Tank testing questions. Filter questions.

I hope I'm posting in the right area. 1) when you test your tank water, do you grab it from the tank or the filter (where most of the bacteria lives)? I have an HOB. It's a self-primer, wet-dry type, do it stays full of water. Would I get different results? 2) when I wash my filter cartridges, I put them in a bucket of old tank water, turn my Top Fin waterchanger the other way, and spray the debris out of the filter. Will the bacteria fall off if I use this method? Just "swishing" it in tank water won't remove the debris.

 

HI petlover go big ben
Hey 1 just take some water from anywhere in the tank. it aint gotta be perfect a little ammonia is o.k for some kinds of fish but most need a fully cycled water that is really important to even put fish into a tank
2 I wouldnt worry about the filter pad too much. Sounds like you know not to clean it, that's good enough. Remove the debris to not clog and break your filter. Once the tank is cycled you can safely rinse it off under cold tap and it won't minI cycle unless your heavily stocked with fish or overfeeding
3 I'm not sure about the filter, mine always break
Cycle is an important part of the fishkeeping hobby. Take the time it cycles to look at your tank and get it "ready" for your pet fish. Only takes about 2-3 weeks if done properly.

 

HI petlover go big ben
Hey 1 just take some water from anywhere in the tank. it aint gotta be perfect a little ammonia is o.k for some kinds of fish but most need a fully cycled water that is really important to even put fish into a tank
2 I wouldnt worry about the filter pad too much. Sounds like you know not to clean it, that's good enough. Remove the debris to not clog and break your filter. Once the tank is cycled you can safely rinse it off under cold tap and it won't minI cycle unless your heavily stocked with fish or overfeeding
3 I'm not sure about the filter, mine always break
Cycle is an important part of the fishkeeping hobby. Take the time it cycles to look at your tank and get it "ready" for your pet fish. Only takes about 2-3 weeks if done properly.

All fish would need a cycled tank

And you never want to rinse off the filter media under tap water. That would definitely kill off the beneficial bacteria causing you to have to re-cycle your tank.

@,

I just take the water sample directly from the water, not from the filter.

The bacteria in your media does not fall off that easily as long as you are rinsing it in removed tank water or dechlorinated tap water.

 

1 You can rinse off a filter pad in cold tap once the tank has completely cycled, there is enough BB on the gravel plants and ornaments to not crash the cycle
2. I wasn't trying to tell her that fish do not need a cycled tank, simply that some are more tolerant of it than others, for instance, common goldfish can withstand a cycle and ammonia of like 5 ppm

 

1 You can rinse off a filter pad in cold tap once the tank has completely cycled, there is enough BB on the gravel plants and ornaments to not crash the cycle
2. I wasn't trying to tell her that fish do not need a cycled tank, simply that some are more tolerant of it than others, for instance, common goldfish can withstand a cycle and ammonia of like 5 ppm

I disagree. Most of your BB lives in the filter media, very little on the gravel and other hard surfaces. We see it here when people change out their filter media or run it under tap water, they test and see ammonia/nitrite spikes and the lack of nitrates indicating their cycle crashed.

I've never heard of certain fish withstanding ammonia of 5ppm. Is there some scientific literature you can source?

 

When I take samples I take them from a clear spot in the tank as far from the filter as I can get. I figure that I want to know what the water parameters are where the fish hang out

I'm not sure how your water changer works that it can spray water. Will it be tap water coming out or dirty tank water? If untreated tap then don't use it but as long as your BB is well established a good swishing won't dislodge them

 

1 You can rinse off a filter pad in cold tap once the tank has completely cycled, there is enough BB on the gravel plants and ornaments to not crash the cycle
2. I wasn't trying to tell her that fish do not need a cycled tank, simply that some are more tolerant of it than others, for instance, common goldfish can withstand a cycle and ammonia of like 5 ppm

This is simply not true. There have been people here who have accidentally done just that and caused themselves huge cycle "bumps" where they had ammonia and/or nitrite spikes lasting for weeks.

No fish can tolerate 5ppm ammonia, it would simply kill them. Are some fish more hardy then others? yes but ammonia is toxic to them all and depending on your ph, even amounts as little as .25 are toxic. If you look at the chart below, you will see what I mean.

 

When I take samples I take them from a clear spot in the tank as far from the filter as I can get. I figure that I want to know what the water parameters are where the fish hang out

I'm not sure how your water changer works that it can spray water. Will it be tap water coming out or dirty tank water? If untreated tap then don't use it but as long as your BB is well established a good swishing won't dislodge them

I can disconnect the squishy-pump part from the hose. I turn it around so the front sprays and the back pumps and use a bucket of water taken from the water change.

 

I got it! I think I have the same type of water changer

It sounds like a good idea, just don't do it at every water change. You might want to clean inside the filter cartridge housing using that method, too

 

This is simply not true. There have been people here who have accidentally done just that and caused themselves huge cycle "bumps" where they had ammonia and/or nitrite spikes lasting for weeks.

No fish can tolerate 5ppm ammonia, it would simply kill them. Are some fish more hardy then others? yes but ammonia is toxic to them all and depending on your ph, even amounts as little as .25 are toxic. If you look at the chart below, you will see what I mean.

View attachment 197239

Yes but I thought it was implied, that the fish would not actually survive the cycle. I have heard many times that a minor rinsing off of a filter in a well established tank (with substrate, plants ect) would be okay to do.
I am by no means a noob, but I am also not the best person to ask on the subject on water quality. In fact lately I'm realizing how much more important it was than I previous thought so ill concur better safe than sorry rinse it off in a bucket of old or declor water.