Shawnie

That although using established media as a source for an instant cycle in another tank, you have MANY factors that should come into play .....and anyone else feel free to add to this thread....heres just 2 of the ones that I feel REALLY play a huge part as we have had a few fish tanks having issues from relying on such a source

*** How long the tanks been established for, depends on how reliable the beneficial bacteria is....the longer the tanks been set up, the stronger the colony of bacteria is, (I wouldnt use anything less than 3 months of continued cycled readings) the better chance of an instant cycle you will have......

*** The type/amount/size of fish in the established tank, compared to the type/amount/size of fish going into the new tank, can greatly effect the success/failure of an instant cycle....eg. if you have a 3g tank with a shrimp colony, betta, glolights, neons etc (not all together im talking one type) , that has been running for years, and you use some of that media/subtrate/decorations/plants etc, to start up a 20g tank with a few neons, guppies, platies etc, the likelihood is that its not going to work very well....although it certainly will not hurt using anything from that shrimp tank, you cant expect a 20g tank with guppies, neons, platies ect, to have an instant cycle as the bioload is just too much compared to the tank the established media came from.there IS NOT enough bacteria with low bioload fish, no matter how long the tanks been running, to expect a bigger tank, with higher bioload fish, to have an instant cycle..you MUST keep a close eye on all water parimeters for at least a week or more, and stock very slowly IMO to make sure things took off ok..

Certainly there are many other factors, and im sure we will have some membes share their views, but PLEASE DO NOT assume because you used something from a tank thats been running forever, is cycled, and has no issues, that its an instant cycle for any new tank and inhabitants you might be upgrading to....

funkman262

Great points. Also consider that even if the bioload will be the same, you can't transfer ALL of the beneficial bacteria so most likely, no matter what, your tank will still need at least a few days to re-establish. Keep in mind that nitrifying bacteria grow VERY slowly with a doubling time of about 15 hours in IDEAL conditions (but how many of us actually run our tanks at 95F?) So understand that in the conditions that we keep our tanks, the bacteria take even longer to grow, which is why cycling takes a looong time. As Shawnie said, the best thing you can do is test your water constantly and keep a close eye on the parameters to make sure everything is ok (and keep a bottle of prime or amquel+ on hand just in case )

haedra

Good post Shawnie, some important things to remember.

Jaysee

Good summation Shawnie. Not a lot to add, as those are the 2 most important things to considder.


One thing I'll add, is that when using media from a small tank to start a new large tank, it's a good idea to grow the colony before adding fish. This can be done by adding ammonia to the tank. So in a sense, it would be a combo media/fishless cycle. If you are doing the shrimp fishless cycle, add the media after ammonia appears.

bolivianbaby

Shawnie-this thread was a fabulous idea.

Excellent information from all.

AlyeskaGirl

GREAT info Shawnie!

I'm going to be doing this next month with my new tank!

aquarist48

Shawnie!
Ken

Craig-D

Shawnie's advice is dead on. I'll just add to it by sharing an actual experience to underscore what she said. I seeded my new 29 gallon with all the decorations and media of my old 12 gallon. I moved all the original livestock over and added and additional 4 cories to that stock. The first 6 days I got no readings whatsoever. Zeros across the board. After 8 days the new tank cycled. The 7th day showed a small (less than .25 PPM) ammonia spike before showing 0 0 5 on day 8. So if you seed from from a smaller tank/bioload to a larger one, it will not be instant. But it still beats waiting a month or more starting from scratch.

oscar wilde

thank you all for the great advice, it's a daunting task for a novice who just has the fishes best interest at heart. Lots to think about! fish keepers are really nice people, probobly because they have to think of not only themselves. once again, great site and thank you.

skinzfan96

thanks Shawnie! i plan on doing this with my first tank in a few weeks

ooosparkeyooo

Great advice also one thing you can do to help with the cycle is add a bottle of TSS with the cycle to help it along, kinda as a redundent safety measure, its what I did to make sure my 30 gallon was completely cycled as well wait a few days to make sure every things peachy, but in am emergency do what you have too. good luck fishin

Lucy

Vanessa's question has been moved here:
Cycing a tank from an established tank