# Seeding Biomedia



## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

I just got giving some xp3's, 404 and 403 filters. I have a 60 gallon tank I'm in the process of setting up for my old high school. I want to have one of the pumps have established biomedia by Sunday for when I finish the tank setup. The largest tank I have established at home is running a 2213. If I swapped out the biomedia with the media I want to establish, would one week be enough time to get start of a bacteria established on the media? How should I keep my existing media alive to replace back into my canister Sunday? My thoughts are to place the existing media into a filter sock and float it. Am I on the right track?


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## Ekrindul (Jul 3, 2010)

What kind of fish load are you going to start off with? That will be the deciding factor on how much bio media you will need to add to seed the new filter. I generally start with a very small amount of seeded media mixed with a large amount of new media, as you usually begin with a light fish load. Despite any precautions you take initially, I still think it's wisest to not push the system early with a high fish load. 6 to 8 small fish to start, thereafter 2 to 6 fish depending on size every 5 to 6 days.

You could add much more bacteria by collecting several cups of mulm from some of your filters and mixing it into the new substrate. If the plants for the new tank are coming from established tanks, the roots will also hold a great deal of bacteria.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

You can also get some mulm from your substrate in the existing tank.


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## digital_gods (Apr 23, 2010)

*Thank you for the great information.* I didn't think about collecting mulm. On the day of setup, I'll do a filter cleaning on my established tanks and collect all the filter water. I will also toss in some used floss from one of the HOB TopFins filters into the canister.


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