# Tank Cycling Question



## 702noobie (Feb 22, 2008)

I took my old filters, put them in a plastic container that has holes and let it sink to the bottom of the new tank. Will this help cycle my new tank and canister?

Just trying to figure out a way to speed up the cycling process of my new tank.

Thanks


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2008)

702noobie said:


> I took my old filters, put them in a plastic container that has holes and let it sink to the bottom of the new tank. Will this help cycle my new tank and canister?
> 
> Just trying to figure out a way to speed up the cycling process of my new tank.
> 
> Thanks


i guess it could but cant you just take out the media from the old filter and put it in the canister?


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## 702noobie (Feb 22, 2008)

The old filter is an HOB filter (cartridge type filters, it won't fit in the canister), it is still attached to my smaller 50 gal tank with my p and other fish in there.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2008)

702noobie said:


> The old filter is an HOB filter (cartridge type filters, it won't fit in the canister), it is still attached to my smaller 50 gal tank with my p and other fish in there.


you can just run the filters on the tank, because putting the entire filter in the water will be the same as running the filters. that should get tank to cycle faster, but im thinking how would you know if the canister has bacteria in it if the tanks readings could be clear just from the already established HOB.


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## Big-Kev (Mar 29, 2008)

702noobie said:


> I took my old filters, put them in a plastic container that has holes and let it sink to the bottom of the new tank. Will this help cycle my new tank and canister?
> 
> Just trying to figure out a way to speed up the cycling process of my new tank.
> 
> Thanks


Yes this will help establish bacteria faster. 
Something I would do is to shake the old filters in front of the intake to the canister filter. Try to shake some of the bacteria loose to help spread it around.


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

If it is a new tank, all the bacteria is going to die off. Despite what others say, bacteria needs a source of food, the food would be ammonia. If your tank is new and hasn't been running for more than a week with an ammonia source the media is going to die off. Throw in some pieces of shrimp, or some low cost fish to put some ammonia in the water before you waste all the good bacteria from your established tank on seeding a dead tank....


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2008)

timmy said:


> If it is a new tank, all the bacteria is going to die off. Despite what others say, bacteria needs a source of food, the food would be ammonia. If your tank is new and hasn't been running for more than a week with an ammonia source the media is going to die off. Throw in some pieces of shrimp, or some low cost fish to put some ammonia in the water before you waste all the good bacteria from your established tank on seeding a dead tank....


i thought he was just cycling the tank and putting the filter or media in there so it cycles faster.


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

Wittlestguy said:


> If it is a new tank, all the bacteria is going to die off. Despite what others say, bacteria needs a source of food, the food would be ammonia. If your tank is new and hasn't been running for more than a week with an ammonia source the media is going to die off. Throw in some pieces of shrimp, or some low cost fish to put some ammonia in the water before you waste all the good bacteria from your established tank on seeding a dead tank....


i thought he was just cycling the tank and putting the filter or media in there so it cycles faster.
[/quote]

Thats what he wants to do, but if he does it is still going to take about 4-6 weeks to cycle. Once he puts the media in the tank it is slowly going to die off as there is no ammonia aka food. He needs to make sure there is an ammonia reading before placing the media in the tank.

I can best describe it as this. Put a human in a room without food for a period of time, will he live ? No. Same thing with the bacteria on the media, no matter where you put it, if there is no food it is going to die...


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

A problem with throwing the media in the tank instead of having a filter running it would be that the bacteria on the cartridges will die off because no oxygen will be running through the cartridges. So even if he had an ammonia source by putting the cartridges in the tank, they will still die off.


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

Dr. Giggles said:


> A problem with throwing the media in the tank instead of having a filter running it would be that the bacteria on the cartridges will die off because no oxygen will be running through the cartridges. So even if he had an ammonia source by putting the cartridges in the tank, they will still die off.


Good point, i forgetabout locking the guy in a room with no food or oxygen


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