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  • #1

    Cycling a new aquarium

    I am within a couple of days of filling my new 300 gallon aquarium.  While filling I was planning on doing water changes on my 55 gal and 65 gal tanks and possibly using the water from these to help speed up the cycling process.  Will this even help?  I could steal some bio material from one of my Eheims that is already in service and stick it into the 2260 that I'll be using to filter my 300.  And even steal some bioballs from my other wet/dry to get the Pro Clear 300 off to a good start... these are all ideas that I have, but will they really help speed things along?  I need fish in this thing ASAP.  Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.  

    Oh yeah, I'm also planning on filling with tap water that's been filtered through one of those carbon filters that Ek was talking about.

    THANKS!!
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  • #2
    Re: Cycling a new aquarium

    The old water won't help much, but the used bio-media will. It should give you an "instant" cycle, depending your fish load.
    So many things can be a mystery, when all we're seeking is freedom...

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    • #3
      Re: Cycling a new aquarium

      The only thing that old water will work for is saltwater.   Filtration material is much better for a fresh water tank.
      Currently do you have the eheim running on one of your smaller tanks so that you can the bio filtration going ?
      If not then I would put it up and running on your 65 and let it filtrate along with your other filter.
      Then when the 300 is ready you will have a filter that has already started the process, and you will be well off :)

      What fish do Jesper have
      180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
      110       Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
      58 S. Decorus
      "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

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      • #4
        Re: Cycling a new aquarium

        Tap water is fine regardless, just hit it with dechlorinator while you fill it.  Then like these guys said, use the biomaterial from one of your other filters.  Running the filter along side your other Eheims works great too as Zulaab said.  I have broken in new filters like that and it works like a charm.  Run it for a few days along side your other and it polishes the heck out of the tank that it's running on too which is never a bad thing.  The only downside is that you realize how nice that tank it's running on looks with double or triple the filtration on it full time which leads to more filter purchases....LOL!!!!!

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        • #5
          Re: Cycling a new aquarium

          Dirty water is dirty water regardless of it being fresh or salt.....to be confused with stable water which is what you want in salt.

          I would just squeeze off a few sponges/bio-media from your existing tanks to jump start the new tank. With that said though if there is nothing for the bacteria to feed on it will just die anyways.
          700g Mini-Monster tank

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          • #6
            Re: Cycling a new aquarium

            Originally posted by eklikewhoa";p="
            Dirty water is dirty water regardless of it being fresh or salt.....to be confused with stable water which is what you want in salt.

            I would just squeeze off a few sponges/bio-media from your existing tanks to jump start the new tank. With that said though if there is nothing for the bacteria to feed on it will just die anyways.
            Excellent point. Jump-starting a new tank with bacteria-laden media will speed things up for you. Once you put it in the new tank/filter you either have to begin stocking or feeding the filter with a little non-detergent ammonia to keep the bacteria alive and multiplying.

            Mark
            What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.

            Robert Anson Heinlein

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            • #7
              Re: Cycling a new aquarium

              I would run it on one of ur current tanks untill your ready to put it on the big one, and then I would still take some media from the established filter  when you move it.  make sure you have a few fish in the tank so that they provide ammonia for the bacteria.

              running the filter on the cycled tank and swapping some media around should definitely give you an almost instant cycle, but you still want to slowly add fish so you dont create more bioload then the bacteria can grow to handle easily.

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              • #8
                Re: Cycling a new aquarium

                This is great info guys!!  I will begin putting my 2260 in service on one of my tanks that's already running.  I just hope the fish won't mind the extra current (upgraded to the 634 gph pump).  And I won't be using my old water... will just use treated tap.  AND I'll be using bio material from the other tanks to jump-start the new one.

                Thanks, again!!!!

                -Peter

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                • #9
                  Re: Cycling a new aquarium

                  Your fish will appreciate it.  They can bulk up their pectoral fin muscles...LOL!!!

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