New tank cycle, help please

[TropicalNewbie442]

I got a new tank Friday, it was also water change day for my current tank (been setup for 12 months, also bought this second hand but came with water he was using).
I've never cycled a tank before.
So I filled a bucket with around 12 litres of tap water and squeezed the filter sponge from current tank in this water.
I put the new aquarium filter in and had that running all day Friday. Saturday morning I put the 12 litres in the new tank aswell as 46 litres to fill the tank and put the filter in.
Unsure if this is the right way to do it, but how long before I can add fish to the new tank?
Tap safe was also used in new tank.

 

[Rocky998]

I got a new tank Friday, it was also water change day for my current tank (been setup for 12 months, also bought this second hand but came with water he was using).
I've never cycled a tank before.
So I filled a bucket with around 12 litres of tap water and squeezed the filter sponge from current tank in this water.
I put the new aquarium filter in and had that running all day Friday. Saturday morning I put the 12 litres in the new tank aswell as 46 litres to fill the tank and put the filter in.
Unsure if this is the right way to do it, but how long before I can add fish to the new tank?
Tap safe was also used in new tank.

I appreciate you trying to cycle the tank but that isn't going to do much in the process of the nitrogen cycle.
You can move some of the used filter media over to that tank. But just squeezing a sponge into water dirties it.
The bacteria are firmly on surfaces such as that sponge you squeezed. They wont come off very easily. So squeezing is just releasing debris in there

 

[Aqua67]

Unless your tap water includes chlorine, and then you just killed all the beneficial bacteria on the filter sponge. Did you use Tap Safe to do this? Using the existing tank water from a cycled tank is usually the way to go.

Testing your water will tell you when you can safely add fish. When you see the ammonia spike and then fall, you’ll be good to add fish.

You can speed along the cycling if you use some of the filter floss from your existing aquarium. I’m not sure if you had the new filter running in your existing aquarium or not, but if you did, that can help speed along the cycling.

If you’re using the same substrate from the last person and it has stayed wet while moving the aquarium to your house you may speed cycling along also. If their tank was empty and dry, then you’re starting from scratch there. Also, if there is concerns about a previous problem in that tank, you may be cleaning substrate and starting from scratch anyway.

 

[Byron]

Plants willhelp you and avoid any "cycling" issues if you have them. Floating plants are best because being fast growing they take up as much ammonia as the fish can produce, and more.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Swishing out a durty sponge will provide bacteria. I have done this many of times. However, what it will do is give you a bit of a jump start. However the rest of what you did was nor right.

1. Fill the new tanks with water at a proper temp and dechlored. Use a dechlor that doesn't last long, like Prime.
2. Run the filter and heater on the tank for at least 36 hours.
3. Turn out tank light is they are on.
4. Get an ammonia or ammonium chloride ssource and add 2 -3 ppm of ammonia to the tank.
5. Swish out the sponge from the filter in the going tank.
6. From there you can pretty much follow the direction on this site for a fishless cycle, bear in mind the sponge swishing will somewhat alter the results. That swish will ad some number of both the ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria. https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
7. After 24 hours of swishing you can turn the light on if you want but there is no need.

The other option is yt use live plants and then stock gradually. A completed fishless mcycle will let you fully stoack all at once.