Help me understand...

[Hallyx]

Originally Posted by JBosley

I got a 3 gallon tank, some new gravel and live plants. I took some substrate from my 15 gallon cycled tank, put it in a small pot and set it inside my 3 gallon tank and it was cycled in less than a day....

And 1 week later I re-checked the water parameters and it's still 100% cycled!

I've had that happen. It appears cycled in a day because the bacteria you have put in the tank is enough to remove the ammonia and nitrites. This is the bottom line of any cycle.. Had you removed the biomedia right away, you would have seen that the filter had not yet been fully colonized. That takes 5 to 7 days, minimum.

But it does point up the importance of seeded biomedia for cycling.

Were you checking your parameters during that week? What were they?

(Like your new avatar, JB)

Originally Posted by FlAussieMom

I was going to put my old filter and some of the old substraight in a little jar to let it cycle.

If that's seeded biomedia from a cycled tank, you're all set. Set up your tank, put the media in or close to the filter, add fish, enjoy.

Keep a close watch on your water parameters.