Setting up my old 10 gal

[abe]

I'm going to set up my 10 gallon tank, so I can put my baby mollys & betta in it. I have never done a fishless cycle, as I never knew anything about it until I came to this forum. Anyway, I have a question.

How long does it take for the bacteria to get onto gravel? I was thinking of putting some in a mesh baggie & letting it sit in my established aquarium, so how long does it have to sit there?

 

[corrosive]

Im currently doing a fishless cycle... Ive put some gravel from my cycled tank into the new tank, and also some of the water as well.

Putting cycled filter media in the tank helps big time too.

 

[Aquascaper]

You should leave the mature gravel in the new tank for about 2 weeks to allow the bacteria to colonise the new substrate.
It would help speed things up if you could add some mature filter medium from the existing tank into the new filter as well.

You will need to 'feed' the bacteria while they colonise the new tank so you are going to either have to add neat ammonia (fishless cycle) or have fish in there.
Whenever i've set up a new tank it has cycled within a few days when using old substrate and filter medium and I have had fish in the tank from day one.

HTH

 

[corrosive]

What do you do then? just slice a couple of cm of filter media or something?

 

[Aquascaper]

I didn't bother doing that

Just before I transferred the fish I took the filter pad out of an existing tank and squeezed all the crap out of it into the intake of the new filter.

The tank was cycled within 3 days

 

[abe]

Actually my old filter (from the 10 gallon) was still hanging on the back of my new one, I just turned it on. Once I transfer the 10g filter to the 10g, I'll squeeze the poo from the 20g filter into it just in case.

Also put some new gravel in the established tank, so i can sprinkle it over the new gravel in the new tank, and also add some old gravel. Does this sound ok?

i can't wait

 

[nino]

so are you cycling with ammonia? or just adding old filter media?