When I must change my sponge filter in my fish tank

Hello Everyone,

I am gowri here, I recently bought my fish tank. Today it has been 2 weeks the nitrogen cycle is running up. May I know when i must change sponge filter. I am only using 1 piece of sponge filter. Can someone please advise me when I must change this filter... even if washed them with old aquarium water also same after 2 days the dirt will be there.. so should change the sponge filter during this nitrogen cycle or any other advise?

 

Welcome.

You never need to change your sponge u less its fallen apart. You can clean it in old tank water whenever it gets too gunky.

 

Just squeeze in old tank water or treated water and get the disgusting gunk out.

 

smee82 and FishSupreme can i add another piece of sponge on top my old filter?

 

smee82 and FishSupreme can i add another piece of sponge on top my old filter?

You can add extra media anytime as long as it fits and doesn't restrict the flow of water.

 

You can add extra media anytime as long as it fits and doesn't restrict the flow of water.

Thank you. And one more question when I can add extra fish in my aquarium which just completed 2 weeks of nitrogen cycle?

 

What are your water parameters right now? The cycle isn't measured in time, it's measured in results - concentration of ammonia and nitrites, which should both drop to 0 when it's done.

Once both of these are at zero, do a water change to drop your nitrates to 10 ppm, and add a 2-3 fish.

 

Thank you. And one more question when I can add extra fish in my aquarium which just completed 2 weeks of nitrogen cycle?

I would want to see a constant zero reading for both ammonia and nitrites for several days in a row and would want to see the nitrates gradually going up before I started replacing the lost fish. Those numbers will tell us that the cycle is done. When you do start adding them just add 2 or 3 at a time.

Keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrites levels just in case there is a spike in them. Should that happen just keep them down with water changes. In any case it shouldn't take more than a day or two for the bacteria to catch up with the higher bio-load.

 

V1K and mattgirl
My current parameters reading is
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: <0.25 (as i didnt see much light green in the test tube)
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 0

 

V1K and mattgirl
My current parameters reading is
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: <0.25 (as i didnt see much light green in the test tube)
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 0

Looks like your cycle only just took off, it's too early for fish. How much ammonia or fish food are you dosing? You should be further down the road at two weeks, I think you may not be providing enough ammonia. Describe your cycling process exactly, what have you been doing to your tank for these 2 weeks.

 

V1K and mattgirl
My current parameters reading is
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: <0.25 (as i didnt see much light green in the test tube)
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 0

We are getting there. I do have to ask if you are sure you are running the nitrate test correctly. Are you sure you are shaking bottle #2 like your life depends on it. It is the only bottle in the kit that needs extra attention. You need to break the sediment that has settled to the bottom of the bottle. I bang mine against the palm of my hand while shaking and actually shake it much longer than recommended 'specially if I've not used it in a while. If this isn't done you won't get an accurate reading.

Looks like your cycle only just took off, it's too early for fish. How much ammonia or fish food are you dosing? You should be further down the road at two weeks, I think you may not be providing enough ammonia.

This tank has fish in it.

 

This tank has fish in it.

Oh, I missed the word "extra" in the comment asking about adding fish.

 

We are getting there. I do have to ask if you are sure you are running the nitrate test correctly. Are you sure you are shaking bottle #2 like your life depends on it. It is the only bottle in the kit that needs extra attention. You need to break the sediment that has settled to the bottom of the bottle. I bang mine against the palm of my hand while shaking and actually shake it much longer than recommended 'specially if I've not used it in a while. If this isn't done you won't get an accurate reading.

This tank has fish in it.

Hi,
Yes I do, I followed the instructions given in testkit. I add drops like 5 then shake for 5 sec as instruction given then i leave it for 5 minutes and note down the reading.

 

Hi,
Yes I do, I followed the instructions given in testkit. I add drops like 5 then shake for 5 sec as instruction given then i leave it for 5 minutes and note down the reading.

For the nitrate test we add 10 drops from bottle # 1, cap and shake to mix. Then add 10 drops from bottle # 2. cap and shake for a full minute and then let it set for a full 5 minutes.

I learned the hard way when someone pointed out to me that I missed the "shake the test tube for a full minute" when I first read the instructions. Once I did the test correctly my numbers were as they should be. It is still a bit early for you to be seeing much in the way of nitrates though. They should show up before long..

 

For the nitrate test we add 10 drops from bottle # 1, cap and shake to mix. Then add 10 drops from bottle # 2. cap and shake for a full minute and then let it set for a full 5 minutes.

I learned the hard way when someone pointed out to me that I missed the "shake the test tube for a full minute" when I first read the instructions. Once I did the test correctly my numbers were as they should be. It is still a bit early for you to be seeing much in the way of nitrates though. They should show up before long..

Shake bottle #2 30 seconds before adding.

 

For the nitrate test we add 10 drops from bottle # 1, cap and shake to mix. Then add 10 drops from bottle # 2. cap and shake for a full minute and then let it set for a full 5 minutes.

I learned the hard way when someone pointed out to me that I missed the "shake the test tube for a full minute" when I first read the instructions. Once I did the test correctly my numbers were as they should be. It is still a bit early for you to be seeing much in the way of nitrates though. They should show up before long..

I got confused now.. i was previously talking about Nitrite not nitrates
But as per check

For the nitrate test we add 10 drops from bottle # 1, cap and shake to mix. Then add 10 drops from bottle # 2. cap and shake for a full minute and then let it set for a full 5 minutes.

