was wondering if doing water changes during a fishless cycle upsets the bacteria
ive added a piece of fish to rott to create the ammonia and after a week its starting to smell really funky
if it safe to do a water change, how about a gravel vac? i like my tank clean
thanks for the help
I wouldn't gravel vac - bacteria will be colonising the top layer, and if you're using a UGF they'll be all through, you don't want to remove/upset them
Almost no nitrifying bacteria are in the water itself, so yes, it's safe to change the water, providing you dechlorinate the replacement water. Make sure there's still enough ammonia/nitrite in the tank for the bacteria to consume (no prob if there's a big ol' dead thing in there, lol), but otherwise, no problem. IMHO, it's actually a good idea - sometimes pH/KH get funky during a cycle, and the cycle can be inhibited by various things; water changes keep things balanced and parameters steady. I stand by my almost-motto: a water change never hurts
