The nitrogen cycle

Could I put a size 30 Fluval filter that is already being used in a new 40 gallon aquarium so that way the nitrogen cycle is already finished? I will it only speed it up a lot and I will only need to put in one tetra safestart that is for 20 gallons? Or should I put in 2 bottles of tetra safestart and put in the size 30 fluval filter? I just want to get the water ready for the fish to go in as soon as possible. Can the fish go in during the nitrogen cycle? Ps I will have another NEW fluval filter size 50 with the size 30 old one. Also how do you introduce the fish to the tank?

 

Firstly what filter are u talking about? Make sure you add a source of ammonia (fish food) while cycling to give the BB food and remember to be patient its much better to wait another week than have to deal with a water quality issue. I don't recommend adding fish during the cycle. To introduce the fish there are a few methods but for hardy beginner fish just temp acclimate them for 20 mins by floating the bag in the tank. Then scoop them out of the bag and plop them in the tank, easy as.

 

Firstly what filter are u talking about? Make sure you add a source of ammonia (fish food) while cycling to give the BB food and remember to be patient its much better to wait another week than have to deal with a water quality issue. I don't recommend adding fish during the cycle. To introduce the fish there are a few methods but for hardy beginner fish just temp acclimate them for 20 mins by floating the bag in the tank. Then scoop them out of the bag and plop them in the tank, easy as.

Yeah but they are from my other tank they aren’t in a bag.

And how much food should I add?

 

Just take media from the old filter and put it into a new filter, within a week you'll be cycled.

 

Could I put a size 30 Fluval filter that is already being used in a new 40 gallon aquarium so that way the nitrogen cycle is already finished? I will it only speed it up a lot and I will only need to put in one tetra safestart that is for 20 gallons? Or should I put in 2 bottles of tetra safestart and put in the size 30 fluval filter? I just want to get the water ready for the fish to go in as soon as possible. Can the fish go in during the nitrogen cycle? Ps I will have another NEW fluval filter size 50 with the size 30 old one. Also how do you introduce the fish to the tank?

Is your 40 cycled? How long has it been cycled? You're cycled when your ammonia and nitrites are zero, and you see at least 5 ppm nitrates. How long have the two filters been running together? If your tank has been cycled for at least a month, and the two filters have been together at least a month in a cycled tank, then you can take the smaller filter out of the 40 gallon and put it in the 20 gallon and the 20 gallon will be cycled and you can add fish immediately.

Cycling takes from four to eight weeks usually.

If the tank hasn't cycled, then neither filter will be cycled, and if you add fish to either tank, you will be doing a fish in cycle on both tanks.

I have only done fish in cycles, and if that's what you end up doing, it's going to require a lot more diligence on your part, and water changes, every other day, or even daily, and daily water tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, until the tanks are cycled.

I'm not sure what you mean by how to introduce the new fish, so I'm going to guess that you mean, how to acclimate them to your water. There are several ways, and it depends on whether these are from your LSF, or have been ordered online. I'll explain how I acclimate fish bought from my LFS.

I open the bag and use the lid to hold it in place. I float it in the tank for 20 minutes. Then I add about 15 to 20 ml of my tank water to the bag, every five minutes. If the bag gets too full of water, I empty it out about half way, enough to add more water from my tank. I use a plastic tub for the water from the bag, keeping it out of my tank. I keep adding the small doses of water from my tank for an hour. Then I pour the water from the bag into a net, over a plastic tub, big enough to hold the water, netting the fish in the process, then I let the new fish go, in their new home. I hope that's what you're asking.

 

Is your 40 cycled? How long has it been cycled? You're cycled when your ammonia and nitrites are zero, and you see at least 5 ppm nitrates. How long have the two filters been running together? If your tank has been cycled for at least a month, and the two filters have been together at least a month in a cycled tank, then you can take the smaller filter out of the 40 gallon and put it in the 20 gallon and the 20 gallon will be cycled and you can add fish immediately.

Cycling takes from four to eight weeks usually.

