Nguyen1111
Member
When we upgrade transfer to bigger tank do we need cycle ?
I need advice thankyou
I need advice thankyou
Tank question
- Thread starter Nguyen1111
- Start date
In my experience, generally no, but I usually transfer the rock and as much water as possible. The only thing I don’t usually transfer is the sand. You may have a small cycle as the bacteria rebounds but I’ve never had any huge problems from it.
Agree with this. Just make sure any "new" water in the new tank matches the old water parameters as much as possible. Especially salinity, pH and temperature.
Nguyen1111
Member
When transferring fish and corals the time they spend in a temporary container ?
wvned
Well-known member
There is no question there. And it depends. A large fish in a small bucket or the opposite. Even a medium fish can live a long time (a day or 2) in 3-4 gallons of water with heat and air. 1 -2 hours without it. Cold unmoving water is their enemy. They may jump so cover them somehow. Do not feed them while in the bucket.
With a 40 gallon trashcan or in a stock tank they can live months with heat and flow and the rock from the tank. Still feed sparingly.
wvned
Well-known member
Take the water you want from the tank first before you stir up the tank moving stuff and catching fish. Use it to fill your temporary tanks and mix it with NSW if necessary. Dont put fish into cold water ever.
wvned
Well-known member
I agree with using new sand. But I like to place a cup or so of the old sand to the new tank. Dirt and all. This adds all the pods and things that live in the sand to the new tank, plus all the bacterial strains you have managed to get. Some bacteria spread better through films rather than just being dumped in the tank. If your old sand looks different, spread it in a back corner and after a few days cover it with the new.
If you have a healthy tank based on live rock or biomedia that you can move to a new tank you will not need to cycle the new tank. Do not add a bunch of new things at once right away. Add them slowly and grow your biofilter.
The biomedia or rock from your old tank will be enough in the new tank for the animals that came from the old tank until the new tank contents become colonized with bacteria. Just feed sparingly for a week or two. Then you can add new things slowly and feed more.
It's very much like starting a garden and takes the same patience.
Yes there is now bottled bacteria and it works. IF it has been handled correctly and refrigerated the entire time and is not old. I have bought some very expensive bottles that were complete duds and did nothing.
Cycling has become a catchy phrase that has lost it's meaning.
It comes from the nitrogen cycle you establish when you start a tank. The amount of waste a tank can process will change every time you make a change to something in the tank. New animals, more food, less food, more rocks, more flow and lots of other things will change the nitrogen cycle in the tank.
Your tank is forever cycling in a sense.
The term used to refer to what you saw on water tests with the initial nitrogen cycle of a tank. You threw a piece of shrimp in and waited. The bacteria came from the air on dust and from stuff placed in the tank, sometimes from dirt found outside.
You watched the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates to tell if your biofilter started. When the first humps on the graph went away you stated slowly adding animals.
Now people say I overfed my tank and caused a cycle. No, you caused an ammonia spike and need to do a water change. Maybe more than one.
If you have a healthy tank based on live rock or biomedia that you can move to a new tank you will not need to cycle the new tank. Do not add a bunch of new things at once right away. Add them slowly and grow your biofilter.
The biomedia or rock from your old tank will be enough in the new tank for the animals that came from the old tank until the new tank contents become colonized with bacteria. Just feed sparingly for a week or two. Then you can add new things slowly and feed more.
It's very much like starting a garden and takes the same patience.
Yes there is now bottled bacteria and it works. IF it has been handled correctly and refrigerated the entire time and is not old. I have bought some very expensive bottles that were complete duds and did nothing.
Cycling has become a catchy phrase that has lost it's meaning.
It comes from the nitrogen cycle you establish when you start a tank. The amount of waste a tank can process will change every time you make a change to something in the tank. New animals, more food, less food, more rocks, more flow and lots of other things will change the nitrogen cycle in the tank.
Your tank is forever cycling in a sense.
The term used to refer to what you saw on water tests with the initial nitrogen cycle of a tank. You threw a piece of shrimp in and waited. The bacteria came from the air on dust and from stuff placed in the tank, sometimes from dirt found outside.
You watched the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates to tell if your biofilter started. When the first humps on the graph went away you stated slowly adding animals.
Now people say I overfed my tank and caused a cycle. No, you caused an ammonia spike and need to do a water change. Maybe more than one.
Nguyen1111
Member
Thankyou
Wvned
Wvned
Guygettnby
Well-known member
I have never cycled a new tank or existing tank after a move. I always used the same rock, sand and as much water as possible. Never had an issue or loss. This includes fish, inverts and corals. Just keep all the rock submerged during the process.
The substrate is usually mixed with new substrate though if it's an upgrade and more substrate was needed. Try to allow the tank to clear up and settle as much as possible before transferring any live stock though. I have always enlisted a decent sized canister filter to aid in clearing it up quicker.
Depending how much rock and substrate you transfer over to the new tank, your pretty much instantly cycling the tank. All the good beneficial bacteria you need is still there.
The substrate is usually mixed with new substrate though if it's an upgrade and more substrate was needed. Try to allow the tank to clear up and settle as much as possible before transferring any live stock though. I have always enlisted a decent sized canister filter to aid in clearing it up quicker.
Depending how much rock and substrate you transfer over to the new tank, your pretty much instantly cycling the tank. All the good beneficial bacteria you need is still there.
