Beginner questions

[jaylin]

I don't always use carbon. Just when there's something really nasty that I want to take out of the water or after using medications (which I've really had very few occasions to use).

That said, I keep my filters until they fall apart. That's where all the good bacteria lives. While I'm doing water changes, I keep the filter running until I've removed enough water to get a little platic pitcher (for fish use only) under the lip of the filter, I remove the filter and catch any water that comes out while I'm removing the filter. (I do that because too many times I've removed the filter only to let a bunch of gook fall into the tank.) Then I allow enough water to go into the pitcher so I can swish the rest of the filter gook off the filter into the pitcher. I also replace the filter with the filter running and pitcher in place just in case it pushes more gook out.

I use a python so I can just siphon out the pitcher when I'm done or if need be, I can siphon out the gooky stuff and get more water from the tank to rinse the filter again. That's normally not a problem unless you don't rinse off your filter for a very long, long time. And ... you don't want to use tap water to rinse your filter because you can kill your bacteria. I say can because I have occastionally used tap water and been ok.

 

[OrionGirl]

Yes, removing the dead shrimp will be okay--there will still be bits you can't get (trust me--they tend to dissolve), producing more ammonia until you can stock the tank.

In terms of 'replacing the filter'--a lot will depend on what kind of filter you're running. But, I prefer to use nylon bags and sponges. The nylon bags can be filled with whatever media you want--chemical or biological, and sponges can be cut to fit into most media compartments, easily cleaned, and last for a long time. The Whisper and similar style media that combine carbon with a sponge or mesh are my least favorite, simply because they complicate the process. You can't remove one without removing the other, meaning the carbon soon becomes useless, and replacing the whole thing means losing all the bacteria, too. So--I don't use those types of media, but rather cut a sponge to fit, and then use the nylon baggies for supplemental media.

 

[mishi8]

The Whisper and similar style media that combine carbon with a sponge or mesh are my least favorite, simply because they complicate the process. You can't remove one without removing the other, meaning the carbon soon becomes useless, and replacing the whole thing means losing all the bacteria, too. So--I don't use those types of media, but rather cut a sponge to fit, and then use the nylon baggies for supplemental media.

I've found the Whisper/Top Filters to be limiting with their media as well (traded mine for a Aquaclear filter). However, you can open the filters, shake the carbon out, and replace with either new carbon or other media like floss or foam.

 

[sands]

Yes, I know what you mean about the whisper. I added a sponge along side of the bag with the carbon so I hope that helps with the bacteria build-up. Today I emptied the old carbon out of the cloth bag and put in a bit of new carbon, and put it back in. I'm on day 10, the amonia is at 3.0 and the nitrites are just beginning to show up on the test. The shrimp is still there, looking fuzzy and weird, but not smelling at all, thank goodness! I also added a new silk plant, and plan to put another rock in tomorrow.
I'm hoping the tank will be ready in three weeks. My little goldies are growing, and I'm really eager to move them to their new home!