If the tank hasn't cycled, then neither filter will be cycled, and if you add fish to either tank, you will be doing a fish in cycle on both tanks.

I have only done fish in cycles, and if that's what you end up doing, it's going to require a lot more diligence on your part, and water changes, every other day, or even daily, and daily water tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, until the tanks are cycled.

I'm not sure what you mean by how to introduce the new fish, so I'm going to guess that you mean, how to acclimate them to your water. There are several ways, and it depends on whether these are from your LSF, or have been ordered online. I'll explain how I acclimate fish bought from my LFS.

I open the bag and use the lid to hold it in place. I float it in the tank for 20 minutes. Then I add about 15 to 20 ml of my tank water to the bag, every five minutes. If the bag gets too full of water, I empty it out about half way, enough to add more water from my tank. I use a plastic tub for the water from the bag, keeping it out of my tank. I keep adding the small doses of water from my tank for an hour. Then I pour the water from the bag into a net, over a plastic tub, big enough to hold the water, netting the fish in the process, then I let the new fish go, in their new home. I hope that's what you're asking.

My 20 gallon is cycled my 40 gallon is new I haven’t even gotten water in it yet. How much percent of the water should I do daily when cleaning it during the cycle?

 

mattgirl can link you to some helpful stuff dealing with exactly this issue. In short, since you have a cycled tank, you can instantly cycle another tank with the used filters.
When you add new fish do it slowly or overfeed the tank for several days before adding any so the bacteria colony has a chance to catch up.

 

My 20 gallon is cycled my 40 gallon is new I haven’t even gotten water in it yet. How much percent of the water should I do daily when cleaning it during the cycle?

What MrBryan723 just said .

First, read this... Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

If you're doing a fishless cycle, you generally don't do water changes until your nitrates get to 80 ppm or more. If you're doing a fish in cycle, then you need to change enough water to keep your combined ammonia and nitrites under 1 ppm. This may mean 50 to 75% every other day, or every day. Adding seeded media from the 20 gallon would help speed up the process, but you're still going to have to test daily, until you're certain it's cycled.

I would be patient, and run your filters side-by-side, for at least a month, then you could safely move one filter from the 20 to the 40, and add fish immediately. BUT, the filter you move from the smaller tank to the larger tank will only be able to handle the bioload that was in the 20 gallon, so go easy on adding a lot of fish to the new tank, because the BB will not be able to handle a larger bioload.

 

What is

What MrBryan723 just said .

First, read this... Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

If you're doing a fishless cycle, you generally don't do water changes until your nitrates get to 80 ppm or more. If you're doing a fish in cycle, then you need to change enough water to keep your combined ammonia and nitrites under 1 ppm. This may mean 50 to 75% every other day, or every day. Adding seeded media from the 20 gallon would help speed up the process, but you're still going to have to test daily, until you're certain it's cycled.

I would be patient, and run your filters side-by-side, for at least a month, then you could safely move one filter from the 20 to the 40, and add fish immediately. BUT, the filter you move from the smaller tank to the larger tank will only be able to handle the bioload that was in the 20 gallon, so go easy on adding a lot of fish to the new tank, because the BB will not be able to handle a larger bioload.

what is BB? And when you said run them both side by side do you mean put the 40 gallon filter in the 20 gallon tank a long with the other filter until until i have the 40 gallon filled up and I am ready to add the filters in? And what is seeded media? And when would I add the second filter?

mattgirl can link you to some helpful stuff dealing with exactly this issue. In short, since you have a cycled tank, you can instantly cycle another tank with the used filters.
When you add new fish do it slowly or overfeed the tank for several days before adding any so the bacteria colony has a chance to catch up.

Do you mean overfeed the 40 gallon tank with no fish?

 

What is

what is BB? And when you said run them both side by side do you mean put the 40 gallon filter in the 20 gallon tank a long with the other filter until until i have the 40 gallon filled up and I am ready to add the filters in? And what is seeded media? And when would I add the second filter?

