Question about foam filter cycling

[Dave27]

Starting a new tank that will have a foam filter in it and wanted to know the best way to get the new filter going.

I have an established tank with a hang on filter with bio.

Can I just put the new foam filter in the established tank and run it together with the hang on for a couple of weeks then transplant the foam filter to the new fish-less tank a day or 2 before fish arrive and feed it ammonia until the fish arrive for that tank?

Is there a better way?

[1077]

IMHO It would depend on how many fish you will be adding to the new tank.The sponge would contain some bacteria but the bacteria would be limited .Better in my view to put the sponge in the new tank with source of ammonia so that there is more surface area for bacteria to colonize.Bacteria grows on everything in the tank, gravel, filter, decorations, wood,plants, and even the glass. I would probably put the sponge filter in the new tank and use some material such as was mentioned from the existing tank to help speed the process and If fish were not used for ammonia source ,I would use a cocktail shrimp for ammonia.

[Graham]

By just putting it in the established tank you'll not get much of a bio up and running. There are only so many nitrifiers and only so much ammonia being produced and that bio is established for that tank.

I'd set up the new filter and seed it by wringing/rinsing out some of the existing media in the new tank. Might not look pretty for a few hours till the new filter picks all the silt and cloud/haze back up.

Then feed that new filter and tank by using pure ammonia, no rotting organics ...a fishless cycle. The more bio that you can rinse into this tank the more established the nitrifiers will be.

G

[Dave27]

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't sure if just putting it in the tank was enough.

When you say rinse the media I assume you mean the glass bio, pre filter sponge and sponge in the filter in the new aquarium and have the filter running in the aquarium.
I'm guessing rinse the Bio then dose the tank with ammonia to about 3.0

Then rinse the Bio every 5 days and monitor the AMM.
Is this a good plan?
When it starts eating AMM dose about 1. a day until the day before I plan on adding fish.
Do a 80% WC that morning before adding fish.

I won't have the fish for this tank for a month or so.

[Graham]

You should only have to rinse the established bio- media the one time. This will seed the new stuff.

At that point start adding and maintaining your pure ammonia levels and don't disturb the media.

Since you got a month before the fish you should have a well established bio by then...a major water chnage and add the fish

[Dave27]

Ok, going on a week here with this cycle, started with tap water and dechloronator in it.
I took some of the glass bio that was in my established tank and put it in the bubble tube of the foam filter.
Also squeezed the foam filter out from that established tank into the new tank.

Added 3.0 ammonia to the tank, started the filter and turned the temp up to 90 F.
Now I have a lot of little slime floating around thats coming off the air tube and such.

No sign of eating ammonia yet.

[Graham]

Turn the temp down.........after about 85*/30* they are not happy and since you're trying to get them happy, turn it down

What's the pH, NH3, NO2 , NO3 reading of the tank?

G

[Dave27]

Tank readings & Temp down to 85 F

PH 7.6
Amm 3.0
NO2 0.25
No3 5.0

[Graham]

Things are starting to work; there's NO3

[Esquire]

My tap has that much NO3 in it, that is what I started with.

PH 7.6
PH high range 8.8
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.
KH 6
GH 9.5

[Dave27]

Nothing working yet.

My tap also has a NO3 of 5.

[Apistomaster]

If you have time enough to break in a couple sponge filters in an existing tank and just before you add these filters into the new tank, siphon off half of the water, then replace that water from another seasoned tank. Do these two things the day before your new fish arrive and you should not have any problems. I have been using this technique for many years successfully.