 gallon? That's actually really smart. But wouldn't I have to take off the lid since there isn't another slot for a filter

Aqueon kind of limits a lot of things like that

 

[andresdeo]

Yes I guess it would depend on your tank and filtre specs, but if you post some photos we might figure something out.

 

[Chronos313]

I have an aqueon 55 filter and it has two internal slots for filter pads. what I did since there was enough internal space was I added the bio sponge and filter pad from my tetra whisper 30 and seeded that way. I only ran one filter

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

OK so I'm getting a 40 gallon and I'm trying to reduce the amount of time to cycle by introducing media from my 10 gal

I thought of a few ways:

1. Moving all my decor/live plants from the 10 to the 40

2. Moving a lot of my substrate from the 10 to the 40

3. Taking my filter cartridge out of my Aqueon 10 gallon filter and swishing it around my 40 gallon

4. Moving some of my water from the 10 to the 40


Is there any other methods I missed? Even using techniques like these, how long would you say the cycle would take? Should I still do it fishlessly?

Hello Bob...

Moving items from your cycled 10 G to a much larger tank will help cycle the new tank a little. However, don't add more than a few small fish to the new tank. You don't want to overload the good bacteria you have, that would cause an ammonia spike and even a trace of ammonia in the water is enough to kill your fish.

The good bacteria will grow quickly, but you'll still need to test the water daily and if you have a trace of ammonia or nitrites in the water, you'll need to change a minimum of 25 percent of the tank volume to bring the water chemistry back into the "safe zone" for your fish, and never add more fish to the tank until you have several tests showing "0" for the above pollutants.

If you can get some floating plants like Anacharis, Water wisteria or Pennywort into the tank, that will help the cycling process.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B

 

[bloodlucky]

Hello Bob...

Moving items from your cycled 10 G to a much larger tank will help cycle the new tank a little. However, don't add more than a few small fish to the new tank. You don't want to overload the good bacteria you have, that would cause an ammonia spike and even a trace of ammonia in the water is enough to kill your fish.

The good bacteria will grow quickly, but you'll still need to test the water daily and if you have a trace of ammonia or nitrites in the water, you'll need to change a minimum of 25 percent of the tank volume to bring the water chemistry back into the "safe zone" for your fish, and never add more fish to the tank until you have several tests showing "0" for the above pollutants.

If you can get some floating plants like Anacharis, Water wisteria or Pennywort into the tank, that will help the cycling process.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B

Would you recommend a good fishless cycle before adding any fish? I plan on stocking my tank with fish that aren't hardy

 

[bloodlucky]

Hello. I decided to show you my filtration system






It is the Aqueon QuietFlow 10. Once a cartridge gets dirty, you replace it.

The bio holster (the blue thing with a bunch of holes) contains beneficial bacteria and is not to be move out of water

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

When I upgraded from a 5 gallon to my 37 gallon, I ran my aqua clear 50 in my 5 gallon for a week. Added 30% of my water from my 5 gallon to my 37 as well as rocks and decor.
I ran everything in my 37 gallon for 48 hours- no fish.
My parameters were prefect after 24 but I didn't want to chance it.
I added my 4 platy's and my pleco from my 5 gallon and called it a day.

Hope that helps you!

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Cycling

Would you recommend a good fishless cycle before adding any fish? I plan on stocking my tank with fish that aren't hardy

Hello again...

I've always used hardy fish to cycle a tank and never had problems, because I tested the tank water daily and changed out the water when needed. I would recommend getting back to the forum and ask about a "Fishless Cycle".

B

 

[Zimmanski]

Another thought, if it hasn't already been said. Obviously when you upgrade to a bigger tank you'll need to have more substrate, so since I'll be getting my 55 in 2 weeks I went ahead and bought the substrate and put it in my old tank and mixed it around. This and with all the other stuff I and everyone else said should make a tank cycle in record time. Like buying a seeded filter on super steroidal crack.

 

[bloodlucky]

When I upgraded from a 5 gallon to my 37 gallon, I ran my aqua clear 50 in my 5 gallon for a week. Added 30% of my water from my 5 gallon to my 37 as well as rocks and decor.
I ran everything in my 37 gallon for 48 hours- no fish.
My parameters were prefect after 24 but I didn't want to chance it.
I added my 4 platy's and my pleco from my 5 gallon and called it a day.

Hope that helps you!

So wait you didn't need any additional media besides running your 37 gallon filter in your cycled 5 gallon tank?

 

[bloodlucky]

Hello again...

I've always used hardy fish to cycle a tank and never had problems, because I tested the tank water daily and changed out the water when needed. I would recommend getting back to the forum and ask about a "Fishless Cycle".

B

I agree I just don't have any hardy fish

I have platys, neon tetra, guppy, ghost shrimp, snail and more platy

None can be used to cycle

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

What fish aare hardy enough to cycle with? I always thought platies were hardy lol

 

[andresdeo]

If you are going to cycle traditionally from scratch use the fishless method. If you do it how has been mentioned in the thread I believe there wont be much of a cycle and you could introduce the fish gradually no problem. If you are unsure, read up on fishless cycling and accelerate it by using seeding material from your old 10 gal. But try to refrain from cycling with fish, hardy or not.

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

I used the filter, substrate, decorations and 30% of the water from my 5 gallon.
I did the testing with liquid testing ( strips give me false readings when I compared both ). And since I was adding my fish from my 5 gallon they didn't have a problem.
I've since added 2 more and will continue to add more slowly.
And it's been almost 6 weeks now since I started the 37 gallon and everything is great.

You can do it that way, but you have to test your water. Fish in cycle is hard and sometimes cruel ( IMO ).

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

 

[bloodlucky]

I used the filter, substrate, decorations and 30% of the water from my 5 gallon.
I did the testing with liquid testing ( strips give me false readings when I compared both ). And since I was adding my fish from my 5 gallon they didn't have a problem.
I've since added 2 more and will continue to add more slowly.
And it's been almost 6 weeks now since I started the 37 gallon and everything is great.

You can do it that way, but you have to test your water. Fish in cycle is hard and sometimes cruel ( IMO ).

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

So wait just double checking. I run my new 40 gallon filter in my cycled 10 gallon tank, right? PURE GENIUS. I've never hear of this theory before. I've heard of running my 10 gallon filter in my 40 gallon tank but of course that leaves my tank unfiltered and the 40 with a very small amount of beneficial bacteria but your method would be a lot more successful

For about how long should I run the 40 filter in my 10 gallon?

 

[bloodlucky]

What fish aare hardy enough to cycle with? I always thought platies were hardy lol

Meh someone said danios