PhishFor20

Well i think my tank is on its way to being cycled, i have a ways to go but it will get there. My question is how often do i change the filter? The box says to change it ever 2-4 weeks or something, and i have read on here to rarely change it. I have a Whisper power filter for 10-30 gallon tanks(i have a 10 gallon tank). In the unit there is the filter cartridge and then in front of it this mesh pad thing. How often do i really need to change the cartridge? And when i do change it does it take all the bacteria that i will have worked so hard to establish? If it does how do i keep it in the tank even though i have to throw the cartridge away? Ahhh, so many questions, thank you all!

COBettaCouple

We clean our filter media weekly by swishing it around in a container of tank water to get any big pieces off it and use it until it is pretty much ready to disintegrate.

We get this stuff and cut it to fit our filters:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...&N=2004+113808
It's really durable, works great and we've not had to replace one in over 6 months of use.

susitna-flower

Same here, I just swish my cartridge around in discarded tank water. One of my filters has a built in carbon filter, I have replaced this one with one that doesn't have any carbon. The other is just a faber "bag" that you can add carbon to....which I don't add any carbon, unless I have used medications.

The bag gets so worn out after about 5 or 6 months that I replace them, but only one at a time (my filter has two of these bags, and two sponges, which I just rince and have never replaced).

PhishFor20

Ok....so i threw the bag out because it has carbon in it and it had been in there for a couple weeks, and replaced it with the only other replacement i had, which also has carbon in it....But did i just throw all my bacteria away then? I still have the black wirey sponge thing in there...does that hold bacteria?

PhishFor20

And if i did just do something stupid and basically throw all my bacteria away. What about when i have to throw the filter i just put in away? Since it has carbon in it i'll have to throw it away in a couple weeks right? So then i'll be back to square one again. I was thinking about buying biospira this week and adding it, but if i do this and establish the bacteria, but just throw the filter away again, will i have to buy biospira again?

Firecracker

Good discussion ... answered some questions I had too.

So you guys don't recommend carbon at ALL unless you're removing medication, or if there is a cloudy water problem? And the filter doesn't need to be actually replaced, just rinsed off, unless it is physically damaged?

PhishFor20

Hey this is my post man, my questions only! haha just kidding. Yeah thats pretty much what they are saying, the carbon wears out after a week or something and basically makes everything worse. I'm gunna order this filter stuff of the link that was posted above, Cobetta said he replaces it every 5 or 6 months, basically when it is reduced to rags. Anyone care to answere any of the questions i asked though? I'm going to beat myself up if i just threw away all my bacteria, ha. Thanks

Firecracker

I guess I was just verifying everything I've read in other posts ... it's good to know for sure! I hope your tank cycles quickly. I doubt you threw away all your bacteria, but I wouldn't know for sure. I mean it's still living in the substrate too, right?

capekate

Hi Phish...
well you did throw away a lot of your beneficial bacteria by doing that. Since it is a new tank, only two weeks with this filter media, you really didnt need to change it out. Im not sure about your type of filter but on one of my filters, which is a top fin, it uses the bags that also have the carbon. I took out the bag and stuffed in a sponge, like the aqua clear filters use. Cheap money. In my other tanks, I keep extra sponges filling up with bacteria for if and when I need it.
Glad you got rid of the carbon tho, you didnt need it, unless as was posted, you are cleaning up meds from the tank water.
Not really necessary to swish your media in used tank water once a week IMO. I only give it a swish when its really clogged up. You dont have to replace them.. just rinse them out when needed. They last forever that way! Like CoBettaCouple says... til they fray and need to be replaced lol..


~ kate

PhishFor20

I wish i knew my friend. I'm just waiting for CObetta or Mike or someone who is endowed with the mighty knowledge of the fish to enlighten me.

PhishFor20

Ah, thank you so much! so what should i do about the filter i just put in? Should i wait to add Biospira until i get this filter stuff in the mail?

capekate

hmmmm... thats a tough call. Right now you have fish in the tank, pretty much without any beneficial bacteria. Is this the tank that is a week old?
That bag that you have in the tank that holds the carbon and floss.. does it have a black clip on the top of it? If it does, you can slice the top and empty the carbon out, seal it back up under the clip and put it back in your tank and add the bio spira. Then when your order comes in with floss, just stuff some floss into the back of the filter. You can jam it in or add it to the bag. Without having to disturb the media in the process and start all over.
what do you think?

~ kate

PhishFor20

Ah, you rock, good call! i'm in class for another 2 hours tho...if it drys out its no good right?

capekate

... right! ....

~ kate

PhishFor20

It's all good, if it's dry by the time i get home then i'll just cut open the filter thats in there now and take out the carbon and go buy some biospira tomorrow and add it and it will all work out. I'll just do a water change tonight. If it's still wet then i'll be back in buisness and wont have to buy the biospira. THank you so much CapeKate, you rock.

capekate

..... glad to be of some help to you... good luck with the cycle!

~ kate

PhishFor20

k, well luckily i made it home in time i think. The filter that i had thrown away was still damp when i got home, so it should be ok right? Removed all the little black rocks that were inside which i'm guessing was the carbon? Hopefully it all works out! Thanks again Kate

COBettaCouple

If it was still damp, some but not all of the bacteria should still be alive. The sponge was left in though so you didn't set things back much at all probably.

I hate when they make the carbon part of the filter floss - that's one of the reasons we started using the blue-bonded.

PhishFor20

Well thank goodness, i was worried! I ordered some of the blue-bonded stuff off that website you gave me, should get here next week sometime Do you think i should still get the biospira? My LFS is supposed to be getting some in today. My last readings after i tested were- pH-7.2 ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-5-10 I've had the tank set up almost three weeks now

COBettaCouple

The tank sounds cycled and with a continuous source of ammonia, I don't think you need Bio-Spira.. unless you wanted to add it.

PhishFor20

SWEEEEETTT!!!! thank you

PhishFor20

YAY! i ordered my blue pads from the website you gave me COBetta! it said it would take 7 days but it only took like 3. Best of all, the foam peanuts it was packaged in are not styrafoam, they are the biodegradable ones! i love this website, they are quick AND earth friendly. But my question is, should i just cut these blue pads and fit it inside of my filter thats already in there? the filter used to have carbon in it but i emptied it out, so it is basically hallow.

capekate

Hi Phish...
Great to hear you got the pads in the mail so quickly! If I can answer your question for you... its a big YES... since the carbon is gone, now all you have to do is cut the blue pads to size and stuff it in that bag..put it back into the filter and you are all set to let it grow some beneficial bacteria. I'd advise against doing anything with that filter media.. just let it do its job... no rinsing after a week... etc etc etc. Just leave it there...

Good luck....
~ kate

PhishFor20

Can you rephrase that last part? What do you mean not do anything with it and not rinse it? Sorry! I'm a little slow at times

capekate

What I was referring to, was messing with the filter media can cause mini cycles.. and problems while cycling and other wise. Just let it do its thing, that is to say.. leave it in the filter, let it grow the beneficial bacteria and dont worry about rinsing it out for at least four weeks. Its a start of a substantial amount of the bacteria for your tank...

~ kat

PhishFor20

ahhh, ok, thank you very much! you have been one a HUGE help to me through this process

capekate

.... glad to have helped!

~ kate