farmchick Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Hi all I dont know if this is in the right section or not. I have a bigger, better, newer, shinier cannister filter that I am wanting to put on my Malawi tank :lol: :lol: What do I need to do to make sure Im not going to upset the tenants? The 2 filters are different in design, so the media isnt going to fit into a nice little slots. Can I just jam some of the old media into the new filter and assume relative safety for Mr Malawi and friends?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 yep :lol: try and get as much of your bio media into the new one, thats got the most bacteria in it. just keep an eye on the water params to make sure you dont get any spikes until the colonies fill up the new canister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 hmmm yep.. have to agree with mystic on that one move what media you can to new filter set it up on the tank let her rip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 11, 2006 Report Share Posted December 11, 2006 Belt and braces----leave the old one going as well as the new one until the new one is working properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTam22 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Do you need to swap any media at all if you have both new and old going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 nope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTam22 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 thanks, thats something i have always wanted to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 thats normally how i run in filters when i dont want to cycle a tank the long way, chuck the new filter on an old tank for a few weeks and your away (well sorta, you still gotta be careful and watch for spikes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted December 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 Belt and braces----leave the old one going as well as the new one until the new one is working properly. Oooo. I like this idea. How long do I run the 2 of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 I would leave it about 3 weeks but it would also help to stir up the media a bit to help the filter to get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted December 12, 2006 Report Share Posted December 12, 2006 If you run both filters together for a while you can. If you added the noodles from the old filter & added these to the new filter, it would jump start the new filter. The problem is there is only ever enough bacteria for the load available in the tank. So if you ever removed the old filter after running the new filter for say a few weeks, then you have a reduction of bacteria & risk a spike anyway. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aftaburn Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 If you run both filters together for a while you can. If you added the noodles from the old filter & added these to the new filter, it would jump start the new filter. The problem is there is only ever enough bacteria for the load available in the tank. So if you ever removed the old filter after running the new filter for say a few weeks, then you have a reduction of bacteria & risk a spike anyway. Frenchy Good point... I'll be adding a new one myself to run in paralell for a while still to decide whether to leave 750L/hr + new 2200 L/hr both on tank together long term... for around 400 litre all up its fairly heavily stocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Its pretty well been covered but just something else to consider... You could also do the water changes slightly less frequently to give the bactria a bit more to feed on to develop the colony. If you do your changes weekly maybe put it out to 10 days ( not like 3 weeks ) Also once you decommision the original filter, perhaps leave it a few days to grow more bactria before doing a water change. If in doubt you can always do a water change to take the load off if it doesnt appear to be coping. Thats pretty much how i did it, and didnt transfer any media from the old to the new. As a time line it went something like this: Day 0: Water change + add new filter ( usually do 60L out of 220) Day 10: water change Day14: decommission old filter Day 17: small water change (30ish Liters) day 21: small water change - to get back to my 'water change day' Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted December 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Its pretty well been covered but just something else to consider... You could also do the water changes slightly less frequently to give the bactria a bit more to feed on to develop the colony. If you do your changes weekly maybe put it out to 10 days ( not like 3 weeks ) Also once you decommision the original filter, perhaps leave it a few days to grow more bactria before doing a water change. If in doubt you can always do a water change to take the load off if it doesnt appear to be coping. Thats pretty much how i did it, and didnt transfer any media from the old to the new. As a time line it went something like this: Day 0: Water change + add new filter ( usually do 60L out of 220) Day 10: water change Day14: decommission old filter Day 17: small water change (30ish Liters) day 21: small water change - to get back to my 'water change day' Hope that helps. certainly does help thanks for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 I'm a bit late on this topic, but what I do (and it has always worked for me), is take one or more handfuls of gravel from the top of a well circulated area, and mix it in with the new noodles. Taking a handful of bio-noodles out of the old one would do the same. Never lost any fish doing it this way, from platy fry to oscars, and on brand new tanks with brand new gravel etc. I've used this technique with all kinds of filters including all-in-one tanks, external canisters and hang on the back filters, but can be a PITA with most internals. Some of my filters still have the gravel in them, as I use it as backup ceramic noodles sometimes when I dont have any spare. The small (probably unmreasurable) ammonia spike that occurs allows the good bacteria to multiply like crazy. Note not to feed them heaps for the first week though (but make sure to feed them something because you need that ammonia to feed the bacteria!!). Putting the gravel in the filter itself is a lot more effective than the old 'place a bag in the tank' method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 16, 2006 Report Share Posted December 16, 2006 I have impellar driven sponge filters and and I take the sponge from an established tank and put it on the new filter in the new tank. there is enough bugs in the water and media in the old tank until the new sponge comes up to speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.