what is the best way to cycle a new aquarium using old tank materials?

Question

im upgrading my tank soon to a larger one, i had many problems setting up my new tank (i was naive about the cycle and only listened to what the local aquatic centre told me...bad idea!) ...obviously now ive wised up to it. Is it possible to buy a new filter sponge and place it in the old aquarium along with the existing on for a week or so? would this be benificial? would it upset the levels in my old tank? im also going to use the gravel from my old tank and all the plants and ornaments.
i plan to monitor nitrite daily and ill not pus the fish in until it is safe, but i was just looking for any tips or advise that might speed up the process a litttle.
thank you for any help

Answer 1

That's a very good idea to run the new filter on the old tank for a while. I would run it there for about a week to get a little bacteria going. use all the old material you can, including gravel, heaters etc without letting them dry out. Also use some of the water from the old tank to make moving stuff over to the new one easier. Move as much water as you can, then the gravel and decor, then the filter etc and lastly the fish. No need to wait about moving the fish to the new tank if you have kept the old graveland filter materials wet and not let them sit in a bucket for a day or something.

Sum it up, Use as much old stuff as you can, keep it wet and move quickly. Doing this will basically move the cycle from one tank to the other.

MM

Answer 2

All your ideas are right on the dot. The sponge filter should run in the old tank for as long as possible,and should not upset the balance in the old tank. You might hasten the cycling process with a few drops of plain ammonia in some form or another,that way when you see nitrites rising for a few days you will know that the second stage of bacterial growth has started. All of the items from the old tank should be added "as is" so to transfer the bacteria colonies intact. When the nitrites start down the cycle is nearly complete. I don't have an idea about how long the process will take,and perhaps you could forgo the added ammonia and add one or two of the hardier fish, gradually raising the bioload over a period of several weeks. If you are careful about monitoring the nitrites that should work too. The other ingredient is good oxygenation, it's what the bacteria need to grow.------I hope this is some help,good luck. It's really good to hear of a tank that's being setup without torturing fish.-----PeeTee

Answer 3

It would help speed up the process to have a filter with already established bacteria. It shouldn't cause too much of a problem with your established tank. However, you may end up purchasing a new tank hook because you'll have to fit the other filter in there somehow.

Also taking some of the gravel from your currently established tank and putting it in the new tank will also help. You can put some in a small piece of nylon ,like stockings, or a small nylon bag like the ones used for aquatic filter media. I

f you can get your hands on some non-sudsy ammonia you can cycle the tank without fish. I found non-sudsy ammonia at Walmart (Walmart brand Clear Ammonia) of all places. Just make sure it's not the soapy kind (you can read the label and also shaking the bottle helps). The other thing to help it out would be to get "Freshwater Biozyme," which is bacteria you add on a daily basis until the tank cycles. There is an excellent article about "fishless cycling" on this website: http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php.
Also on the nitrogen cycle: http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ciclo.php

As always this will take several weeks of patient waiting and testing but it pays off in the end. You also won't harm any fish in the process.

**** Luck!

Answer 4

When setting up a new tank, I always use water and filter media from an existing tank to kick-start the new one. Gravel is a good idea, there is lots of beneficial bacteria living down in there.

I would not hesitate to add a small school (4-5) of zebra danios to the new tank as soon as you have the water and filter media in it from the old tank. They will help by adding some ammonia that the bacteria need to stay alive. They are tough little guys and will look good in the new tank after they help cycle it.

Each of the three toxins will spike during the cycling (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate), but probably not too high if you are using old water and filter media. I would guess that a week with the danios and old stuff would be plenty long enough before you add more fish.

Be sure to acclimate new fish by adding a cup of water every 15 minutes for 2 hours before putting them into the tank. Also, never use fish store water in your tank. Always net the fish out of the bag and put them into the tank, discarding the water in the fish store bag.

I usually add my fish the same day I set up the new tank. I use plastic air driven box filters that I can just transfer from tank to tank. All my tanks are healthy, so I don't worry about the transfers. I have never had any problems with fish dying from spikes during the nitrogen cycle.

Answer 5

your thinking exactally right, put all the media in there and all the gravel, do a water change in your old tank, but instead of emptying th water, put it in the new tnak then top it off. Keep putting fihs food in every day to feed the bactiria in it until the fish are ready to go in. You may also want to moniter ammonia

Answer 6

Save your water from the original aquarium. Salt water tanks are a hassle, but if you have cycled water already, transfer that to your new tank and add on to it.