Just Got My Cycle Going, But My Hob Filter Pad Won't Unclog And I Want A New Filter, Suggestions?

So I just got my cycle going, the aquarium is clouded. I used tetra safe start+ and at 28 hours in, it exploded and all my ammonia went straight to 0. Now it's at .50 and my Top Fin 20 filter reads clogged. I shook it in tank water and nothing came out, it's not even dirty. But the indicator reads clogged, and I have to lift the pad up a little to get the flow to be adequate. I want to get a 30-40g filter but I'm at a loss for what to do.

Should I just empty the contents of my Top Fin pad? It's been running 6 week so if there is charcoal inside it's probably useless at this point, right?

Do I just use my Top Fin filter pad in the new filter? Both? Is it not impossible to do both without clogging the flow?

Will this disrupt my cycle? Will activated charcoal in the new pad disrupt the cycle?

I want to get away from top fin filter pads so I plan on using my old one for a month with the new brand I go with. But I'm quite sure how to adequately do this without flow trouble.

Would Tetra 20-40g filter be a good choice? I know Fluval and Marineland are the best, but I want to save money but not be completely screwed at the same time.

Thanks guys!

 

HI and welcome!

How long ago did you add the Safe Start? Do you have fish in the tank? What kind of substrate?

 

Activated charcoal will not affect your cycle, to the best of my knowledge. I cut the charcoal out of all my filter pads after a few weeks - just take an exacto knife or box cutter, cut the bottom of the filter pad and drop the carbon chunks into the trash, keep using the floss. Never causes me any trouble, and it keeps my filter from getting clogged.

 

HI and welcome!

How long ago did you add the Safe Start? Do you have fish in the tank? What kind of substrate?

Last Sunday. I have 7 less than 1 inch assorted African cichlids. I have a 29 gallon I will be moving them into and am planning on getting a 55 in a couple months to move them. I also realized after buying some species might not be compatiable..so I'm keeping an eye on them...probably will post another thread here soon regarding what to do about that as well...

My substrate is gravel, medium sized from my lfs. Ranging from 1-5mm pebbles roughly.

Activated charcoal will not affect your cycle, to the best of my knowledge. I cut the charcoal out of all my filter pads after a few weeks - just take an exacto knife or box cutter, cut the bottom of the filter pad and drop the carbon chunks into the trash, keep using the floss. Never causes me any trouble, and it keeps my filter from getting clogged.

As for the cloudy water

I know the cloudy water is a bacterial bloom, it will clear up as my tank establishes itself. So...you think I should toss the charcoal now? Should I rinse it out to make sure it's all out? I heard it can hurt fish if it gets loose into tank. And you don't believe this will hurt my cycle? (.50 amm, .25 nitrite, 10-20 nitrate)

 

Ok, the filter is clogged because you have a lot of fish in that tank, actually more than Safe Start recommends cycling with, and your filter size is inadequate. I would get a filter with about 300gph turnover rate for the 29 gallon if you're sticking with the same kind of HOB filter.

I would also pick up another bottle of Safe Start and dump it in the tank. To get the water flowing through the first filter again I would cut the floss off the cartridge and tuck it in with a replacement cartridge to preserve whatever bacteria there is that's managed to establish itself.