Conditioning a Filter

[Deleted]

I have a fancy goldfish tank set up at present and was wondering if I wanted to start up an angelfish tank if I could condition the filters in the goldfish tank ahead of time? Have never tried this before from a goldfish tank and was wondering if anyone has some advise as to whether this can be safely done.

[andynater]

What I do is even with my filter media changes is shake the media in water you've vaccumed out and then I will put the new filter in for bit and shake it around get bit of bacteria into it and put it in.

You can also take and use some of the cycles water from your existing aquarium and put into the new one. I would still probably test it though and wait for the proper parameters.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have done that as well but was worried about using fancy goldfish water instead of tropical fish water. I think it would be safe but not sure. The goldfish are all healthy and have never had any health issues.

[Deleted]

I was surprised that andynater was the only one to reply to this. Maybe I should have worded it differently. Is it safe to take a filter off of a healthy goldfish tank and put it on a tropical fish tank?

[guppyguy]

I really don't see the harm in that. I have never had goldfish personally but I really see no problem with that as long as your goldfish are healthy.

[jbrimz]

yeah I'd rinse the sponge in tank water but NEVER the bio max if you're setting up a new tank with this filter I'd still wait the full cycle period no matter what if the tank is established and you want to switch filters run both for a few weeks before removing the old filter

[Deleted]

Sounds like if I run the new filter for a couple of weeks on the established tank then take the old filter and put it on the new tank it should be OK. I also have a sponge filter running on the old tank besides the HOB. I will also squeeze out my old sponges into the new tank and that should help establish it even quicker. Does this sound reasonable?

[jbrimz]

yeah i wouldnt rinse the old dirty sponges into clean tank water tho but thats just me, ultimately when it comes to keeping fish patience will be your best friend and when you rush things you tend to run into problems

[thornroun]

it does sound reasonable. I did the same when I put up a new cichlid tank, it establish a lot quicker, and no new tank syndrome.