How long does it take for new media to seed?

Request information on fish, plants or other aquarium issues.
Post Reply
User avatar
mantis
Senior Member
Posts: 526
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2020 15:53 pm
Location: Durham
Has liked: 691 times
Been liked: 252 times

Girlfriend is itching to set up here nano tank now we have somewhere to put it. The plan is to cram the small amount of filter media from her HOB filter into one of my canisters. Then she can set up the scape etc.. while her media builds up the bacteria. Just wondering what time scale we'll be looking at for her media to get covered in enough bacteria from an already established tank/filter?
Top
User avatar
SPACKlick
Posting Legend
Posts: 782
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 15:15 pm
Location: North East
Has liked: 399 times
Been liked: 412 times

It works better if you go the other way, whack some of the media from your cannister into her HOB. then feed it ammonia. it'll grow all over to keep up with the amount of food available. But it can be done in two or 3 days in good conditions, certainly within a week.
250L: Tank Log
2 female Bristlenose Pleco, 24 Cherry Barbs 7M:17F, 4 Reticulated Flying Foxes, 17 Neon Tetra, 15 Lemon Tetra, 11 Yellow/Orange Cherry Shrimp, 1 Zebra Nerite Snail, 3 Olve Nerite Snails, 4 Horned Nerite snails, 25 Amano Shrimp, Many Malaysian Trumpet Snails - AqAdvisor
Top
User avatar
VikingMummy2015
TOTM Winner
TOTM Winner
Posts: 2676
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:40 am
Has liked: 857 times
Been liked: 1824 times

As SPACKlick says, set up the new tank, move over media from your filter and test it with 1ppm ammonia. Grab a bottle of Stability and dose both filters with it just to help. Depending on what stock she’s looking to add, you can probably just fill her filter with some of your media and stock immediately (if it’s a light load)
Eg when I set up my quarantine tank of 54L, I grabbed some media from my 240L and then spent a few weeks trying to up it to 2ppm....realised late on that it was pointless as it was 8 Congo tetra, not a full tank of cichlids. So I ordered the fish and it was all good.
240L Fluval Roma with Oase 600 Biomaster: 1 German red bristlenose, 4 male cherry barbs, 6 standard rummynose, 3 golden rummynose tetra, 9 emperor tetra, 14 cardinal tetra, 2 hengeli rasbora, 3 nerite snails, 1 adult Sulawesi snail and multiple juveniles continually appearing.

Parameters: gH2, kH1, pH7.4 (tap).
Fish fiend since October 2017.
Top
User avatar
mantis
Senior Member
Posts: 526
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2020 15:53 pm
Location: Durham
Has liked: 691 times
Been liked: 252 times

Thanks both

@VikingMummy2015 It's just a 25l cube and will be stocking a single betta (I know it's not exactly the ritz hotel but from everything I've researched it will be fine for a single betta) at least until I build a stand for a 90l and use this one as quarantine or shrimp tank. We'll get it set up then I'll cut a piece of sponge out of my main canister and start testing, cheers.
Top
User avatar
black ghost
Posting Legend
Posts: 3534
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 23:57 pm
Has liked: 309 times
Been liked: 1391 times

There’s no real need to test, since your filter is obviously mature since it’s dealing with your fish.

Just transfer a little bit over when she adds the Betta, and replace it with her new media.
Top
User avatar
SPACKlick
Posting Legend
Posts: 782
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 15:15 pm
Location: North East
Has liked: 399 times
Been liked: 412 times

black ghost wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 13:50 pm There’s no real need to test, since your filter is obviously mature since it’s dealing with your fish.

Just transfer a little bit over when she adds the Betta, and replace it with her new media.
I've got this wrong before. If almost all of the ammonia munchers are in one type of media rather than another or in the bottom of the filter not the top some bits of media you transfer won't seed the full colony you need. I'd always test for a day or so just to make sure the bacteria get established.
250L: Tank Log
2 female Bristlenose Pleco, 24 Cherry Barbs 7M:17F, 4 Reticulated Flying Foxes, 17 Neon Tetra, 15 Lemon Tetra, 11 Yellow/Orange Cherry Shrimp, 1 Zebra Nerite Snail, 3 Olve Nerite Snails, 4 Horned Nerite snails, 25 Amano Shrimp, Many Malaysian Trumpet Snails - AqAdvisor
Top
User avatar
black ghost
Posting Legend
Posts: 3534
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 23:57 pm
Has liked: 309 times
Been liked: 1391 times

@SPACKlick They tend to be evenly dispersed. It’s the method I always use for setting up additional tanks, and never had a problem with it. The stock in the main tank in your signature is many times the bioload of a Betta, so if you remove say a fifth or a sixth of it you’re unlikely to go wrong.
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Questions & Identification”