cycling a filter in an established tank?

[Elliriyanna]

I was going to add in in a mesh bag for like a week but your method is easier on everyone.

I really do appreciate the patience and all the help

[Diana]

Read my answer to your other post. I included the complete instructions for the fishless cycle in that thread.
This will work to grow the same bacteria whether you want to keep frogs, fish, shrimp, snails, or any other fresh water livestock in the tank.
There are some notes about adding a starter culture of bacteria to jump-start the bacteria colony.
Here are some more notes:

Nitrifying bacteria grow in a bio film, stuck to surfaces. There is so few of them in the water that it is not a good source of starter colony. It is safe to do a 100% water changes on an aquarium and lose so few bacteria that there is not even a blip in the test results.
If you have an established tank with a cycled filter, you can add another filter, add filter media, or any other variation you want, hoping to grow some bacteria on it. You can remove from the cycled tank some of the hardscape, plants or other things, hoping to transfer some bacteria.
BUT...
If the livestock level in the donor tank remains the same, then the bacteria population will remain the same. Adding more media for the bacteria to grow on will not increase the total number of bacteria.
If some of the bacteria grow on the new filter media, then you remove the filter you are removing the bacteria.
If you remove some of the hardscape items you are removing bacteria.
Keep on testing the established tank, and do water changes as needed until the bacteria colony recovers. I have removed as much as 25% of the filter media from a well established tank (several years old) and not had a problem. Note that 25% of the filter media is not 25% of the bacteria. The bacteria grow on many surfaces, in the tank, and on the equipment, so it might be as little as 1/8 of the bacteria.

But if your main tank is only a 5 gallon there will not be a whole lot of bacteria, unless the tank is WAY overstocked. You probably will not be able to take enough bacteria from that tank to support 3 ADF any more than you could add 3 ADF to the tank and hope for no mini-cycle.
If the tank is 'way overstocked' what will happen to the water chemistry when you remove enough bacteria for the new tank, but keep the same number of fish in the old tank?

No matter how you slice it your aquariums only have enough bacteria to support the livestock that is in there now. When you want to buy more livestock you need to grow more bacteria. Best and fastest and safest way to do that is with the fishless cycle.

[Elliriyanna]

Fishless cycling is WAY too overwhelming for me or I would be doing it on my current tank

[OldJedi]

YES, simply hanging the filter you intend to put on the new tank on the old one for a week or two will do the trick. No need to make it any harder than it needs to be.

[Elliriyanna]

Originally Posted by OldJedi

YES, simply hanging the filter you intend to put on the new tank on the old one for a week or two will do the trick. No need to make it any harder than it needs to be.

LOL THANK YOU ... Short sweet and to the point ... and I love the Yoda

[CrypticLifeStyle]

Home depot sells 5 gallon buckets for $2, $1 seal-rite lid. When you move, fill the bucket with the water. It will help in the new tank, even if the BB is minimal, it still helps, and we're only talking water from a 5 gallon tank.
I have moved so many times, and each time i just fill those orange HD buckets with enough old water to fill 50% of the tanks at the next location, and it's always helped keep things normal. Especially if your new location's water is even the slightness different from your old water, there is the mineral difference, and other things, and the older tank water mixed with the new wont stress the fish out, as much as different water, from a different source. Your conditioning the fish for the change which will take place with water changes as the old water goes out, new water goes in.

You ever go somewhere hours from home, or far far away for a few days, and get the farts haha. It's usually the water, and the minerals, and dissolved organics in it. Even the human body has to change to different tap water from different places

[Elliriyanna]

Thanks I have to keep the gravel and the filter Media wet also ... Luckily we are only moving like 15 minutes away

Off topic ... I HATE moving

[wendyjo]

Is your tank glass or acrylic? If it's acrylic then just remove half the water, put the tank in a shallow box of some sort so it won't tip over, and move the whole thing (with the fish in it) since you're not going far. I've done this plenty of times with my 5 gallon acrylic tanks during power outages when I moved them to my sisters house until our power came back on. Then when you get to the new house just plug it back in and add come new water. Easy as pie.