new to the game

[Pigeonjock]

Hi all,

I am new to the fish game and after starting with a small tank 5/6 weeks ago I have now got a Juwel 400 with a Fluval FX6 filter on it (no fish currently in)the filter has got media in from a previous filter and also bogwood from a previously established tank.The fish are currently in the smaller tankuntil ready to moveover,so would you suggest me rinsing out the sponges from the tank the fish are currently in onto the Juwel 400,and adding seachem prime and stability to shorten the cycle?

any advice is appreciated

cheers

Scott

 

[eaglesaquarium]

If you are not planning to keep the smaller tank going with fish, or are moving ALL the fish over to the bigger tank, I'd suggest moving ALL the filter media from the small tank into the large tank. You can squeeze them into the bigger tank if you wish... getting a bit of mulm in the bottom of a new tank is always a good idea, especially if you plan to add some real plants at some time in the future.


The filter media doesn't have to be designed for the bigger tank to work in there, it just needs to have good water flow through it. Get a little creative... cut as necessary, etc. It will definitely fit in some way or another. This will bring all the bacteria from that filter over and should make the new tank ready for fish. (I say should because some fish require a more developed ecosystem to be able to cope with the transfer to a different tank. But, the ammonia/nitrite that these fish are creating should be handled by the filter in the new tank with the old media.)


And in the event that the filter media didn't deal with all the ammonia/nitrite previously in the old tank, it will be more diluted in the larger tank, and therefore, still be better for the fish than their current situation.


As for additives to speed up the cycle... I don't recommend Prime or Stability for that purpose. Instead, I'd suggest Tetra SafeStart or Dr Tim's One and Only Bacterial starter. Tim Havonec worked for Tetra when he figured out which bacteria it was that did the denitrification process in a fish tank. Then he left Tetra to start his own company. Those are the only two companies that I know of, that have the 'correct' species of bacteria in their bottle. And therefore, the other stuff are 'temporary fixes' and will actually be competing with the proper bacteria for a while, and likely would need to be added again. One bottle of Tetra SS or Dr. Tim's should be enough. But, follow their directions. No water changes for some period of time (I forget how long... a couple days, up to a week, I think) because these bacteria need time to adhere to surfaces. That's where they normally live. And it will take a day or so before you'd notice any benefit from them, as they need to get 'comfortable' in their new surroundings before they can start to process ammonia/nitrite.

Good luck and Welcome!

 

[nic1]

You could do, but don't rinse them out too well in the new tank that you deplete the good bacteria for the little tank.. I never 100% clean my filters, and only do so once every 6 months (I have two in one tank and don't clean them both at the same time, so I keep enough of the good bacteria to keep everything running smoothly)...... You could, when you do a water change in the little tank, use the old water to swish the old filter pads in and dump that water into the big tank.
Do you have any snails? I usually throw them in the new tank when it's cycling, they are pretty hardy and keep a little run of waste on going....

 

[Pigeonjock]

If you are not planning to keep the smaller tank going with fish, or are moving ALL the fish over to the bigger tank, I'd suggest moving ALL the filter media from the small tank into the large tank. You can squeeze them into the bigger tank if you wish... getting a bit of mulm in the bottom of a new tank is always a good idea, especially if you plan to add some real plants at some time in the future.


The filter media doesn't have to be designed for the bigger tank to work in there, it just needs to have good water flow through it. Get a little creative... cut as necessary, etc. It will definitely fit in some way or another. This will bring all the bacteria from that filter over and should make the new tank ready for fish. (I say should because some fish require a more developed ecosystem to be able to cope with the transfer to a different tank. But, the ammonia/nitrite that these fish are creating should be handled by the filter in the new tank with the old media.)


And in the event that the filter media didn't deal with all the ammonia/nitrite previously in the old tank, it will be more diluted in the larger tank, and therefore, still be better for the fish than their current situation.


As for additives to speed up the cycle... I don't recommend Prime or Stability for that purpose. Instead, I'd suggest Tetra SafeStart or Dr Tim's One and Only Bacterial starter. Tim Havonec worked for Tetra when he figured out which bacteria it was that did the denitrification process in a fish tank. Then he left Tetra to start his own company. Those are the only two companies that I know of, that have the 'correct' species of bacteria in their bottle. And therefore, the other stuff are 'temporary fixes' and will actually be competing with the proper bacteria for a while, and likely would need to be added again. One bottle of Tetra SS or Dr. Tim's should be enough. But, follow their directions. No water changes for some period of time (I forget how long... a couple days, up to a week, I think) because these bacteria need time to adhere to surfaces. That's where they normally live. And it will take a day or so before you'd notice any benefit from them, as they need to get 'comfortable' in their new surroundings before they can start to process ammonia/nitrite.

Good luck and Welcome!

Cheers for the explanation I appreciate it

 

[Pigeonjock]

You could do, but don't rinse them out too well in the new tank that you deplete the good bacteria for the little tank.. I never 100% clean my filters, and only do so once every 6 months (I have two in one tank and don't clean them both at the same time, so I keep enough of the good bacteria to keep everything running smoothly)...... You could, when you do a water change in the little tank, use the old water to swish the old filter pads in and dump that water into the big tank.
Do you have any snails? I usually throw them in the new tank when it's cycling, they are pretty hardy and keep a little run of waste on going....

I am not keeping the old tank going

 

[Ingrid]

You could put shrimps and plants in the old tank

 

[FishGuest5123]

Just don’t rinse the filter media in tap water. The chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria. Welcome to our forum.”

 

[FishGuest5123]

Just don’t rinse the filter media in tap water. The chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria. Welcome to our forum.”