Cycling New Tank with 1 Filter & Media From Old Tank

[Slaphppy7]

Anytime!....good luck with the cycle....

Don't forget to up the temp to 82F and throw in a bubbler if you have one

[Dino1956]

That part I remembered. Did that already. I'll let you know what the Ammonia was, when I Test.

[RiversGirl]

Good luck with your new fishless cycle, Dino! You are doing the right thing, this way. Good for you (and your fish)!

[Dino1956]

I'd say it's between 1 & 2 ppm. Should be OK. Sorry for the BIG photo.
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[gronlaura]

I haven't had success with using seeded media to hasten a cycle on a new tank.

I'd recommend leaving your established tank/filters alone, and starting a fishless cycle with ammonia on the new tank.

I agree with Matt.

[gronlaura]

I'd say it's between 1 & 2 ppm. Should be OK. Sorry for the BIG photo.
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Is this your initial dose - I'd say it's 1 ppm.

[Dino1956]

Yes, Initial Dose. You Think I need more Ammonia? I did it according to the Calculator. It said add to add 3.45 ml. according to my Tank Size (29 Gallons).
The other picture it looks darker in. Thanks for looking. Let me know what you guys think. I have enough Ammonia in my house to clean 2 School Buildings. ;-)

[Lady Hobbs]

With a small tank such as a 29 gallon, you don't need much ammonia. You will only be needing a cycle to sustain the stock you will have in there. Since you won't be stocking with a great deal of fish, you don't need to have a bacteria bed that would support loads of fish.........or big fish. It will cycle just fine bringing the ammonia to 1-2.

You could also move that filter over to that tank that you wanted to put there. I would have to disagree with earlier posts that adding seeded material does not help a cycle. Rather than waiting on bacteria to grow, of course it will help if you have bacteria right from the get-go. Had it been me, I would have moved that filter over as you wanted to do and stocked slowly until the second filter had seeded, as well. Sometimes a tank breaks or leaks and we need to move fish into a new tank immediately. We slap on a seeded filter and call it done.

[SueD]

With a small tank such as a 29 gallon, you don't need much ammonia. You will only be needing a cycle to sustain the stock you will have in there. Since you won't be stocking with a great deal of fish, you don't need to have a bacteria bed that would support loads of fish.........or big fish. It will cycle just fine bringing the ammonia to 1-2.

You could also move that filter over to that tank that you wanted to put there. I would have to disagree with earlier posts that adding seeded material does not help a cycle. Rather than waiting on bacteria to grow, of course it will help if you have bacteria right from the get-go. Had it been me, I would have moved that filter over as you wanted to do and stocked slowly until the second filter had seeded, as well. Sometimes a tank breaks or leaks and we need to move fish into a new tank immediately. We slap on a seeded filter and call it done.

I have to agree with this. When I bought some fish unexpectedly (5 Hastatus cories that I had never seen available before) and they would not work in one of my existing tanks, I set up a small 2.5g tank, small filter and brought over media (piece of sponge and some biomedia) I took from 2 other tanks along with a few plants. They stayed in that tank for 4 months. I subsequently set up a larger 5g tank and moved them over, adding the media from the smaller tank to the media from the larger tank in one filter. 7 months later they are still going strong.

Same thing if you upgrade from one tank to another larger one. Bring over the original seeded filter, maybe add a 2nd new filter if needed, and add all original fish immediately. The original seeded filter takes care of things while the new one catches up. I've done this too and did not go through a new cycle. I did wait more than a month to add any new fish however.

[Dino1956]

Thank you Lady Hobbs & Sue D for your input & knowledge.

My biggest concern is the Fish in the old Tank that I'd be taking the Filter or just filter media from.
There are 2 HOB filters in that Tank with Media.
If I take one filter out or just it's media & replace it with a new filter (or New Media), will there still be enough media left to sustain the existing cycle in the Tank, and not harm my fish?
My fish are my main concern here.

I could just take the filter media out of the one filter & put it in the new tank. And then just put new media back in the old tanks filter.
That would be easier and this way that filter stays where it is.

I would think after 6 months, there would be enough Media in the old Tank, where taking half of it away, would not do any damage to my fish.
But I don't know. That's why I'm asking.