ATTENTION: read if you are cycling your tank

Beautifully explained




Another thing ive noticed is that if people see there's at least five responses on a thread they don't even look to see if it was actually answered. Ive been noticing this lately and then when I make a new thread I immediately get responses again but then they get merged and responses stopped.

 

Geoffrey that is one thing I'm considering doing when I have to change mine, but how long do you think it takes to seed the new filter before you remove it?

 

If the media becomes dirty and/or clogged, you could rinse/swish it in a bucket of old tank water.

The main reason why people suggest not to change the media is because you don't want to lose your BB, but if you could transfer the BB over without loosing too much, it should be fine.

Edit: I'm not exactly sure. Maybe a month? But if the extra floss isn't restricting water flow, is there really a need to remove it?

 

If the media becomes dirty and/or clogged, you could rinse/swish it in a bucket of old tank water.

The main reason why people suggest not to change the media is because you don't want to lose your BB, but if you could transfer the BB over without loosing too much, it should be fine.

In the past ive rotated the filters every 24 hours for 2 weeks and kept the filter not in use in a cup of tank water
Also, when I rinse the filter it doesn't make any difference :/

 

Why do you do that? *in a curious tone*

 

Swishing didn't do much for mine either, but it's a few months away from needing replacement which is why I'm troubleshooting in advance. Next water change I'm going to take a closer look at my filter to see if ceramic is a possibility. If not I'm getting a new HOB filter that has room.

 

Because I figure if you put the filter in every other day then it will get more and more bacteria on it. And as long as you keep it wet and don't let it go more than 24 hours without food it shouldn't die off. I replace the old filter every other day to nullify any built up toxins.

 

At a certain point, the amount of bacteria in the filter would plateau because there's only a certain amount of ammonia produced by your fish.

I personally think there's no reason to do this and I think that it'd be more work, but if it works for you that's great!

 

I love my aquaclear filter because it has a space and rather than a prefilled cartridge it has a sponge you can rinse out, carbon bag you can replace, and biostones in a bag for the BB to live on. Even when I'm cleaning out the filter I just toss the bag of stones into the tank.

Also you could potentially put whatever filter media you want in it. I'm very pleased with it. I've never tried a canister though. I will probably get one with my 75gal

 

Beautifully explained




Another thing ive noticed is that if people see there's at least five responses on a thread they don't even look to see if it was actually answered.

I see this time and time again where people do not read what has been answered and then waste time either asking the same questions or answering totally incorrectly because they didn't read all the information throughout the thread that the OP has put out there. People should not answer (especially water parameter questions) unless they actually read the thread.

I do agree it would be nice to have a form new users fill out when they need help with water, cycling or sick fish. I'm on another forum where users don't get answered until they fill out a form as its virtually a waste of time trying to gather all the same information over and over again. It annoys new users but they learn its part of the fish keeping process that they need to give specifics about their setup to be helped.

 

Someone should start selling pre-established BB on bio media in like sealed pouches of water with ammonia you just yank out and toss in your filter (kidding)

There is a company that sells sponge filters with established bacteria colonies ready to go and they ship them to you. The company is called Angels Plus and here is a link to their "active" sponge filters....



I have not personally used them, but have read where others had great results.

 

fishcrazy99 to answer you on the whisper 10i, I have the same filter on my 10g. The bacteria colonizes primarily on the black plastic tray that has the coarse spongelike material on it, although some will colonize on the filter pad too. I have yet to actually replace my filter cartridge, been using the same one since late January. I just use a Tupperware container filled with tank water and swish it to get the funk off. No real need to replace it unless it's worn out to the point of not catching debris.

 

@ to answer you on the whisper 10i, I have the same filter on my 10g. The bacteria colonizes primarily on the black plastic tray that has the coarse spongelike material on it, although some will colonize on the filter pad too. I have yet to actually replace my filter cartridge, been using the same one since late January. I just use a Tupperware container filled with tank water and swish it to get the funk off. No real need to replace it unless it's worn out to the point of not catching debris.

thank you for letting me know! I only replaced it because it like brown and I noticed the tank isn't as clear as my other 10 gallon with the same filter but newer.