I learned the hard way when someone pointed out to me that I missed the "shake the test tube for a full minute" when I first read the instructions. Once I did the test correctly my numbers were as they should be. It is still a bit early for you to be seeing much in the way of nitrates though. They should show up before long..

but as per check my nitrate always zero
Now the concern is ammonia + nitrite should not be more than 1 ryte or ammonia + nitrate?

 

I got confused now.. i was previously talking about Nitrite not nitrates
But as per check

but as per check my nitrate always zero
Now the concern is ammonia + nitrite should not be more than 1 ryte or ammonia + nitrate?

I am sorry we confused you. Yes, 5 drops for the nitrite test. And yes, the ammonia and nitrite numbers are the ones we are most concerned about and want to see drop to zero.

Since you have fish in this tank it is strange that you are not seeing any nitrates. I would have expected at least a low amount of them by now. Please give me a time line for this tank. I think I have confused myself. When exactly did you put your first fish in here?

 

I am sorry we confused you. Yes, 5 drops for the nitrite test. And yes, the ammonia and nitrite numbers are the ones we are most concerned about and want to see drop to zero.

Since you have fish in this tank it is strange that you are not seeing any nitrates. I would have expected at least a low amount of them by now. Please give me a time line for this tank. I think I have confused myself. When exactly did you put your first fish in here?

I put 5 guppies, 4 neon tetra, 1 danio, but they all died within a weeks except for my guppies... now I only left with 3 guppies and some floating live plant such as water pennyworts and Epipremnum aureum. Well im doing water changes everyday like 30-40% sometimes 25%... last Sunday i did 50% water changes ending up clean some portion of gravel using vacuum thats where i saw changes in my ammonia + nitrites... but I am unsure too why my nitrates always shows zero

 

I put 5 guppies, 4 neon tetra, 1 danio, but they all died within a weeks except for my guppies... now I only left with 3 guppies... and im doing water changes everyday... last Sunday i did 50% water changes ending up clean some portion of gravel using vacuum thats where i saw changes in my ammonia + nitrites... but i also not sure why my nitrates always shows zero

Nitrates are zero because your tank isn’t fully cycled. When it is, ammonia and nitrites will be zero and some level of nitrates will show.

 

Nitrates are zero because your tank isn’t fully cycled. When it is, ammonia and nitrites will be zero and some level of nitrates will show.

Yes true it’s havent fully cycled yet. If this week Sunday comes means then only its 3 weeks

 

Yes true it’s havent fully cycled yet. If this week Sunday comes means then only its 3 weeks

A full cycle usually takes 4 - 6 weeks.

 

For some reason I thought it had been longer than this since you started this cycle. For now it is just a matter of doing water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites down to safer levels. Only time and water changes will get this fish in cycle done. I was seeing nitrates soon after I started seeing nitrites but each tank is different.

 

Thank you Dunk2 mattgirl will update my tank status soon

 

mattgirl as you mentioned earlier i think I screwed up my nitrate level. Today i believe i shake the nitrate bottle #2 for 30 sec!!! But previously i never done that. What i done previously was I took nitrate bottle #1 pour in test tube and shake for 30 sec then pour bottle #2 Into test tube and shake for 1 minutes so from here i can see I misunderstood those instructions given until i read again all of above comments before done my testing back ‍♀ And i bang myself for that!

Well today, i did the water testing after 2 days. Below is my today’s reading:

PH: 7.6
Ammonia: <0.25 (as i didn’t see too much of green in it)
Nitrite: 0 (surprisingly)
Nitrate: <5.0 (I saw orange color but not very very dark)

 

mattgirl as you mentioned earlier i think I screwed up my nitrate level. Today i believe i shake the nitrate bottle #2 for 30 sec!!! But previously i never done that. What i done previously was I took nitrate bottle #1 pour in test tube and shake for 30 sec then pour bottle #2 Into test tube and shake for 1 minutes so from here i can see I misunderstood those instructions given until i read again all of above comments before done my testing back ‍♀ And i bang myself for that!

Well today, i did the water testing after 2 days. Below is my today’s reading:

PH: 7.6
Ammonia: <0.25 (as i didn’t see too much of green in it)
Nitrite: 0 (surprisingly)
Nitrate: <5.0 (I saw orange color but not very very dark)

Much better numbers. It is great to now be seeing 0 nitrites and to be seeing nitrates for the first time. This tells us this cycle is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Once we see nitrites spike and then go back down to zero we seldonm see them again. Now that you are seeing nitrates they should very gradually keep going up.

For now just keep an eye on the numbers. You can now move on to just doing your weekly water changes as long as the ammonia doesn't go any higher than what you are seeing. Don't get concerned if you see your nitrates climbing up to 20 or so during the week. That is to be expected.

Please don't feel too bad about missing a part of the nitrate testing instructions. If it will make you feel better I missed the part about shaking the test tube for a full minute when I first got my kit.

 

Much better numbers. It is great to now be seeing 0 nitrites and to be seeing nitrates for the first time. This tells us this cycle is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Once we see nitrites spike and then go back down to zero we seldonm see them again. Now that you are seeing nitrates they should very gradually keep going up.

For now just keep an eye on the numbers. You can now move on to just doing your weekly water changes as long as the ammonia doesn't go any higher than what you are seeing. Don't get concerned if you see your nitrates climbing up to 20 or so during the week. That is to be expected.

Please don't feel too bad about missing a part of the nitrate testing instructions. If it will make you feel better I missed the part about shaking the test tube for a full minute when I first got my kit.

Thank you so much for those words.. Yes will follow your advise.