capekate

Hi Faye
your right on....
test water.... do a water change, wait at least 24hrs and re check test.
You do not have to do any water changes while cycling a fishless tank.



~ kate

Ntruder1400

To answer the question about the filter cartridge change when there was only one cartridge in there - yes - you probably did set the cycle back. You need to leave one pad (not the type with carbon in it) in there all the time. That is where a lot of good bacteria will grow. The carbon does not affect the good bacteria, but it needs to be changed every 3-4 weeks. If your filter cartridge has the carbon built in, I would do the modification suggested to remove the carbon from one cartridge (or replace it with regular floss) and leave that one in there all the time. Then, you can change out the one that has the carbon in it as recommended.

As for the water conditioner statement - most here recommend Prime. I am using Tetra AquaSafe (only because I bought a big bottle of it) and I think that it is actually slowing down my cycling. If given the choice, I would choose Prime over AquaSafe.

sirdarksol

The growing belief around here is that carbon is unnecessary, and potentially harmful. Once it starts breaking down, it releases the stuff it's trapped back into the water.
Most people suggest filling the carbon slot with an additional form of biological and/or mechanical filtration.