Filter changes

You should never change the filters while cycling, (unless it is unaviodable and you are willing to sacrifice the cycle.) It will generally take 2 weeks for bacteria to seed in the filter media, so if you have something like an aquaclear and you would like to change part of it after 2 weeks, you can if it is absouletly neccesary.

Under normal conditions, however, you will want to change the filters whenever they become so clogged that they are interfering with the amount of water passing through the filter. In a Whisper, for example, once water starts overflowing, (it will happen near the intake,) you may want to consider changing the filter.

I very rarely change filter media or cartriges. I have Aquaclear sponges that are 5 years old. I think many will agree that it is best to just rinse them out in tank water while doing water changes. Every time you change a cartrige or sponge, you are removing beneficial bacteria.

Just a quick question. When you do your water changes, are you also vacuming the gravel? You would be suprised how much gunk works its way down there.

Along the lines of what Rocketman was saying...Dont do the deep gravel vac until your tank is cycled. Best of luck.

Hi Momopoms,
Like Dtman, I just rinse the sponges and any envelope-type filters in the change bucket using water on its way out. I work them until the gunk is gone.

Ideally, it'd be nice to leave the filters maturing in peace. This may not be possible with your very heavy bioload. If the gunk is starting to impede waterflow through your filter, then your filter isn't really functioning the way it's supposed to. This isn't what you want to have happen.

For the time being keep them clear, in the future keep them clean, but there is no need to replace them on a regular basis. Treat them like kitchen sponges… just rinse them clean unil they start to go, then swap them out in stages.

Another litle tidbit that may help with both this problem and the nitrites… the amount of waste being produced by the fish is directly related to the amount of food they're processing -- feed lightly and maybe even every other day until you finish the cycle. This isn't going to be bad for the fish and will make the whole process less stressful for both you and them.

Edit: likewise the gravel. The decaying material is another source of ammonia and nitrogen. You don't want to do a deep scouring type of cleaning, but it would be good to get as much of that stuff out of there as you can. Try leaving the gravel alone and just pulling the gunk up from above the surface of the substrate.

You're stuck in the middle of a less than ideal situation, you're not going to find an ideal solution… you'll need to work out some compromises. Lesser of two evils sort of thing.

HTH (hope that helps) and good luck…

Re: gravel vac`

Originally posted by momopoms
Ok, so now that I am confused, lol...
Do I, or don't I vacuum the gravel?

Click to expand...

Personally, I wouldn't vacuum the gravel during cycling. If there really is a lot of trash in the gravel, just very lightly touch the python to the top of the gravel and let it suck some of the trash up.

Even once the tank is cycled, I wouldn't deep clean the entire tank at once. Do half each water change and you should be OK.

During a fishless cycle, you should be cleaning out as much waste as you can. If there are measurable amounts of ammonia and nitrites, there is plenty to encourage the bacteria to grow. Removing waste beford it can decompose prevents high spikes, which will injure your fish.

I clean the entire substrate of my tank with each cleaning. Vacuuming will not remove the beneficial bacteria, all it will pull up is wastes. Since your goal should always be to provide the best water quality for your fish, leaving waste in the system makes no sense.

Yeah, as I recall we had this conversation about whether to vacuum during cycling or not a few months back...I think the conclusion was "to each his(or her) own" because although we decided it would be best to get waste out of the tank and vacuuming would not suck up and bacteria, we also came to the conclusion that by turning over the gravel, you are moving what was previously exposed as a top layer, (and receiving oxygen from the water,) into a bottom layer, and killing off the bacteria.

I worded that all wrong, lemme try again.

If you do Vacuum, you will move gravel that was receiving oxygen into a layer that possibly isn't receiving any oxygen, which will kill off the bacteria, impeding your cycle.

If you don't Vacuum, you run the risk of a spike, as OrionGirl stated, and besides the water quality, your tank just looks crappy too.

You don't have to completely churn up the gravel to remove solid wastes on the surface. I never disturb the lower layers of sand in my tanks, but vacuum weekly. Without a UGF pulling things down, very little waste should get very deep into the substrate.

Everything ends up being 'to each their own".