Going to start cycling my tank

[Connershawzz]

My tanks been sitting dry after a deep clean after my bichir passed , I just want a few different opinions on what to do. My tanks almost been sitting for a week with nothing in it , and I was thinking today I was going to start cycling my tank again , it’s going to be strictly bichir in it. I’m trying to decide if I should do a nice sand substrate like I had before or just no substrate at all. I have only 1 bichir now who got shipped in. He’s hanging in my breeder tank till I can get this one cycled lol. And sadly I got gifted another one who is on his way. So I’d like to try and start getting this cycled for a few weeks before I have to transfer them

 

[Colin_T]

Can you take some of the filter media from the established tank and use it on the new tank so it's an instant cycle?

If you lose all the fish in the tank then it's a good idea to flush the tank out and dry it for a week before setting it back up. This reduces the chance of the same disease killing new tank mates. Flushing the tank out simply means removing everything from the aquarium and washing it all under tap water. Let it dry, then set it back up.

 

[Connershawzz]

Can you take some of the filter media from the established tank and use it on the new tank so it's an instant cycle?

If you lose all the fish in the tank then it's a good idea to flush the tank out and dry it for a week before setting it back up. This reduces the chance of the same disease killing new tank mates. Flushing the tank out simply means removing everything from the aquarium and washing it all under tap water. Let it dry, then set it back up.

Yup that’s exactly what I did , it’s been cycling 2 days now , and the filters are a big size difference sadly.

 

[jaylach]

Yup that’s exactly what I did , it’s been cycling 2 days now , and the filters are a big size difference sadly.

What kind of filters? If sponge you could cut off pieces of established sponge from another tank and the replace the missing sponge parts in the source tank. Also, if you rely on ceramics for your bacteria bed you could move some of the established ceramics to the new setup.

In my case I use mostly under gravel filtration so I'd just move some of the substrate from the old tank to new but the type of filtration is not important. What is important is if your filtration allows you to move established media from one tank to another.

 

[stuhyde]

I'm going to be giving Nitrico a go tomorrow for my uncycled tank.
Will be under stocking the tank, feeding minimally to begin with and keeping a close eye on the water params.

 

[Connershawzz]

What kind of filters? If sponge you could cut off pieces of established sponge from another tank and the replace the missing sponge parts in the source tank. Also, if you rely on ceramics for your bacteria bed you could move some of the established ceramics to the new setup.

In my case I use mostly under gravel filtration so I'd just move some of the substrate from the old tank to new but the type of filtration is not important. What is important is if your filtration allows you to move established media from one tank to another.

I’m buying a aquaclear 50 here next week , I’m currently using a silent stream 40 which came my set my up a while back. And ya I’ve been doing minimal feeding and the bichir are super happy less stressed and eating it all up right away which is better then last time. Got my water tested a few different places , and everything is perfect. So I’ll just go light on feedings , then maybe add some stuff when I get my new filter set up. How would I go about adding my new filter to my established tank?