New Aquarium Frustration. Urgent Advice Needed!

Hi

So I've just got a new aquarium for my two 5 month old fish. I had planned to use the old filter media/sponge in the new aquarium so I could move them straight away.

Unfortunately my new aquarium is very different to my old one, the filters are completely different and there isn't actually anywhere to PUT my old filter media/sponge.
What do I do?

I also hate this new tank because the filter had to be assembled with the filter sponge inside it and it doesn't have any media. It seems like it's going to be high maintenance but with my old tank the filter was built in and the media and sponge sat underneath the hood and needed very little maintenance. I'm frustrated and unhappy and I don't know what to do. I HATE this new tank but I've already filled it up and have been running the filter for about 12 hours now. It's too much effort to exchange and I don't wanna spend MORE money on another one.

 

You could cut your old filter media and place a piece of it in the new filter... If you lose the carbon or have to remove the carbon from the old filter that's okay, what's important is the beneficial bacteria growing on the sponge or fibrous part of the media. If this is not an option, you can remove 15-20% of the water from your existing, already established tank to add to your new tank water. Your old tank will do just fine removing more than the "standard 10%" if it's well established and has good water quality. If you have already emptied that tank, last resort would be to buy beneficial bacteria like Seachem stability or CYCLE or API Stress ZYME. You will have to cycle the tank one way or another. Good luck!

 

Can you cut the sponge down and put the media in the space?. It might not look great and be a pain to clean but at least it's in there.

 

Not quite sure whether you have a new tank as an alternative to your existing one or as an addition?

 

I suppose you could BUT don't you want to establish growth ON the new filter, one that properly fits? Either way would work, but if you can figure a way to have both, it'll benefit you more because you'll have a "proper" filter media with growth after some time, and can remove the cut peice... Which you may want to remove at some point anyways because cutting it can break down the material and you don't want fibers breaking apart. You'll want to keep an eye on it if you choose the method you're asking about, and if it begins to breakdown, you have no back up.

 

Thanks guys so I haven't removed any water yet from my old aquarium as my fish are still in there and I've only filled the new aquarium up half way so when the new one is ready I will fill it up using all of the water in my old tank and put the fish in.
So you're saying if I cut my old sponge and put it inside the new filter that could work? Okay! I'll do that! What about the little trays of filter media? Are they not needed?
THANK YOU for your replies!

 

Can you cut the sponge down and put the media in the space?. It might not look great and be a pain to clean but at least it's in there.

I think this user was specifically asking because he/she DOES have a new tank and an existing tank.

 

Not quite sure whether you have a new tank as an alternative to your existing one or as an addition?

Sorry, it's an alternative. I'm gonna give my old aquarium to a friend and move my fish to the new one!

 

What kind of filter is it? Trying to figure out which kinds of "trays of media" are included in it, and depending on that, and each media's purpose, I can better answer THAT

If it's alternative, use as much water from the old one as possible, if you're parameters are good

 

What kind of filter is it? Trying to figure out which kinds of "trays of media" are included in it, and depending on that, and each media's purpose, I can better answer THAT

So my new filter is a ciano F80 filter it has a sponge but none of those trays with those little media cheerio looking things
My old filter was built in with my Aqua One tank which had a filter sponge and two trays full of cheerio media!

Just to confirm. I got my old tank last November. I put two fish in it this February. I got a new tank yesterday and was hoping to use basically all of the water, media and sponge from my old tank so I could move my fish straight away. This new tank doesn't have anywhere to put the media and sponge. Some people here have suggested cutting the old sponge and putting it in the new filter which I will definitely try.
Am I right in saying that all I need to cycle my new tank is my old filter sponge? Is that all it takes? The media is not needed?
If I put the old sponge in the new filter could I move my fish immediately?
All this fish stuff REALLY confuses me and I live alone so have no one to help!

