New filter seasoning time

[DeepWater]

I have a tank with a sponge filter. 

I want to start a new tank with a new filter.

If I place the new filter in the old tank how lang until it has enough living organisms to be good to go?

 

Is it easier to simply squeeze the old filter in the new tank and go from there?

[NOLANANO]

How stocked is the old tank?  If its under stocked, I would think you could just take the old sponge filter out of the old tank and put it in the new tank and the new tank would have a colony of beneficial bacteria immediately.  The old tank should have enough beneficial bacteria on the substrate and decor to make up for the loss of the bacteria on the old sponge filter until the new sponge filter grows bacteria of its own.

Again this is dependent on your bio load. If your old tank is at capacity with its bio load then losing the old sponge filter bacteria will have negative effects.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Personally I would put the new sponge in the old tank for something like 2-4 weeks. I’d put it right next to the other sponge to allow the bacteria to colonize the new sponge. Then, I would squeeze the old filter into the new tank, move the new filter to the new tank, stock lightly at first, test often, and you should be good to go. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/27/2023 at 2:05 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Personally I would put the new sponge in the old tank for something like 2-4 weeks. I’d put it right next to the other sponge to allow the bacteria to colonize the new sponge. Then, I would squeeze the old filter into the new tank, move the new filter to the new tank, stock lightly at first, test often, and you should be good to go. 

If you're really rushed you can take the new sponge in the old tank and the old sponge in the new tank. The old tank should have bacteria going on, and recover pretty quickly.

Beyond that, with certain types of sponge it can take many weeks. For others, about the quickest I've felt comfortable is 2 weeks.

Start slow with very minimal load. One or two fish max. Ghost feed with food before you get fish and just let it go as much as you can. (basically feed 2x a week, not a ton, just something)

[DeepWater]

Thanks

 

Tank is a decently planted nano tank.  It is reasonably stocked.

[Galabar]

I new filter can take 40 days to cycle.  Given that you are putting it into an established tank, it may take less than that.  However, it would probably be impossible for anyone to give you anything more accurate than "less than or equal to 40 days, or so." 🙂

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Galabar

[Pepere]

I remember starting a 29 gallon tank where I added plants from another tank and a new filter and added filter squeezings from another tank and dosed it with 2 ppm ammonia and tested daily.  When ammonia was fully metabolized to 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, I would water change nitrates out and redose to 2 ppm looking for when the tank could metabolize a 2 ppm ammonia dose to 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites in 24 hours.

IIRC, the dosing with filter squeezings and plant transplants accomplished this in under 3 weeks.

By way of contrast, sane experiment but no plants or filter squeezings but dosing with bacteria in a bottle products twice a week using different brands took over 2 months.

It is not that I wasnt able to get the ammonia and nitrite to convert completely before that 2 month period. It was the achievement of an end point in under 24 hours.  Ie the build up of a sufficiently sized beneficial bacteria colony to accomplish reduction of ammonia challenge in 24 hours after dosing.

I grant there were not sufficient controls to prove that bacteria in a bottle products are all useless, but it was certainly sufficient as to cause me to seriously question their utility and value.  And it certainly caused me to greatly appreciate the value of fresh filter squeezings…

[Galabar]

Whenever I hear "filter squeezings," it reminds me of Married with Children:

🙂