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gravel
Jan 17, 2007 22:34:25 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Jan 17, 2007 22:34:25 GMT -5
If I wanted to start a new tank, I'm thinking maybe a 5 gallon. I am unhappy with the amount of gravel I have in my 10 gal- I think there is too much. So if I could kill 2 birds with one stone: take gravel out of old tank and put it in a new one, and that will jump start my new tank's bio-filter, right?
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gravel
Jan 17, 2007 22:40:02 GMT -5
Post by bettachris on Jan 17, 2007 22:40:02 GMT -5
Yea i do that with most of my new tanks. i take out gravel from my 55 gallon which has been running since what 1999 maybe earilier. Some petstores will even do this, sell their tanks gravel as a jump start. But a thing to consider if you own a petstore, is to sell filter media, that has been used on an established tank. i know a friend of mines is selling bio-home, and he is one of the few distributors of this in the USA, and he sold some to this guy and he put it in his own personal filter and sold each piece for .99 cents. Not a bad deal for doing no work.
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gravel
Jan 18, 2007 17:48:25 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Jan 18, 2007 17:48:25 GMT -5
What is a safe amount of gravel to remove at one time from the established tank? I'd imagine you don't want to take too much out at once...
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gravel
Jan 19, 2007 10:19:17 GMT -5
Post by carlrs on Jan 19, 2007 10:19:17 GMT -5
For a 5 gallon aquarium, a cup would work well. It would be immposible to add too much, but it is possible to not add enough. What is your filter? If you have a filter other than an under gravel filter, a piece of filter media as Bettachris suggested would help a lot. For more information about cycling, please read this article: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.htmlCarl
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gravel
Jan 22, 2007 19:36:53 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Jan 22, 2007 19:36:53 GMT -5
Well, after doing some measuring, I decided that I did not have room for a 5 gal where I wanted to put the tank, so I ended up with a 2. I really only want to put a betta or something in it, so I figured that'd be ok. I took out a little more than a cup from my 10 gal and put it in the 2 gal, and then I put the filter cartridge ( a whisper 3) from the new tank behind the cartridge in the 10 gal. How long should I leave the cartridge in there?
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gravel
Jan 22, 2007 20:33:02 GMT -5
Post by carlrs on Jan 22, 2007 20:33:02 GMT -5
I would leave the "old" cartridge in for about 7-10 days or better, just leave it there and move the new one to your old tank (unless you already have another new on ein there already).
With a 2 gallon aquarium you are very limited, A single Betta would be a good choice.
Carl
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gravel
Jan 22, 2007 23:22:40 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Jan 22, 2007 23:22:40 GMT -5
Thanks so much for your help! One more question about this and I should be good for a while. If I have the established gravel in there and I put the jump-started filter cartridge in next week, should I add little bits of food in there to add waste to keep the cycle going until I get my betta? I won't be getting one for about 3 weeks.
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gravel
Jan 23, 2007 11:04:18 GMT -5
Post by carlrs on Jan 23, 2007 11:04:18 GMT -5
Yes, this is a good idea!
Carl
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gravel
Jan 23, 2007 22:39:12 GMT -5
Post by babygeige on Jan 23, 2007 22:39:12 GMT -5
Okay! Will do! Thanks again!
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