Help! With 10 gal!

I just bought a 10gal tank for my betta fish who is currently in a 5 gal and I'm wanting to know how to properly cycle the new tank.

I'm going to be setting up the 10gal right next to the 5gal & when its cycled , take my betta from the 5gal and put him into the 10gal.

To cycle the 10 gal tank, do I need to have gravel/substrate in the tank along with the filter ? Or can I just have water and a filter going with fish food till it cycles.

I have no extra substrate if needed to help cycle the 10gal.

I'm wanting to set up the cycle the tank asap knowing its going to take a while for the beneficial bacteria to build up

Any tips and help is appreciated! Thanks !!

 

So if I am understanding your post, you are setting up the 10gal tank as a bare bottom for at least the time being? You do not need substrate to cycle a tank, but a common trick to cycle a new tank is to take some substrate from an already cycled tank and add it to the new tank. Beneficial bacteria grows on everything, not just filter media, so people often do this transfer of a fistful of substrate to jump start a cycle in a new tank. However, depending on the filtration system and media you are using for both tanks, you can simply use part of the media in your old filter and place it in the new one, that will essentially "instantly cycle" your tank without having to use fish food and waiting.

 

Just use your filter media from the 5 gallon tank and put it in the filter of the 10 gallon and your all set. No need to wait for a cycle. You should be instantly cycled. As long as you were cycled in the 5g.
Good luck

 

I agree with the above. You should also add the gravel form the 5 if you can.
Also, if you can't move the filter media you can always run the old filter on the 10 along with the new one. The old filter should be able to do the job while the new one grows bacteria. Just be careful of flow rates/currents so you don't stress out your fish. Oh and don't add anything else to the tank until the new filter is established.

 

After the tank is cycled with no ammonia and nitrates are visible, should I do a small WC since that water is most likely to sit in the tank for a week or 2 till the new tank water is established or is the water safe to put him right in

 

You should be good just putting him in the new tank. Check water parameters daily though, and if you need to, do a water change. Also might want to add something like Seachem AmGuard if the ammonia keeps creeping up, but you should be ok.

 

You should be good just putting him in the new tank. Check water parameters daily though, and if you need to, do a water change. Also might want to add something like Seachem AmGuard if the ammonia keeps creeping up, but you should be ok.

Do I need activated carbon in my filter to start a cycle because I don't have any in the filter in my 5gal and if I use the filter from my bettas 5gal to help the 10gal establish quicker, how long can the betta go without his filter ?

 

Do I need activated carbon in my filter to start a cycle because I don't have any in the filter in my 5gal and if I use the filter from my bettas 5gal to help the 10gal establish quicker, how long can the betta go without his filter ?

Activated carbon is primarily used to remove certain contaminates/impurities in the water (A common thing it removes is medicine, which is why most medicines have instructions saying to remove any activated carbon from your filter before dosing and why most people say to add it back in the filter when finished to remove it from the water once treatment is complete). This means you should not need activated carbon at all to cycle or maintain a tank at all.

If you decide to just move your filter (or filter media) from the old tank to the new, you can actually transfer the betta to the new tank at the same time so your betta does not have to go without a filter at all. Because you are using the original filter and/or filter media, the bio load of your betta in the new tank will be handled by the beneficial bacteria you are transferring with the filter/filter media. I would not remove the "old"/original filter or filter media for at least a few weeks, just to make sure the bacteria colony has spread and settled in the new tank, but it should be perfectly safe for your betta to reside in that tank as it settles.