medication and carbon question

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kudd187

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Jan 25, 2013
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Blake
So Im doing a fish in cycle and its not cycled yet. I just got a new fish today and got some life guard all in one treatment and i was wondering if i used that to prevent anything from spreading just incase to my new fish even tho the new one seems healthy but would the 2 week old carbon make the meds not work and i can't just take carbon out since my filter is a marineland penguin 150 and the cartridges are sealed. Should i not even worry about something spreading and would taking the cartridge screw up my cycling?! i can't quarantine it cuz my quarantine tank has fry in it and my breeding tank has a betta that Im trying to breed in it. I hope someone can help me out with this question.
 

Slappy*McFish

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Easy solution, don't use the meds unless you know for sure the fish is diseased.
 

kudd187

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That's what i was thinking but it really made me nervous is that they just got that batch dwarf gouramis in today so they didn't get a chance to medicate themselves yet. That's the only reason why i even am worrying about it but atleast i have medications on hand. I just hate the fact that you can't take the carbon out of penguin filters... One thing i can't remember is if the good bacteria that grows in the carbon or the filter part.
 

Slappy*McFish

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The bacteria grow on all surfaces within the filter media. The carbon can always be removed via a slit cut across the filter insert using a razor blade or sharp knife.
 

kudd187

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Blake
In worse case scenario and i had to medicate would that be the way to go or just take it out? Im sure more of the good bacteria grow on the fabric vs the carbon tho or is it the other way around?
 

Rbishop

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Expended carbon is just about the most perfect biological media there is, IMO. If the fish are not ill, I would not treat.
 

kudd187

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Blake
Thanks for the information, that's exactly what i wanted to know!! i have one more question. Does anyone own a marineland penguin bio wheel version filter?? I have one and wondering if they are really good filters? Only problem i have so far is that they get dirty really fast and starts pushing water through the overflow port and when it does that does it mean crap is getting filtered properly? I lifted the filter up a little bit so it would stop overflowing l. Is that bad to do? I don't want to change it cuz my tank is really close to being cycled i think cuz i went through a ammonia spike and went down and now is going through a nitrite spike then no2 one and what i remember the next step is the nitrates should start to gain and level out. Do I have that correct? Thank you everyone!!
 

Slappy*McFish

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If your inserts are clogged and water flows over them, then you need to clean/rinse them off. Do a partial water change and scrub/swish the filter inserts in the old tank water. The bacteria on the inserts will not be compromised. These inserts only really need to be replaced when they start falling apart. Also, with the bio-wheel, most of the bacteria are populating the wheel.
 

kudd187

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Blake
I have been washing the filter a few times a week in the last bucket of dirty tank water when i do daily water changes and i do gravel vacs 2-3 times a week. I do a 50% change every three days but most days i do a 25% change since Im doing a fish in cycle so i have to. My nitrites are at fricken 3.0 ppm right now and that really has me worried!! I have yet to lose a fish though and they are still happy and are not showing big signs of stress and also i moved my feedings from 2x daily to 1x daily cuz i figured that might have something to do with the higher levels. Does that sound like a good plan for now and i have wondered is there ever a too much water changes and if that Will effect my cycling in any way? Thank you for the help and i hope i am not asking too many or stupid questions!!
 

esoepr1976

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I really like the biowheel filters. Especially because most of the BB is on the biowheel and not on the filter, so changing the filter doesn't usually cause a cycle.
Also, as others have said, I wouldn't medicate unless I knew the fish was sick.
And, what others haven't pointed out, why are you adding a new fish to a tank that isn't cycled yet? I realize you are doing a fish in cycle, but typically you wait for the tank to cycle completely with the fish you have before adding new fish. When you add a new fish before the tank has finished cycling, you will add more ammonia and increase the cycling time...

Emily
 
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