New Tank

[redkev]

i have had a big tank running for 1 year and all is well. i have placed a small tank under the big one, which is going to be either a fry tank as i like livebearers or for a pair of fighters. my big tank has a foam filter and is in 2 bits. if i was to do this could i put fish in straight away?

 

[OldMan47]

You can quickly cycle a new tank by taking some of the media from an established tank and placing it in the new filter as you suggest. It will not be instant but can easily take a fishless cycle from a month or two down to maybe a week or even less. It is well worth doing so that you can reduce the wait and stock much sooner.

 

[ox5477]

actually, if the media has been in the main tank then it is all set to go. Just take some of the big tanks media (enough to fill the requirements for the new filter) and place it in the filter for the small tank and fish can be added instantly. Make sure your main tank still has enough media though as you don't want to start having ammonia probs in the big tank. If you want too, always have a small filter running on the big tank, and when you need the little tank, you can just move the small filter to the small tank and your ready to go. This is ideal when dealing with a quarentine or fry situation

 

[redkev]

so, as my big tank filter is in 2 i could use half in the small filter and it would be ready to go. is this correct?

 

[ox5477]

if the media has been running in the main tank for over a few months, then your good to go by just putting the media in a smaller filter and placing on the smaller tank. But remember, don't short change your big tank by taking too much media away.