SamH Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 The concept of cycling a tank can be confusing and daunting for beginners, sometimes so much so that they choose not to cycle. This causes many problems and questions down the track, often questions being asked as to why their fish have died. Recently I was looking at my 2213 canister filter and thinking, that sure is a lot of bio media in there, maybe I could share some? So here are my questions... 1. Would exchanges small amounts of media e.g 15 of my seeded ceramic rings for 15 of your brand new ceramic rings, be a viable way of getting cycled media out to new tanks? 2. If so, how long can it last in transit? 3. Who would be keen on this idea? No money changing hands except for perhaps shipping if the media would hold out that long or if you have no media to give in return. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 yeap. I do it occasionally. 1L of old eheim pro for 1L of new eheim pro. I only deal in eheim pro :lol: I chuck the water and media in a bucket, deliver it - swap it. done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I only deal in eheim pro :lol: *shifty eyes* Slip us some Eheim pro media oi *hand behind back* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 yeap. I do it occasionally. 1L of old eheim pro for 1L of new eheim pro. I only deal in eheim pro :lol: I chuck the water and media in a bucket, deliver it - swap it. done. I do that exact thing quite frequently, but I ensure that I only remove 1/3 of the total mature media in my filters and I give it two weeks before doing anything drastic with the filter or the substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I think posting would be the big problem, just like a filter losing power it will only last a few hours with out oxygenated water flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I think posting would be the big problem, just like a filter losing power it will only last a few hours with out oxygenated water flow. Thanks. Maybe keep it local then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I am unsure how much it does die off over time it would be interesting to see some facts on that.. I have had filters turned off for 4 days (unplugged) noticed the tank was getting manky did a 50% water change and things kept on trucking so there was obviously still alot of bacteria alive. I have also had tanks down for 2 days when moving from Auckland to bulls just chucked canisters into the back of the car and set them up at this end with no problems. From this I would suggest the die off is very minimal over short periods of time but I cannot prove it of course. As for changing the media around it is the best way to start off a new tank, I took some filter wool to the first person I brought fish off and exchanged it for some of their stuff out of their filters and have kept it going from there. I usually only take a small amount also, just enough to contain some bacteria to start things off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 The forum I belong to in the UK offers to help newbies with media from someone in their area. I have taken a fully cycled filter down to ChCh and set it up again with no problems. It was unplugged for about 5 hours by the time we got it all hooked up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I am unsure how much it does die off over time it would be interesting to see some facts on that.. I have had filters turned off for 4 days (unplugged) noticed the tank was getting manky did a 50% water change and things kept on trucking so there was obviously still alot of bacteria alive. I have also had tanks down for 2 days when moving from Auckland to bulls just chucked canisters into the back of the car and set them up at this end with no problems. From this I would suggest the die off is very minimal over short periods of time but I cannot prove it of course. And I've had a filter off for 4 hours during a power outage, got up in the morning to find everything in the tank dead. Fortunately there is a huge bacteria INSIDE the tank where it is safe from filters being turned off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 i think there is alot more beneficial bacteria in your substrate rather than in the filter. numerious times i have added a "new" canister to an existing tank without any issues what so ever. I think the filter holds a small amount of bacteria compared to the entire tank so taking media from an existing filter is fine but i tend to think the new tank it's going to may not be that much better off, certainly not in the short term. there needs to be the time for the small amount of bacteria to grow out into the tank itself. just my take on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I run both under gravel and canister so if one fails the other will hopefully work (unless there is a power cut and both stop. I also run the canister through the under gravel so it is like 2 filters in one and builds up lots of bactera in the tank to cope with any power outages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 when i start new tanks for fry i have used existing substrate & added fry the following day, i have done it this way & never had any losses from it. I do regular water changes, 10% daily or every second day for the first week or so & it has worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 when i start new tanks for fry i have used existing substrate & added fry the following day, i have done it this way & never had any losses from it. I do regular water changes, 10% daily or every second day for the first week or so & it has worked well. I have done the exact same thing but used good mature filter media instead and no substrate. Again, no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 well it's good it works either way. loosing fish really sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Yeah, and the other common misconception many many people make is that they think the amount of S.A the media can hold IS the amount of bacteria that will be present in the filter. In reality however the amount of bacteria present parallels the amount of waste produced by the inhabitants of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 I haven't set a tank up from scratch for years, in fact I'm not sure if I'd even know how to cycle one properly! :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 15, 2010 Report Share Posted March 15, 2010 Many people set up a tank and claim they never cycled and never had a problem. This is because they actually did cycle it - without realising it. All it means is to add fish slowly so the filter media can build up bacteria to match the stocking level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Grandad knew it worked even if he didn't know why. Still does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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