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Seeding Tanks With Used Sponges

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FishGuest5123

FishGuest5123

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Just wanted to share how quickly you can cycle a tank with seeded material. I set this QT tank up about 3:0O and already have 10ppm nitrates. Note the used sponge/Floss stuffed behind the sponge filter and the used substrate in the panty hose on the gravel. Instant cycle! The sponge filter is brand new too. :)
E1833028-8858-4CB8-AE95-94A9738D8B50.jpeg
7821C066-4D0E-4F89-8655-B9776295ED53.jpeg
 
That is pretty cool. When I want to instant cycler, I usually out a cycled filter cartridge behind my new one.

I never knew you could do it with a sponge filter! :good:
 
Colin_T said:
You only need the filter media (sponge or ceramic beads) to seed another filter. That's one of the reasons I ran AquaClear HOB filters. They can hold 3 sponges and you take one and put it in a new filter and instant cycled tank.
Click to expand...
I use a filter cartridge, as I don't have anything else in the filter - same thing?
 
Just squeezing a cycled filter media into a new filter will kick start a cycle and reduce the duration significantly but my preferred method is to cut a piece of cycled media from an already cycled filter and place it into the new filter. I have cycled many aquarium's this way.
 
I like to run two filters on each of my tanks, as a back up, and so I can pinch filter media whenever I need it. The more heavily stocked one has a double sponge filter with biomedia compartments underneath the sponges, plus a small canister filter for extra cleaning power. Other tank is a quarantine/grow out tank and has frequent water changes, so a single sponge filter and a HOB with sponges and ceramic rings in it is plenty.

I don't like to run airstones on their own. Why bother when I can attach a sponge filter to that air pump and it'll do the job of an airstone, plus add filtration, and the fish and shrimp love it too? I had an air pump stop working once, so having a second filter on there gives me piece of mind that if one conks out, the other will keep things ticking over. The more filtration, the better, and it's handy when anything goes wrong or you want to jump start a cycle.
 
A hundred years ago (or so it seems) I saw a Youtube video of employee's in a pet store 'instant cycling' a new tank by cleaning sponge material from an established, healthy tank in the new tank water. Enough BB is aparently released to do the deed as long as new stock is introduced slowly. I've done this several times now with 100% success. (Like 'bacteria in a bottle' makes much more sense than ammonia and 6-8 weeks!)
Now in this case, I'm with @Colin_T and wonder about nitrates in the source water.
 
Will you be feeding the bb with ammonia or will you be adding fish very soon?
You dont want bb to die off.
 
Nearly every tank I've set up has been done with old media - apart from the one I am doing now and my first tank I fishless cycled in 2009. Not having access to established media now is so so so painful! Having real issues with my current fishless cycle - to the point I've decided to move to a silent cycle with plants.

Lesson learned - unless you are 1000% sure you will never have a tank again never get rid of all your tanks. I was merely 999% certain and that 1% creeped back in and now I'm kicking myself!

Wills :)
 
Fishmanic said:
Will you be feeding the bb with ammonia or will you be adding fish very soon?
You dont want bb to die off.
Click to expand...
I was suppose to get fish today but they didn’t have my whole order so I cancelled. Now I have to add ammonia every few days to keep bacteria going until next week. Added 8 drops today and it gave me 2ppm. Will watch next couple of days. Only 20 tiny neon tetras going in.
 
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