 

If it were mine I would do whatever I could to get all the media from your old mature filter into the new tank.
Your new filter is up and running but has no bacteria yet, that will take a while to get colonised. If you can fit the sponges from the old filter into the new one that would be a great benefit. You could then take all the mature media, the 'cheerios' (which I assume to be ceramic ring media) and quickly assemble a temporary filter incorporating them.
There are loads of options available on YouTube, check out Joey, King of DIY, he has a number of home made filters, the easiest option is to get hold of an empty plastic water bottle, cut off the bottom and make a hole in the top for an airline to pass through. Fill the bottle with your mature ceramic rings and put either a piece of sponge or filter floss in to stop them falling out. Just throw that into the new tank and turn the air supply on and you instantly have a mature filter running.
Apart from the fact that your temporary filter in now processing the water exactly as it was in the old tank the presence of millions of beneficial bacteria on the existing filter media will go a long way to speeding up the 'seeding' of your new filter.
Use all of the old water from your existing tank and there is no reason you cannot put your fish straight in. There would be no need to cycle your new tank because the water and filter media are exactly what you had before albeit in a different tank. Even if the water from the old tank only half fills the new tank and you have to top up with fresh water that is really no different to doing a 50% water change.
Hope this helps.

 

If it were mine I would do whatever I could to get all the media from your old mature filter into the new tank.
Your new filter is up and running but has no bacteria yet, that will take a while to get colonised. If you can fit the sponges from the old filter into the new one that would be a great benefit. You could then take all the mature media, the 'cheerios' (which I assume to be ceramic ring media) and quickly assemble a temporary filter incorporating them.
There are loads of options available on YouTube, check out Joey, King of DIY, he has a number of home made filters, the easiest option is to get hold of an empty plastic water bottle, cut off the bottom and make a hole in the top for an airline to pass through. Fill the bottle with your mature ceramic rings and put either a piece of sponge or filter floss in to stop them falling out. Just throw that into the new tank and turn the air supply on and you instantly have a mature filter running.
Apart from the fact that your temporary filter in now processing the water exactly as it was in the old tank the presence of millions of beneficial bacteria on the existing filter media will go a long way to speeding up the 'seeding' of your new filter.
Use all of the old water from your existing tank and there is no reason you cannot put your fish straight in. There would be no need to cycle your new tank because the water and filter media are exactly what you had before albeit in a different tank. Even if the water from the old tank only half fills the new tank and you have to top up with fresh water that is really no different to doing a 50% water change.
Hope this helps.

This is brilliant, thank you.
With the cheerios, they are in trays with a cotton type film concealing them and the only way for me to get them out would be to cut them out. Can I just put the trays in the bottle without taking the actual media cheerios out?

 

It doesn't really matter whether you keep the bags or not, the only important bit is that you get the water flowing through the media. I'm not familiar with this particular filter but if you can get the trays complete with media into the bottle go for it. If the trays won't fit cut them open and get the loose media out and stuff the media into the bottle loose or alternatively put them in some sort of mesh bag, again you can use whatever you like, you can buy mesh bags to hold the media or alternatively pantyhose is always a popular choice. I did exactly the same a couple of weeks ago, it took me all of 15 minutes from start to finish.
One word of warning, don't under any circumstances wash the media in tap water, the chlorine will kill the bacteria stone dead and you'll be back to square one with having to cycle the tank. If the rings look as though they are clogged up with mulm just give them a gentle rinse through in tank water but don't go too mad, you are not looking to make them pristine just to the point where water can flow over them without restriction.

 

Okay thanks. I'll see what happens. I'm stressed to the max cus I'm not even sure I set my new filter up correctly cus the instruction manual is the most useless thing I've ever seen and I cannot find anything online
I hope to go my fish survive this move.

Sorry to keep going on but I've found a solution that may work, advice please.
Here's a pic of the new filter, with a sponge and a little container of media ring things.





Open and closed.
If I put my old filter sponge inside this (I will have to fold it because it's long (about 10 inches) and REALLY thin) and put the old media rings inside a little mesh bag and put them both together in my new filter, could I move my fish in immediately?

 

If you are able to get all of the existing media, sponge, ceramic rings etc from your established filter into the new filter canister and have water flowing over and through the media all you have done in effect is replace the canister, the filter is exactly what you had before so yes, you could place your fish straight into it because nothing would have changed.

 

I agree with adding old water. I filled a new tank completely with another tanks water (it was only partially cycled) and the new one cycled completely in 10 days. You can do that along with the other suggestions.

 

If you are able to get all of the existing media, sponge, ceramic rings etc from your established filter into the new filter canister and have water flowing over and through the media all you have done in effect is replace the canister, the filter is exactly what you had before so yes, you could place your fish straight into it because nothing would have changed.

