New user introducing himself..and asking a few questions! :D

Welcome to the world of fishkeeping! It is a rewarding hobby that you are certainly sure to enjoy. You are already starting off on the right foot by doing your research before taking action.

The bacteria which process ammonia and nitrite (the nitrogen cycle stuff you've been reading about) will grow on just about any surface in your aquarium. Items with high surface area, such as sponges, allow large quantities of bacteria to colonize. Some bacteria will form on the carbon, but removing the rather small amount here when changing carbon cartridges will not significantly affect the overall bacteria population in your tank.

That being said, carbon is generally unnecessary unless your water becomes dirty, stained, or you want to remove chemicals/medications from the tank.

The forms of filtration you read about are likely one of the three main types of filtration: mechanical (done by a power filter and sponge/floss/etc), chemical (usually performed by carbon), and biological (performed by the bacteria we mentioned earlier). Your power filter, along with appropriate media (probably included) will handle all of these types. You should not need a second filter, and I definitely would not recommend using a UGF (undergravel filtration) kit.

Live plants do process nitrate, some ammonia, phosphate, and other waste products from your water, but you still will rely on your power filter as your main source of filtration. Note that live plants do not cut down on the requirement of regular water changes.

Doing water changes and gravel vacuuming does not require the removal of fish, so don't bother with bowls of any kind. (Just don't slirp one up while doing the cleaning and you'll be fine.)

Good luck!
Mike

Sorry for the long post!

intercede007 said:

Hi all!

I'm very glad I stumbled upon this forum (God bless Google!). My girlfriend and I were at PetsMart a few weeks ago, and I was fantasizing outloud about starting an aquarium. I got her jewlery for V-Day, she bought me a 20 gallon glass-tank starter kit!

Click to expand...

Welcome to Aquaria Central. I too Googled onto it just in the middle of December. Wonderful place and I have learned... ummm, tons. By the way, the girlfriend is what we in fishing terms call a "keeper".

intercede007 said:

Anyway, on to the important stuff...

I'm reading everything I can get my hands on about fishless cycling. I really like the idea, and it will get me in the habit over the course of a month+ of testing the water and learning how to tend it properly without the risk of killing fish. But a couple questions..

It's a 20 gallon high TopFin All-Glass tank. It has a filter, heater and lighted hood. It comes with one sponge filter and a carbon filter that sits behind it. I've read that carbon filters are bad for bacteria colony growth, because replacing them ever 30 days damages the nitrogen cycle (hopefully I'm using my new vocabulary properly ). It's been suggested that the carbon filter should be swapped out for a second sponge filter instead. The thing is, the carbon filter sits in a grooved slot behind the sponge filter. Are there drop-in sponge replacements for the carbon filters? Like I said, there is a slot carved out just for the carbon filter. Will another sponge filter fit?

Click to expand...

Possibly there is a sponge just like the one you have that Top-Fin sells. If not, you can use any number of solutions. You could tear the carbon from the frame and replace it with filter foam or filter floss that you just rubberband into place. You could even leave the carbon filter in there. Activated carbon quits working after a time. Some people will warn you that leaving de-activated carbon in your tank is dangerous as it can leech back into the water what it has absorbed, but that is a myth. Lots of folks use sponge or foam cut to fit the slot in their power filters. There are loads of options.[quote-intercede007]It's also been said that I need two forms of filtration. The filter that came with the tank is a TopFin 20 (which, I would assume, means it should filter a 20 gallon tank ) that I spoke about above. Now, should I be looking into an undergravel filtration kit? What are my other options?[/quote]I don't know the flow rate of the TopFin 20, but most companies woefully overestimate their filters capabilities. Basically you want at least 100 gallons per hour turn over in your 20 gallon aquarium. Most folks around here, myself included, shoot for more because we've found out that there is no such thing as overfiltration (though there can be too much water flow for certain fish). A lot of folks will say the rule of thumb is between 8 - 10 times water turnover per hour. So, in your case 160 - 200 gallons per hour should pass through the filter. I have something like 8.6 times in my tank and it stays very clear and my fish do fine with the current. As for having two forms of filtration, I don't see a particular advantage necessarily to having say an undergravel and a power filter. I do firmly believe that one should have bio-filtration as well as mechanical filtration. Your TopFin handles that for you in that the filter sponge traps debris (mechanical) as well as provides a place for beneficial bacteria to grow (biofiltration). Carbon provides chemical filtration in that activated carbon removes chemicals from the water. I have a planted tank, so I sort of add chemicals to my water, no need or desire for carbon for me. I also like to urge people to have more than one filter, if at all possible. I like redundancy. it makes me feel safe. I have two Penguin 125 Bio-Wheel filters on my tank, circulating 250 gallons per hour (in theory) in a 29 gallon tank. If one ilter ever faulted, I still have one working so I have automatically bought myself some time to replace the old filter. I like that sort of peace of mind. I have two heaters as well.

intercede007 said:

I haven't found anything that says one way or the other, but do live plants help "buffer" the levels in the tank? In other words, will/do they act as another means of natural filtration? As I understand it though, I can't have an undergravel filter with live plants.

Click to expand...

Plants do act as a sort of filter in that plants like waste. Plants use ammonia and nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide produced as waste by fish. They take these and with light, photosynthesize it and in turn produce oxygen. Nice little set up! Fish need oxygen to live. If you feel the need, you can sing "The Circle of Life" from the Lion King now.

intercede007 said:

If I go to PetsMart and buy 2 fish bowls, will it give me the space necessary to keep my fish alive while I clean the tank? Vacuuming gravel doesn't sound like a good idea with live creatures swimming around .

