a question about skipping or speeding up cycling (need to seperate fish urgently)

[SC Fish]

so i set up my 5 gallon again, new gravel and new rocks, but 
i set the tank up using 3 gallons of water from my 20 gall and 1.5 gallons of new water
plus i also used the sponge from the 20 and put it into the filter of the 5 gallon. so all the beneficial bacteria is there.

the thing is, i need to put these 4 little murdering nightmare guppies into the 5 gallon as fast as possible before they kill my other fish, im testing tmr at lunch (roughly 15 hours from now) and if its more or less there im putting them in. however if its not im putting in bio-boost and waiting till saturday lunch. if its not read by then, can i just put them in? i know its risky but im gonna have to before i loose all my other fish. i guess im wondering how risky it is, however i guess this cant be answered till i get tmrs results

 

if you know any fast ways to speed cycling let me know please! also i cant find quick start anywhere

[lefty o]

the used water probably didnt do much, but the sponge brought with it lots of good bacteria. if the water tests good, put the fish in.

[Flumpweesel]

I agree with @lefty o sounds like you have done what you can to make a good start. 

Just keep an eye on things once the fish are in and be ready to do the odd extra water change while everything gets established 

[Darax]

Anecdotally, if I put an extra airstone by my filter (sponge or hob) the cycle seems to go quicker. But.. You know. Anecdotally. One day I might have the space and time to do some experiments. 

[Tommy Vercetti]

You can add them now. Test daily and 50% water change if ammonia or nitrites spike. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Tommy Vercetti

[jwcarlson]

If the sponge was cycled, I wouldn't be worried at all.  Could have put them in with the sponge. 

[Lennie]

I personally tried using some filter media from my main tank, squeezing the sponge and filter dirt to “seed” my new tank and adding stability for 9 days( the bottle was not finished in a week so why not) and I kept with water changes and daily testing and in my case it still took 1.5-2weeks to cycle. I kept dosing prime just in case meanwhile. 

Emergencies happen and you seem to be acting for the best you can do. Older media def helps with a faster cycle but was not instant in my case. So I would keep testing and keep up with water changes

[Andy's Fish Den]

You can put them in right away. I do stuff like that all the time, especially when I get a new fish or two, come home, fill one of the empty tanks I have sitting around to use for QT and I always have extra sponge filter in tanks for occasions like this, so I throw one of them in, put the fish in and they'll be fine. As long as the bio load in that tank is not way too much it will be fine. As others have said, test the water and make sure ammonia or nitrites aren't building up and you are good.