How long to seed filter material

I have a 7g shrimp tank and am going to setup a 10g fish nano tank. If I dropped some filter media in the shrimp tank, how long would it take for it to collect enough bacteria to seed the new aquarium? The shrimp tank has a sponge filter and the new one will be a hang on back. Thanks.

 

Test the water, when it’s cycled it’s cycled. There’s no set number.

 

Hi welcome to FishLore!!

I really doubt you'll get much bacteria if you seeded from a shrimp tank. I just don't think the bioload is enough.
Most time it's more successful if you seed a smaller tank from larger tank.

Let's get some other opinions.

Test the water, when it’s cycled it’s cycled. There’s no set number.

There is such a thing s too little amount of time. The OP is trying to avoid having to worry about starting the cycle in the 10g from scratch,

 

Test the water, when it’s cycled it’s cycled. There’s no set number.

I don’t think I made myself clear. I want to know how long to leave filter media in the existing tank until it has enough bacteria to move to the new tank. In other words, how long does it take bacteria to “inhabit” new media placed into an already cycled aquarium?

 

It depends on many things. It isn’t just poof overnight. You gotta test it and make sure it’s cycled. It could take a day or it could take 6 months.

 

It depends on many things. It isn’t just poof overnight. You gotta test it and make sure it’s cycled. It could take a day or it could take 6 months.

Thanks, but I’m not asking how long it takes to cycle. I completely understand that process. What I am asking is how long it takes bacteria to attach to something new placed in a cycled tank. A few days? A few weeks? I will then place that media in a new tank to speed up the cycle.

 

In my opinion a second filter in the shrimp tank will only take 3 or 4 weeks to seed.

At the end of a this time you will have half of the bacteria in the shrimp tank.
You will have approximately enough bacteria for the bio load from half the number of shrimp./ a couple of small fish at most.
In other words not much bacteria.
However it will be the true bacteria and only needs time and food to multiply.

Having watched many U tube videos many suggest less than 3 weeks. I personally always give a filter more time. And you will still need to do extra water changes mid week.

 

It depends on many things. It isn’t just poof overnight. You gotta test it and make sure it’s cycled. It could take a day or it could take 6 months.

Jeff is wanting to do what we refer to as seeding filter media.
You can put filter media in an establish tank. Bacteria will grow on that filter media which can then be transferred to a new tank. Viola! A cycled tank!

I had been taught as least 2 weeks but I've seen others say they had success in less time

 

In my opinion a second filter in the shrimp tank will only take 3 or 4 weeks to seed.

At the end of a this time you will have half of the bacteria in the shrimp tank.
You will have approximately enough bacteria for the bio load from half the number of shrimp./ a couple of small fish at most.
In other words not much bacteria.
However it will be the true bacteria and only needs time and food to multiply.

Having watched many U tube videos many suggest less than 3 weeks. I personally always give a filter more time. And you will still need to do extra water changes mid week.

Thanks! This is enough info to go on. Appreciate it!

 

Jeff is wanting to do what we refer to as seeding filter media.
You can put filter media in an establish tank. Bacteria will grow on that filter media which can then be transferred to a new tank. Viola! A cycled tank!

I had been taught as least 2 weeks but I've seen others say they had success in less time

Yes. This is what I was asking. So, a month seems very reasonable to start. Thanks!

 

Thanks, but I’m not asking how long it takes to cycle. I completely understand that process. What I am asking is how long it takes bacteria to attach to something new placed in a cycled tank. A few days? A few weeks? I will then place that media in a new tank to speed up the cycle.

I don't believe anyone can give you an exact answer to that.

What I do, personally, is clean old filter media in a bucket of old tank water and then transfer some of that to the new tank with the unseeded filter running. I start stocking once the cloudiness from the muck disappears. I feed lightly once a day, every other day, for the first week or two. I don't do any tests. I simply use a little common sense in regards to stocking.

I've also taken some of the established media to the new filter. Leaving most of the old filter intact still maintains a sufficient colony, IMO. And you can always replace with new media later.

 

I currently have a sponge filter that has been seeding for about 4 months now for an upcoming tank. A couple of filter pads that have been seeding for about 3 months. My plan was to seed them about 3-4 weeks...but life does get in the way sometimes.

Guess the sponge filter in my newest betta tank seeded about 5 weeks and haven't had any problems since i moved it over 2 months ago.

Maybe the longer the better? 3-4 weeks is generally the suggestion i see for seeding media.