Click to expand...

Actually, as bad an idea as it sounds, it's the best option, in my opinion. Netting fish in general is a big stressor. Fish deal with stress very poorly. It is often a leading contributor in fish death. It weakens their immune systems and opens them up for disease, infection, parasites, fungus... ugh! Your fish will be less stressed if they are in a familiar environment, even if the water level is getting lower. You just have to watch what you're doing is all. My gravel vacuum has a little switch to stop suction, so if I see anything unusual in the gravel tube, I flip it, inspect it, if it's a fish, it swims out, then I resume the vac. Simple enough. Fish will learn that the vac is not to be messed with after a while.

intercede007 said:

I'm looking for a tank that will be tolerant of a novice. I don't have to have the brightest or the most fish, I just want a miniture body of water that I can care for and not damage fish in the process of discovery. In reality though, I'm not going to be in the market for fish anytime soon, which gives me plenty of time to research varieties.

Click to expand...

I still consider myself a novice, honestly. And all any of us really want is that same thing. A little ecosystem in our home to look at and enjoy.

intercede007 said:

I would really like to try live plants, and I understand that if my goal is to use live plants, I need to cycle with live plants, correct?

Click to expand...

First of all, I think live plants are a great choice. I set up my first planted tank in December and I Love it. Any tank I get from now on, if compatible with my fish, will be planted. You should swing by the FW Aquatic Plants forum, lots of good info there. Lighting is important, fertilization etc. Also, you do not have to cycle with live plants. You can do a fishless cycle, then add plants and fish if you want. I planted my tank and used Bio-Spira for a slightly fishy cycle.

intercede007 said:

Anyway, thanks for the wonderful FAQ's and the pointers! Admins...the search function works very well

Thanks all!

Click to expand...

Search is a great tool! Keep up the research, that's how you learn in this hobby, and this site is one of the best around. Hope to see more of you in the future!

Getting another filter is a good idea, you can run as many as you want on one tank. The water can't be "too clean" in terms of regular mechanical filtration. The extra sponge and anything else in your filter will provide an area for your beneficial bacteria to grow on. Once you have them, keeping bacteria is a lot like keeping fish. Give them (relatively) clean warm water, food, and a hospitable environment (like a sponge) and they will continue to flourish in your tank.

I agree with Harlock that you really can never have too much filtration, but on a 20 gallon a second filter might be a bit overkill for your needs. You can't go wrong with a bigger/higher-flowrate filter, as long as your tanks inhabitants won't be bothered by the potentially higher current.

The amount of surface area you could add with extra decorations pales in comparison to the surface area of a sponge, floss, gravel, etc. These items in your tank and filter have much, much larger surface areas and having enough surface area isn't really something you need to be concerned with.

Once a tank is cycled, the only common things that could cause your tank to recycle are if an additional source of ammonia and/or nitrate is introduced (new fish or other livestock), a fish dies (causing a large spike in ammonia), or the killing off of your bacteria colony (by introducing chlorine/chloramine or other chemicals not intended for an aquarium). It's a good idea to check your levels on a regular basis after your tank is cycled, but you don't need to check nearly as often as during your cycle unless you suspect something might be wrong.

Mike

Well, people go back and forth with plants and fishless cycling. I think you'll find that the plants will suck up ammonia well and make fishless harder, in actuality, as your readings will likely flucuate a bit. The way fishless works, you can do the fishless cycle without plants, then add your full bioload and plants all at once. If anything, the plants will consume the ammonia from the fish and if any bacteria die off, you've lost nothing. The tank is still cycled, still has the bacteria present, and will even itself out without being harmful to the fish or plants. The fish and plants would outcompete any "overage" of the bacteria for nutrients and those bacteria would simply die back to the correct level in the tank. You can also, by planting very heavily, effectively skip the cycle as the plants will use all of the waste fish produce. I guess mainly, I dislike the idea of dropping pure ammonia into a tank with plants in it. I planted well and use Bio-Spira. My tank was cycled quickly that way.

A very important point. "Cycling" means the process of building the bacteria beds to the point where they can process a given amount of waste. "Cycled" therefore means a tank that has reached that balance between the size of the colony and the available food supply. It is not a permanent condition, nor is it prone to getting out of balance without a cause. However...There are things that can happen to 'uncycle' a tank. Medications--antibiotics, specifically--are not discriminatory and will kill the beneficial bacteria. Sudden temperature spikes can also kill the bacteria, while dips can slow them down past being able to process the load. pH that drops too low (usually found in tanks with low KH, or in tanks where small or infrequent water changes are performed, so called Old Tank Syndrome) will also impair the bacteria's function. Increasing the bioload--overfeeding, adding lots of fish at once, adding one large fish, rotting matter from either a fish death or plant death--are all events that can produce more ammonia than the established bacteria can handle as well.

But--these are all events that can be identified! So, while 'cycled' isn't permanent, it is stable given proper maintenance.

I've said this many times, because I failed to do research when setting up my tank. The best thing to do since you're in no rush to buy fish is go the the LFS with pen and paper in hand and write down all the fish you like, in your price range, whatever, and go home and research them. See if they are schoolers, what kind of water they prefer, if they are aggressive, how big they are WHEN FULL GROWN! etc., and you'll have all the information you need in terms of buying fish. I failed to do this and bought 3 bala sharks (they get to be 10-14 inches ) and have since moved them out of the 35 gallon tank I started with, into a new 60 gallon I just bought a couple of months ago and am now on the search for a 150 gallon or larger so that I can keep them when they get bigger! I figure, why stop now?!?! Its more of an addiction now than a hobby . You've been warned
Good luck!!