 

I don't have a lot of money but I really want to get a 2nd filter for my 55 gallon so I can fully stock it. Right now I have the tetra whisper 60 on it (which isn't very whisper btw lol). Ive been looking for canister filters and someone recommended sunsun. I found a very affordable canister filter on ebay, tell me what you think

but then I also found this and I'm not very sure if this is even reliable. I saw a few videos of people using it and it seems like the flow is beyond too strong

let me know what you guys think, thanks!
also, I kinda love HOB filters and aquatops designs

 

I don't have a lot of money but I really want to get a 2nd filter for my 55 gallon so I can fully stock it. Right now I have the tetra whisper 60 on it (which isn't very whisper btw lol). Ive been looking for canister filters and someone recommended sunsun. I found a very affordable canister filter on ebay, tell me what you think

but then I also found this and I'm not very sure if this is even reliable. I saw a few videos of people using it and it seems like the flow is beyond too strong

let me know what you guys think, thanks!
also, I kinda love HOB filters and aquatops designs

I have a friend who uses an aquaclear 110 on a 55 and loves it. He's who recommended them to me. And the ones I gave on my smaller tanks are great

I just bought an AquaTop CF500 UV for my 75. Will be my first canister.

 

Vyvid and for anyone else who's wondering, the bacteria in TSS is actually suspended in a solution that contains ammonia. This concentrated solution slowly feeds the bacteria over time, until the bottle expires. Once added to water, the solution is diluted, making the ammonia present in it easier to digest for the bacteria. This is what starts the cycle.

Another known issue with TSS is that water conditioners that dechlorinate, but even more so that bind ammonia (such as prime) can kill TSS because they bind the ammonia to an extent that the bacteria isn't established enough to survive without its food source. Although prime claims that it binds ammonia into a form that's able to be consumed by bacteria, this form isn't consumable by a non established bacteria colony. While a fully cycled tank shouldn't have any problems, a tank just starting with TSS will not get along with things like prime.

When you first plan on using TSS its best to wait 48 hours after treating with a water conditioner so the ammonia binding and de chlorinating chemicals are expired, this way it doesn't starve your TSS bacteria.

 

I don't have a lot of money but I really want to get a 2nd filter for my 55 gallon so I can fully stock it. Right now I have the tetra whisper 60 on it (which isn't very whisper btw lol). Ive been looking for canister filters and someone recommended sunsun. I found a very affordable canister filter on ebay, tell me what you think

but then I also found this and I'm not very sure if this is even reliable. I saw a few videos of people using it and it seems like the flow is beyond too strong

let me know what you guys think, thanks!
also, I kinda love HOB filters and aquatops designs

The Sunsun canisters are great. I have the HW-302 on my 40 gallon and am very happy with it. If it were the only filter on a 55 gallon, you may want to step up to the next size (HW-303B I believe). But if you ran it with something else, the smaller HW-302 would be fine.

As for flow, it is not too strong, it comes with a spray bar and you can point it in any direction to dissipate the flow a bit. You could even point it backwards at the wall of the aquarium for very little flow. I have mine below the water and angled upward to create a good amount of surface disruption for good gas exchange.

Here is a link to a good review and explanation of the HW-302...



In my opinion an internal filter would be horrible on a 55 gallon. A HOB is doable, but at around 40-50 gallons or above I think canisters are the way to go.

 

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about it and I really can't do a canister, I have no where to hide it because the stand it just a steel frame. And I know my mom will complain about seeing it. I have to look for HOB filters. It would work along side my current filter. Does anyone have a recommendation for one that I might be able to adjust for surface agitation so I can remove my stupid power head that won't stick to the glass. Why shouldnt I do an internal filter for a 55?

 

If you worry about your mom seeing the filter, can you get a piece of fabric to wrap around (maybe glue/Velcro) the steel frame?

 

Internal filters take up valuable space from inside the tank. They are usually made for smaller aquariums like 10 gallons or so. For a filter to work, it needs to have a lot of space for biomedia, in proportion to the size of the tank. So an internal filter with enough space for biomedia for a 55 gallon would be pretty large in my opinion.

A HOB filter can also be seen hanging off the side of the tank. The canister could go underneath your steel frame stand. Geoffrey's idea would work as well.

 

Thanks geoffrey I thought of that idea as well but wasn't sure what my mom would think but it is worth a shot. Maybe there's a pattern she would be okay with. How loud are the canister filters? That's another thing she likes to complain about lol

 

There is a company that sells sponge filters with established bacteria colonies ready to go and they ship them to you. The company is called Angels Plus and here is a link to their "active" sponge filters....



I have not personally used them, but have read where others had great results.

I got a couple in with some angels years ago, more out of curiosity than anything. They work as advertised, surprised more people don't sell a product such as this.