curiousfish

Hi, I have been reading this forum for several weeks now and I decided I should probably join. :P I have a 75 gallon tank at home and want to set up a 10 gallon in my dorm room at school. I am running into problems with the cycling thing though. I only have about 2 1/2 weeks between break this week and the end of the semester break. I don't think I will have enough time to cycle the tank between the times I will be gone (and not able to feed it amonia), but I am not sure I can wait till January to cycle my tank. Will it speed up the process if I bring the filter media from my tank at home? It has been set up for three years now. Also, if I bring the filter media, do I just need to keep it wet or keep it warm as well? It is a 12 hour drive and I am not sure how to transport it.
Thanks for the info.

Lucy

Welcome to FishLore
We're glad you decided to join!
Yes, it will definatly speed up the cycle, if not instantly cycle your tank.
If it were me, I'd stick the filter media in a ziplock bag with some tank water. Put it in cooler with one of those hand warmers that you shake to activate.

When you get to your dorm put it in your tank. Personally, I'd add a couple of fish right away other wise the bacteria will die off.
Keep a close eye on your parameters for a couple of weeks, but it should cycle almost instantly.
Do some water changes if necessary.

Best of luck and post some pics!

curiousfish

Wow, That would be so cool if it cycled so quickly! Would it be better to start with the guppies or the cory cats? I have heard from different sources that they are both fragile fish species. I would be heartbroken if they didn't survive.

Lucy

I'm not sure which is hardier. I think I'd start with a couple of guppies since I believe they have a lower bio-load than cories. Not 100% positive on that.
Let's see what other have to say.

A 10g isn't that big and cories like the be in groups. Have you considered pygmy cories? They're really cute and perfect for a 10g. imo.

Jaysee

It doesn't matter which you add, IMO. When they say that a fish is not good for a new tank, they mean a tank you are just setting up because the bacteria colony is not yet stable and water parameters can fluctuate. In the case of using seeded media, like you want to do, the bacteria is well established and will have a handle on things almost immedately. Guppies and corys do not fall into the super sensitve category, and both will be fine to add immediately after adding the media (each school seperately - not both together). Depending on how much media you are tranferring, you could add both schools at the same time.

Welcome to the site and good luck.

I agree pygmy corys are better suited to a 10 than the full sized ones.

Livebearers in general have a large bioload, so I would submit the guppies have a higher load than corys.

peacemaker92

Welcome to Fishlore!

Great advice above. Just remember to take half of the filter media from your established tank. I'd go with Guppies as Lucy said. With a 10g, you could start with 5 first. Then add on later. If you don't know, Guppies need to be in a 3:1 ratio, example, 4 females and 1 male would do nicely Good luck and hope to see some photos of your current tank and your new 10g.

jdhef

If it were me, I would just go with Tetra SafeStart. Then you have no worries about the bacteria dying off in transit. But then again your way is cheaper and should work just as well.

curiousfish

I would love to get some pygmy corys but I don't think my LFS has any. Do they sometimes go by another name? I have seen pics of them and they are so cute. I definately want to get three and it would be so nice if they didn't get that big.

Also, about the guppies, peacemaker, you said something about getting 5 at first and adding more later. I only have a 10 gal. tank that I would be putting them in. Would it be pushing my luck to get much more than 5? How many could I safely have along with three pygmy corys? Also, I am wondering about guppy multiplication. Is it alright to get all one gender? Could I have all males or would they fight? I am just afraid that I will have so many babies I won't know what to do with them all.

Lucy

Maybe your LFS could order them for you. I've never seen them in the chain stores.
There are 3 species. Corydoras habrosis, hastatus and pygmeaus.

IMO, even 5 is pushing it in a 10g. They're pretty crazy and use a lot of room.
My males chase but haven't been harmful to each other. I can't comment on females, I've never had them.
I tend to understock so if it were me, I'd probably go with 3 guppies, 3 pygmy cories to start. If the water stays consistant with weekly water changes and you feel adding 2 more won't cramp the other 3, then go for it.

Shawnie

male guppies are horendous without gals believe it or not..they dont play nice with eachother and if you go all male, id only do the 3 as lucy said..not so much for the bioload issue, but for the territorial issues....i had an all male 20g tank and had to move them to a 30 g but then just moved t hem back to a 20g with some gals...

a 10g tank will not need half of your media from your 75g...just a handful will be good..you have to remember not to remove too much or the 75g could hit a mini cycle and not be able to handle the bioload of fish in there without all the bacteria needed...good luck!

curiousfish

Thanks for all the help everyone. I ran out of time over break to bring back any media. I might try again at christmas break (although I'm going to be flying so I haven't figured out how I'm going to manage that yet.) As far as the 75 gal. I only have 6 fish in there right now, and they are 2 rasboras het., glass fish, red minor, albino cory and an otto. (my parents are watching the tank while I'm away and not doing any additions until I get back to pay for them) So does this change anything as far as how much of the media I need to bring back? Can I just bring some gravel?