# Cycling tank



## brittanyschmidt (Oct 13, 2015)

I just bought and set up a 20 gallon aquarium today that I want to put convict cichlids in. I have an established 10 gallon aquarium with a goldfish in it that I've had for almost 4 years. I took a sand dollar out of it and put it in the 20 gallon tank to introduce bacteria. Will that be enough to cycle the tank? How long do I need to wait before getting cichlids?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

add existing media to the new tank to cycle faster


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## vreugy (May 1, 2013)

You could rinse the filter media of the 10 in the new tank. Looks terrible, but it will clear in a day and give you a cycled tank. I have done this with size up to a 30 g.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Nitrogen cycle. 

You would want to add the fish at the same time you added the *cycled* media to the new tank.


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## big b (Jun 28, 2014)

I don't think someone is gonna tell you this so I'm gonna tell you. You have a 20 gallon and you want convict cichlids? Convict cichlids get to about 6inch and are aggressive. Also, if you get a male and female, then they will breed nonstop. They breed faster then guppies. If you were to get 2 or more convict cichlids then I would recommend only getting one gender. However, since the tank is only 20 gallons and these fish get to about 6 inch, I would only get 1 convict cichlid. 
I am only telling you this information so that you don't end up with problems later on. I'm not trying to dash your hopes, I'm trying to help you succeed with your fish.


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