Maturing a filter

**shyta** · 28th Nov 2011, 11:06

Just a quick question here, how long would I need to run a 2nd filter on my current tank to mature the new 2nd filter?
Wanna switch the 2nd filter to a new set up soon after.

**ahhian** · 29th Nov 2011, 22:25

hi shyta,

is it a bare bottom tank or covered with substrate? if substrate is present then it should take some load off the new filter. According to http://www.aquariumslife.com/freshwa...quarium-cycle/ it should take about 24-48 h if the tank has some matured media, but I guess it will be good if you can hold it for about a couple of weeks, just to be safe.

**shyta** · 3rd Dec 2011, 16:18

thanks bro! 2 weeks sounds just nice since i'm heading into reservist next week

**stormhawk** · 4th Dec 2011, 18:08

If you're going to do this, set up your new tank with the new filter, squeeze some gunk from an older filter onto the filter media in the new filter, add some filter bacteria starter and let it cycle with some fish food. By the time you come back from reservist, the tank ought to have cycled sufficiently.

Moving a filter from another tank to newly set up tank can be problematic as the bacteria may die from stress due to different water conditions and this can cause a deadly ammonia spike.

**ahhian** · 4th Dec 2011, 23:27

Hi Shyta,

I have read your post wrongly, thinking you are going to switch to a new filter in your current setup. If you are going to use the new filter in your new setup, follow stormhawk's advice. The bacteria will have some time to get accustomed to the new setup in this way.

In the event you are already in reservice and cannot follow stormhawk's method, after you return from reservice you can still put the 'seeded new filter' into the new tank, but have to add in some bottled bacteria and wait for 24 h just to be safe. Also, remember to condition your new tank water before you added in the 'seeded new filter'.

Sorry for the mistake.

**issacyeo** · 6th Dec 2011, 08:05

what kind of filter are we talking about here? if it's sump and/or overhead filter, you can just setup the new filter in your new tank. just take half the medias from the old tank and transfer to the new filter as seeds. do not forget to topup medias into your old tank.