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Questions about Cycling


Lee Pedersen1
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Hello!

I still very new but I’ve kept two standard 10 gallon tanks for 6 months and I am moving in a new 20h! I’m super excited.

My initial questions are

1. Should I dose my new tank if I am using pre-used substrate and then cycle or use my old substrate and fresh plant cuts from another tank and then cycle?

2. Can an Aqueon 10 gallon filter handle a 20 gallon tank? I prefer a heavily planted tank in general, can my tank mates/plants handle a smaller filter?

This is the tank with the said transferring plant cuts and the new 20.

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Lastly, should I take water from my 10 to my new 20? I plan on moving my loaches over because they are getting big.

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On 7/19/2022 at 7:03 PM, Lee Pedersen1 said:

1. Should I dose my new tank if I am using pre-used substrate and then cycle or use my old substrate and fresh plant cuts from another tank and then cycle?

I definitely would. Also add the old media from the filter to the new tank either in the water or in the HoB itself.

On 7/19/2022 at 7:03 PM, Lee Pedersen1 said:

2. Can an Aqueon 10 gallon filter handle a 20 gallon tank? I prefer a heavily planted tank in general, can my tank mates/plants handle a smaller filter?

No, I wouldn't recommend that setup.  If you were worried about flow, I'd recommend something with fine adjustment like the marineland pro series.  I would recommend starting with a 40-50G filter so you have room for flow when the pump slows down due to muck.

If I had a 20L or 20H tank I'd run a Tidal 55 or a Tidal 35 x 2 as my filtration.  I run pretty high flow tanks just to try to make sure there isn't dead spots.  the 20H is taller, so I'd recommend something with a 40-50G+ rated pump.

On 7/19/2022 at 7:03 PM, Lee Pedersen1 said:

Aqueon 10 gallon filter

Can you send me a photo of both sides of the pump? I need to show how it's built and it's difficult to get photos of the sealed side. I need the photos to reference for a post in my Seachem Tidal Experiments thread!

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From my experience, a tank can be "cycled" almost immediately if you move substrate, filter, and water from an established tank. When I set up a new 10 gal, I used some gravel, water, and a sponge filter from my 15 gal, making sure neither the gravel nor sponge dried out. Despite having new driftwood and botanicals, and "ghost feeding" the tank for two weeks, neither ammonia nor nitrite increased above zero, and nitrate stayed in the ~25ppm range. Still, I would recommend against stocking immediately unless you're up for daily testing and water changes if necessary.

For the "10 gallon filter" in your 20 gal, if the tank is moderately planted and lightly stocked, it is unlikely to be a problem. Many established planted aquariums can get away with no mechanical filtration, but it is still best to have an airstone or some form of surface agitation for oxygenation.

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Dose like normal. If you're using substrate from another tank, your cycle will finish a lot faster. If you use water from the other tank too, your cycle will finish even faster yet.

I under filter all my tanks, a few I don't filter at all. What's most important is how much you're feeding and having enough water flow past your bacteria population whether it's mostly in your substrate or your filter. If you want to use a small filter, you have to find the balance between feed and flow but that balance can easily be thrown off for the first few months or more. 

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it doesnt hurt to dose some extra bacteria, but transferring substrate from an up and running tank, along with plants etc is pretty much an instant cycle. just as a kicker, id run the filter for the new tank in an old one for a few days.

Edited by lefty o
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What kind of loaches? The filter is probably enough if you don’t have or can afford another. Most people have way more filtration that needed. You would have to clean it more.  I’m going to treed lightly because filtration is often not agreed on. I think you will do well. 

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On 7/19/2022 at 8:04 PM, Lee Pedersen1 said:

I plan on 6 shrimp/ramshorns 3 loaches and 2 larger fish which are undetermined. Is that to much?

Also, would the 10 be ok to cycle just plants for 2-3 weeks?

you can use AQ advisor as a decent tool to try to determine stocking. 

Keep in mind most loaches like aeration.  You're running an undersize filter, so I'd recommend 1-2 airstones as well as the HoB if you stock those.

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There was a live with Cory about 12-14 months ago discussing filters and the sizes they filter. There was also a video put out from the co-op about filters sizes.  If anyone wants to find them they can look. There is no standard that is out there that a certain filter must to be rated as filtering x amounts to be labeled as a 10 gal. There is also a video that I know is more recent about improving your HOB with a few steps. 

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On 7/20/2022 at 1:31 AM, Pepere said:

… But filter sizing is not exact and heavily dependent on stocking levels.

I go by the pump GPH and it's either 4-5x turnover per hour or it's 10x GPH turnover.  I can't remember which.

29G tank currently, tidal 55, the pump is rated for....  250 GPH ---> about 9x turnover.  Again, the biggest thing here is buy the bigger filter, make sure you can finely tune the flow itself. Aquaclears have pretty terrible flow control in my user experience.
 


for comparison, here's the "small" tidal which is the most difficult of them to adjust the flow. Still works well. the others have a larger dial so it's easier to have fine control.
 

 

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