Question: Cycling related

[Spartacus]

I have to re-set up a tank, and I was wondering, if I have a cycled tank already, can I use it to quicken up the process?

I have a tank set-up, fully cycled. If I run a clean filter in that tank to get the beneficial bacteria, how long would it need to stay in there to get nice and established? Then could I put that filter into the new tank, with water and ornaments from the cycled tank? If this works, how long would it take?

Just wondering if it would work, as my axies are all a bit squished into one tank at the moment, while I do maintenance.

 

[HayleyK]

Sharing media filter will definitely speed up the process, however the new tank will need a source of ammonia to help feed and grow the beneficial bacteria on the filter media.

 

[bugdozer]

I tried doing that, including seeding some media into the "clean" filter, and at a rough guess it maybe knocked about 7-10 days off the time of the cycling process. But it will depend on the throughput of the filters, overall tank volume etc.

 

[Lianne]

I squeezed the sponge from my running aquarium gently in the external filter of my new aquarium. Would this be helpful for the cycle as well? The sponge is actually so tiny I can't cut anything off and put it in the external filter. (it's an aquafish 200 filter). My big tank is running for about 4 days now, haven't seen any nitrates so far.