i need some advice!!!

[Dan Steveo]

hi i would appreciate it if someone could help me. i am getting a new tank tomorrow to transfer my fish it will be a 19 gallon/about 84 litres and i would like to know how long should i leave the new tank with water but no fish.

ps. i can use some cycled water from my previous tank to give a kickstart.

i would appreciate your help. thanks very much.
dan.*thumbsups

 

[Dan Steveo]

the tank will have many plants put in too.

 

[PlecoCollector]

Water won't help jump-start your cycle, only filter media, plants, decor, or gravel from your previous tank will help. Bacteria doesn't attach to the water, only the things in it. Can you put some handfuls of gravel in along with some other things from your old tank?
Even with that, it'll still take a little while to cycle, but not as long as it would if the tank had nothing in it.

 

[Dan Steveo]

yeah ok il try that but i wont be able to use the gravel as im getting brand new gravel but there are ornaments and plants and the filter that will be going in there. how long will it take roughly to cycle with that in mind.

thanks very much for your help i really appreciate it.

 

[FishGeek]

Is the current tank staying up or is this new tank a replacement???

 

[Dan Steveo]

the current tank is staying up but it will be for my baby swordtail fry.

(until they grow big enough)

 

[PlecoCollector]

I'm guessing that the cycle time will depend on how many things from the other tank you use. Do you have test kits so you can keep track of the water specs?

 

[FroggyFox]

Do you have babies currently to put into the existing tank?

You say the filter is moving to the new tank?

If the filter is moving to the new tank then you shouldn't have to worry about cycling the tank or letting it stand alone at all. Just move the existing filter to the new tank with the new fish. DONT rinse the filter out or let it dry out. As stated already, your bacteria isn't in the water...rather it is attached to every porus surface in the tank, mostly the filter and your filter media.

I merged some of your posts...you know there is that little edit button at the bottom...just click that and change your posts as you'd like instead of making a whole new post just to add a few words etc

 

[noncentric]

i wont be able to use the gravel as im getting brand new gravel

Hi Dan, just thought I'd add that you could 'temporarily' move some of the gravel from the 'old' tank to the 'new' tank to help speed up the cycling process. A couple ways to do this:
(1) Put some plastic (flat plastic bag) on top of the 'new' gravel and put the 'old' gravel on top of that plastic, then you can later remove the 'old' gravel by lifting up the plastic. This doesn't have to cover the entire bottom of the tank, just a small area to help the cycle.
(2) Put some 'old' gravel in pantyhose and hand that pantyhose inside the tank water.

The more items you can move from the 'old' tank to the 'new' tank, then the faster the cycle will finish...but you won't be able to tell until both ammonia and nitrite levels are at zero and nitrates are measurable, so the water testing will be the final determinant of when the cycle has "finished".

Also, you'll need to provide an ammonia source so that the bacteria in the 'new' tank have "food"...add either pure ammonia, raw shrimp, or fish food (feed an empty tank). If you'd prefer an "instant cycle", you could just buy Bio-Spira, add it to the 'new' tank, and then add fish immediately.

Good luck!

 

[Dan Steveo]

thanks everyone for your help