Seeded media is media from a cycled tank. It has been seeded with BB. BB is Beneficial Bacteria. The bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites, and the bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates.

Put the new filter in the same tank as the old filter. Run both filter together for a month. Then you can take the new filter and put it in the new tank. The new tank is now seeded, and ready for you to add some fish. Don't add too many fish because even though the new filter is cycled, it may not have enough BB to handle a large bioload. After you've added the new fish, you need to test your water to make sure the BB are doing their job. If they keep the ammonia and nitrates at zero, and the nitrates are increasing, then you can add some more fish, but again, don't add too many, and you need to monitor your water to make sure everything is running smoothly.

 

What MrBryan723 just said .

First, read this... Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

If you're doing a fishless cycle, you generally don't do water changes until your nitrates get to 80 ppm or more. If you're doing a fish in cycle, then you need to change enough water to keep your combined ammonia and nitrites under 1 ppm. This may mean 50 to 75% every other day, or every day. Adding seeded media from the 20 gallon would help speed up the process, but you're still going to have to test daily, until you're certain it's cycled.

I would be patient, and run your filters side-by-side, for at least a month, then you could safely move one filter from the 20 to the 40, and add fish immediately. BUT, the filter you move from the smaller tank to the larger tank will only be able to handle the bioload that was in the 20 gallon, so go easy on adding a lot of fish to the new tank, because the BB will not be able to handle a larger bioload.

Should I add beneficial bacteria when doing changes every day because doing that many water changes wouldn’t it take the beneficial bacteria away?

 

Should I add beneficial bacteria when doing changes every day because doing that many water changes wouldn’t it take the beneficial bacteria away?

Nah. The bb lives on the stuff in the tank and not floating around in the water. But, since it has a short shelf life after opening, when you do do your water changes, add a little directly to your filter while the filter is off. And then turn it back on as normal when your tank is back full. Might do nothing, might help.

 

What do you mean ad

Nah. The bb lives on the stuff in the tank and not floating around in the water. But, since it has a short shelf life after opening, when you do do your water changes, add a little directly to your filter while the filter is off. And then turn it back on as normal when your tank is back full. Might do nothing, might help.

What do you mean “add it directly to your filter”?

So if I do water changes daily should I add the beneficial bacteria? Or if I did would all of the beneficial bacteria go away when doing it? I was confused on what MrBryan723 meant by “nah”. I didn’t know if he said that meaning don’t put beneficial bacteria in or if he meant nah as in doing the water changes won’t get rid of the beneficial bacteria. Thanks!

 

Doing water changes won't get rid of it. Sorry.

 

Beneficial bacteria developed and lived in cycled tank. They stick on tank wall surface, filter media, gravel.., not in water. So when you do water change, there shouldn't be any change in the amount of beneficial bacteria. Just properly dechlorinate tap water when water change, then you're good to go.
There is no need to waste your money on bottled bacteria. Not necessary as explained, and bottled bacteria is very hit and miss. Storage to keep beneficial bacteria is tricky. Many stores especially shipping distribution center may fail to store and you would receive dead bacteria.

 

Doing water changes won't get rid of it. Sorry.

Oh it’s ok

Beneficial bacteria developed and lived in cycled tank. They stick on tank wall surface, filter media, gravel.., not in water. So when you do water change, there shouldn't be any change in the amount of beneficial bacteria. Just properly dechlorinate tap water when water change, then you're good to go.
There is no need to waste your money on bottled bacteria. Not necessary as explained, and bottled bacteria is very hit and miss. Storage to keep beneficial bacteria is tricky. Many stores especially shipping distribution center may fail to store and you would receive dead bacteria.

Oh ok thanks so will the beneficial bacteria come from the other filter from the other tank?

 

Oh ok thanks so will the beneficial bacteria come from the other filter from the other tank?

Yes. They stick to the filter media. You only need the filter media. The old tank still need the beneficial bacteria so you still need to leave the filter. Just add new filter media in the old tank filter.