mgudyka Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Are there best ways to cycle a larger tank using a tank half as small? I read that I can use my new filter side by side with my old one to start seeding. I can take a rock from my tank and transfer it to the new tank. Maybe put in some of my sand from the 29 into the 60. The goal is to cycle my tank as fast as possible so I can purchase my rope fish before they go out of stock again. I would appreciate any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 you can do the filter thing, transfer items from the established tank etc. main thing is to keep the bacteria fed in the new tank. if you were to just transfer items over, and not feed the tank the bacteria would just die off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Those are all good ideas. Your tank would technically be cycled using that combo. Just be careful to slowly add the stock over several weeks to let the bacteria colonies adjust. When I set up my 40 breeder, I just put in a plastic pot scrubby that had been seeded for several weeks in a little 5 gallon and then added two baby senegal bichirs. The bacteria on that little scrubby handled their bioload just fine, and grew as they grew. It probably also helped that I had plants as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 12 minutes ago, H.K.Luterman said: Those are all good ideas. Your tank would technically be cycled using that combo. Just be careful to slowly add the stock over several weeks to let the bacteria colonies adjust. When I set up my 40 breeder, I just put in a plastic pot scrubby that had been seeded for several weeks in a little 5 gallon and then added two baby senegal bichirs. The bacteria on that little scrubby handled their bioload just fine, and grew as they grew. It probably also helped that I had plants as well. The rope fish I want are pretty small right now (about 6" when I know they will get at least twice that) so I am hoping they too can grow together with the bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 29 minutes ago, lefty o said: you can do the filter thing, transfer items from the established tank etc. main thing is to keep the bacteria fed in the new tank. if you were to just transfer items over, and not feed the tank the bacteria would just die off. Good point. The bacteria will definitely be fed. I might just pick up some dr tim's ammonia chloride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 Just now, mgudyka said: The rope fish I want are pretty small right now (about 6" when I know they will get at least twice that) so I am hoping they too can grow together with the bacteria. Yeah it should be fine I would think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 5 minutes ago, mgudyka said: Good point. The bacteria will definitely be fed. I might just pick up some dr tim's ammonia chloride just me, but i would just crumble up some fish food into dust between my fingers and feed that. i am personally not a fan of adding ammonia of any kind to something you want to keep alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgudyka Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 8 minutes ago, lefty o said: just me, but i would just crumble up some fish food into dust between my fingers and feed that. i am personally not a fan of adding ammonia of any kind to something you want to keep alive. I wouldn't put fish in the tank if I were adding ammonia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 i was more speaking of the live bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeisgood Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 4 hours ago, mgudyka said: I wouldn't put fish in the tank if I were adding ammonia See Irene’s video about cycling a tank. She talks about Dr Tim’s ammonia chloride and that it was hard to bring ammonia levels down after using it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenA Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 47 minutes ago, Lifeisgood said: See Irene’s video about cycling a tank. She talks about Dr Tim’s ammonia chloride and that it was hard to bring ammonia levels down after using it. I cycled all my tanks with Household Ammonia, didn't have any problem to reduce ammonia level. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifeisgood Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 9 minutes ago, BenA said: I cycled all my tanks with Household Ammonia, didn't have any problem to reduce ammonia level. That’s good.😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solidus1833 Posted March 27, 2021 Share Posted March 27, 2021 One of the best ways is to take some media from the cycled filter and place it in the new filter. Also, If you have any intake sponges shake them out in the new tank, and also as always Seachem Stability. When I set up my largest aquarium 72g, I took some bio media from my 30g and placed it within the new filter, and also took all the sponges from the original filter and shook them out in the new tank. Adding some seachem stability, and I was fully cycled in about 4 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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