Bacteria Transfer

[Lynnzer]

I have a new 75 ltr tank that I will be setting up over the next couple or three weeks. I would like to start it off more or less in a fish-in cycle as it'll be heavily planted. I'm only talking of Nano fish, ie Dwarf and Emerald Rasbora, perhaps 18 in total so the bioload will be very small.
I have just cleaned out 2 filters into a bowl of tank-water, so no chlorine in it.
What do I need to do to save this for the new tank? It has thick sludge as well as the tank water it was cleaned into. Do I need to keep both the sludge and the water? Then where do I put it when the time comes for the transfer? I intend to run a canister filter on this tank

 

[mbsqw1d]

The bacteria will need feeding ammonia .. how long until you'll be using it? Can it not be kept running in the current tank until then? Or can the media be added to the filter that is in use now? The bacteria are photophobic so be mindful to not keep the media in any direct light.

 

[Lynnzer]

It's going to be at least 2, maybe 3 weeks. Is it the actual sludge/water that I have squeezed out of the filter that I need to work with?
I have sponge filters spare that I could perhaps use in some way to keep things going, but then again if I have the time I think, I may just be best putting one of them into an existing tank to build up a supply for itself. Maybe I could just drop all the stuff into the bottom of the existing canister filter, but that's now being used at present as I have parts on order.

 

[Slaphppy7]

You don't need the "sludge" or the water....just ensure that the sponges/media stay soaking wet (submerged)

I'd put them back into an established, running tank with fish...something as simple as filling a mesh bag, and placing it on the substrate, out of the way, maybe toward the back of the tank...simpler than opening up filters...easy to retrieve when you are ready for it

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have started many tanks by 'cleaning' sponges from a healthy, established tank into the water of a new tank. My friend Byron has reported several times that he has started new tanks with merely lots of plants as plants, especially fast growing (often floating) plants will use ammonia as their nitrogen source so it is not converted to nitrite, then nitrate.

Now the real key is to only add just a fish or two (few) at a time to allow bacteria (and/or plants) to keep pace with the ammonia produced.

I can't really speak to collecting bacteria from media weeks before actually using it in an aquarium. It is generally held by many hobbyists that bacteria may perish rather quickly without food and O2. On the other hand, bacteria is very resilient and may survive longer than anyone thinks - bacteria in a bottle products tend to have a rather long shelf life.

You might find success in putting the slurry that you have collected into a covered container and refrigerating until use. This should put the biology in a stasis of sorts. Mind you that I have never tried this but it seems to make good sense.
Best of luck in starting the new tank.

 

[Lynnzer]

Thanks. I threw trhe stuff away already and have put a 2nd filter in the running tank to build up a second source. It saves a lot of messing around, and doubt.