# Filter cycling



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Just wanted to confirm (or unconfirm) my thoughts.

Recently bought an Eheim 2217 to replace my 2215. I set it up running with the 2215 and was thinking a week of them running together would allow for a proper transition. I'm moving the smaller canister to a 20g.

Tank is a heavily planted 40g breeder (2217 is probably overkill!) with rams, cardinals, cories and dwarf rainbows.

Any thoughts?


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## moon (Mar 11, 2006)

One week is'nt enough to properly seed your new filter. Three to four weeks IMHO


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I should mention, I also took about half the EHFIMECH from the 2215 and swapped it into the 2217 (and vice versa). 

You really think like 3 weeks? Yikes. Way too much flow in there right now - it's killing off my co2. Oh well, better safe than sorry I guess.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

EHFImech barely has bacteria its the EHFIsubstrat that you want


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## Brian (Mar 14, 2006)

Why don't you just squeeze the sponge from the 2215 in the tank water?

Or do you guys not have sponges in them? Lol.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

There is no point in squeezing the sponge into the water, since the filter is already in the same tank.

Pablo: I though that the EFIMECH held a large portion of the bacteria (the cylinder like things) because of the surface space available. Not sure where I am getting that impression from though  

Come to think of it though, logically the substrat would be able to hold larger colonies of bacteria.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Chris Stewart said:


> There is no point in squeezing the sponge into the water, since the filter is already in the same tank.
> 
> Pablo: I though that the EFIMECH held a large portion of the bacteria (the cylinder like things) because of the surface space available. Not sure where I am getting that impression from though
> 
> Come to think of it though, logically the substrat would be able to hold larger colonies of bacteria.


its more due to the flow pattern and surface. the ehfimech is smooth. also the ehfimech exists mainly to create a tornado like flow which goes around the outside of the canister around and around and around.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Good to know. I should switch up some of the substrat then.

Thanks guys.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Since you swap the media, I think 2 weeks should be enough to go on. The problem is that you need to give the bacteria time to spread over to the other media. What would be better is, had you squeze the sponge from 2215 into the 2217. Let it sit for 5 mins. Then that would almost guarenteed that the 2217 have enough bacteria to work on it's own within a week. What you're doing is not just adding the bacteria, but also an abundance of food source to go with it.

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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I'll probably just let it go for two or three weeks as is, it is very heavily planted and I have never had any ammonia problems.

Again, thanks for the input.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

You know, you'd add a big insurance policy and peace of mind to your setup by simply going and getting some used filter media from someone and adding it to the tank.

The added bacteria will not hurt and guarantee you a safety net as well as speeding the maturity of this setup. Even from where you stand right now- its good to do. You will diversify the bacterial colonies in that tank.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I guess I could use some "gunk" from my other tanks and just plop it right into the filter.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Chris Stewart said:


> I guess I could use some "gunk" from my other tanks and just plop it right into the filter.


well 'Gunk' often has a neutral or negative effect. dont forget its bacteria AND FRIENDS. so there might be more 'fuel' than bacteria to burn it. Make sure whatever you use comes from an active and very earthy smelling filter. I usually physically transfer biomedia to be safe.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Point taken.

Specifically though, what I had in mind was using some of the things I use to help cycle my tanks to begin with. 

You know when you buy a potted aquatic plant and it comes with that fabric like stuff in it? After removing the plants from it, I keep all of these in one of my oldest, established tanks. I bury them half-way in the substrate and assume they will provide a good place for bacteria to reside. This tank actually is a VERY low-tech tank now and does not even have a filter anymore (it is VERY heavily planted though...I use it to grow out certain stem plants). Just has some platies and a couple of grumpy old SAE's (my god they are useless when they get older).

In any case, I use these to jump start new tanks. I typically squeeze one out into new filters (if applicable) and bury another two for a couple of weeks in the substrate.

I'm not sure how well this method works (and in retrospect, I'm not sure why I didn't do it with the new eheim to begin with), but I have never had ammonia problems beyond the one week mark of a new tank (where, in the first week I am typically trying to keep it a bit high to feed the new bacteria's growth).

In my honest opinion though, and please don't take this as any sort of advice, heavily planted tanks are actually HARD to have ammonia problems in. In the end, while not being the same thing, I'm constantly trying to increase my nitrites and nitrates! Tanks with high-bioload's tend to make up for my fertilizing errors by providing additional plant food.

Good thread though, some good advice by lots of people which will hopefully help some of the smarter beginners (yay search function...).


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Chris Stewart said:


> Point taken.
> 
> Specifically though, what I had in mind was using some of the things I use to help cycle my tanks to begin with.
> 
> ...


well increased nitrites indicate a crapped out biofilter.

Ammonia is dealt with by plants thats true.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

> fter removing the plants from it, I keep all of these in one of my oldest, established tanks. I bury them half-way in the substrate and assume they will provide a good place for bacteria to reside.


One thing I wondered is would using the "planting material" as you describe increase the risk of introducing parasites/diseases into the tank?


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

How would it?? If its in the water its in the water


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

My thinking is that it would also act as a transport for parasites in the LFS tanks where the plant was bought. Thus using the planting material would give the parasite a change to propagate.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I guess it could - and to be honest, that is probably one of the ways pond snails may have been introduced to my tanks, but when it comes down to it the plant itself will most likely also be carrying these possible problems. Unless I see a large amount of snail or algae infestation, I rarely wash the plants off thoroughly (I think the dips sometimes hurt the plants a bit, so I like the plants to be as strong as possible when adapting to the tank). In that case though, I rarely buy unhealthy plants.

As for introducing them into my own tanks, it is pretty much inevitable because I move so many plants around constantly from tank to tank.


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## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

I see, thanks for the input. Personally, I always tend to overreact when it comes to introducing things into my tanks. It's good to know that I can relax a little.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Shattered said:


> I see, thanks for the input. Personally, I always tend to overreact when it comes to introducing things into my tanks. It's good to know that I can relax a little.


Overreacting is good. It reduces the number of bad things you put in the water when you're more scrutinous.


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