odd cycling question

[Hoplesswfish]

I have a seven gallon tank I just bought a 55 gallon tank so it is not cycled. If I want to put the fish from the seven gallon in to the 55 gallon if I add every thing (gravel fish and water) to the 55 gallon do I still have to cycle the 55 gallon first? I hope you undersand all that if not I will try to explain it again.

 

[The-Wolf]

the gravel will help but even more crucial is the filter media, this is where most of the bacteria lives and it is this that you need to transplant to the new tank.

do not overload the new set up too fast as this will cause the cycle to crash and then you will have to re-cycle it.
HTH

 

[WILDER]

What fish do you have in the 7 gal.

 

[Hoplesswfish]

2white clouds 1otto and 2 neons what If I put the filter cartrage and the water and not the gravel would that be better? I would just put the fish I have now in there for now. How long should I wait to put in new fish?

 

[BobK]

I'd add some gravel too if possible. If you don't want to mix up the old and new gravel you could put some in an old (clean) stocking and then drop it into the new tank. I'd wait two weeks while testing the water frequently just to make sure you don't go through a mini-cycle. Once you're sure the water chemistry is stable I'd add new fish slowly to give the bio-filter time to "catch up". Maybe add fish in pairs or three's. What types of fish did you plan on adding? That's an important consideration as some fish place a much greater bio-load on the filter/tank than others.

 

[Hoplesswfish]

Im not shure yet do you have any good ideas for tank mates?

 

[Hoplesswfish]

ok I added every thing to my tank and am going to wait the two weeks and test the water but I tested it today after adding all the water gravel and filter media and the 55 gallon tank and the 7 gallon tank have the same results but then I tested my tap water and it is the same to 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate how do I know if it ok to put fish in.

 

[gale]

ok I added every thing to my tank and am going to wait the two weeks and test the water but I tested it today after adding all the water gravel and filter media and the 55 gallon tank and the 7 gallon tank have the same results but then I tested my tap water and it is the same to 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate how do I know if it ok to put fish in.

You need to put at least a couple of fish in there-the bacteria need something to feed on and the ammonia produced by the fish is what they need.