Post Cycle Newbie Questions

My cycle finished and I got some fish, 4 colorful and easy-to-care-for little glofish tetras. YAY I'm having a blast watching these guys play in the current. Now I have a couple of maintenance questions.

The first is how often should I test parameters? I'm so used to daily testing from the end of the cycle that I feel lazy having not tested in two days.

The second is that I know I should clean my filter media, and everyone says "clean it gently in used tank water when you change water." Ok, but I am *really* afraid of rinsing out all this bacteria I just paid in well, not blood, but certainly sweat and tears to grow. If I just rinse the sponge should I be safe? How gently? Like, do I squeeze it out at all or just kinda rub at the surface? Do the ceramic thingies even need cleaning?

 

Testing once a week is a good idea. That will give time for you to see any changes in the water. Do it everyday and you'll just get paranoid. As for the media, gently squeeze the sponge to get any bigger stuff out of it once or twice a month and the ceramic you want to leave alone for the most part. That's where most of your beneficial bacteria is in the filter. You can rinse it in some removed tank water but it's not really necessary.

 

Don't forget, if you still have that sponge prefilter on your aquaclear, it will contain quite a bit of BB. The more agressivly you squish it out regularly, weekly, the more of the bb will grow on the ceramic rings where it needs to be so you can regularly clean your filter properly.
Good luck

 

Huh, I didn't even think about the prefilter; I took it off for most of the cycle and just put it back on when I put the fish in. I will certainly squish it out; should I do that right in the tank after cleaning off the gunk on the outside of it in the discarded water?

 

The prefilter sponge, mounted on the intake tube, if you never had it on during the cycle, then no worries. Wring it out weekly in old tank water.

 

Great, thanks!