I can only use the sponge I think, not the media rings. The best I can do is use the brand new carbon filter rings and my old filter sponge. Then will I have to wait weeks to move the fish? Does my sponge have to be placed over my carbon cartridge thing or does it not matter which order they sit in? I promise this will be one of my last questions!

 

General rule of thumb is that your three forms of filtering are -
1 - mechanical
2 - biological
3 - chemical
Your mechanical filtration either through filter floss or foam removes the suspended particles from the water, you don't want that to reach and consequently block your biological media. Second stage is your biological media, in your case the media rings and if you are using carbon that comes last in the chain. It's not quite that cut and dried because there will be a certain element of biological filtration going on in your mechanical filter, the bacteria will grow on your floss and sponge but what you are looking for is for the floss or sponge to be the first level as the water enters the filter cartridge and after it has flowed through that it should pass through your media rings and lastly pass through your carbon before being pumped back into the tank.

 

General rule of thumb is that your three forms of filtering are -
1 - mechanical
2 - biological
3 - chemical
Your mechanical filtration either through filter floss or foam removes the suspended particles from the water, you don't want that to reach and consequently block your biological media. Second stage is your biological media, in your case the media rings and if you are using carbon that comes last in the chain. It's not quite that cut and dried because there will be a certain element of biological filtration going on in your mechanical filter, the bacteria will grow on your floss and sponge but what you are looking for is for the floss or sponge to be the first level as the water enters the filter cartridge and after it has flowed through that it should pass through your media rings and lastly pass through your carbon before being pumped back into the tank.

Okay thanks but what's the difference between my media rings and carbon? I thought the media rings were made out of carbon? Or am I completely wrong

 

Generally speaking the 'ring' media is made from a ceramic material, it is usually an off-white colour and is there for biological filtration. It is very porous and has thousands of holes or cavities. The reason it is so effective is because it has a massive surface area to be colonised by bacteria. It does not alter the chemical composition by itself, it is inert, all that it does is provide the bacteria with somewhere to live. That is why it is important to use mechanical filtration first to prevent mulm and much from clogging the pores.
Carbon tends to be much smoother and is generally black or very dark grey. It's main function is to absorb or neutralise certain chemicals in the water and is used as the last media after the biological media.

 

Generally speaking the 'ring' media is made from a ceramic material, it is usually an off-white colour and is there for biological filtration. It is very porous and has thousands of holes or cavities. The reason it is so effective is because it has a massive surface area to be colonised by bacteria. It does not alter the chemical composition by itself, it is inert, all that it does is provide the bacteria with somewhere to live. That is why it is important to use mechanical filtration first to prevent mulm and much from clogging the pores.
Carbon tends to be much smoother and is generally black or very dark grey. It's main function is to absorb or neutralise certain chemicals in the water and is used as the last media after the biological media.

God, you seem to know A LOT!
I wish you could just sort my tank out for me.

I love my fish but I really only got them as I wanted a pet. I enjoy the fish and I enjoy feeding them different types of veggies and fruits and I enjoy making the tank look nice for me and for them but I hate all of the technical stuff because I really don't understand it.

I've been researching for like a year (it's been a year almost since I bought my first tank) but I just can't grasp any of it.

Thanks for all your help though! I'm a lot more clear than I was earlier today.

 

Do yourself and your fish a huge favour and learn all about the Nitrogen Cycle. It may seem daunting at first but it's actually not. It is without doubt the one most important thing that you need to understand. Read it, re-read it and keep going until you are totally conversant with it because once you understand it everything else fits into place.
Once you have grasped it you will understand the correlation between ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, you will understand why there is a certain stocking level for your tank based on water volume, filter efficiency, frequency of water changes, the effect living plants have on nitrate levels and conversely the significance of dead and decaying plants in your aquarium, what happens when you overfeed your fish etc etc.
Everything, and I mean everything is reliant on you understanding how this works.
I'm sorry if this sounds condescending, it's not meant to be but I cannot stress to you enough how important this is.

 

I'd use a stability product still. Just in case. But using ur colonized media/sppnge will speed up things for sure.

 

So

I agree with adding old water. I filled a new tank completely with another tanks water (it was only partially cycled) and the new one cycled completely in 10 days. You can do that along with the other suggestions.

Some aquariums hold disease so you're really transferring the problems to your new tank.

 

So


Some aquariums hold disease so you're really transferring the problems to your new tank.

Absolutely. You have to use common sense when using another tanks water/filter/substrate, etc. If there's disease - avoid it!