Newbie Alert! Advice required please!

Naughts said:

Not a daft question, in fact it's great that you asked. You Will indeed lose bacteria if you switch the cartridge and these first few weeks are critical for the fish and the cycling. Manufacturers want you to pay for a new cartridge and highlight that carbon will only absorb things for a few weeks. But changing them is detrimental.
It is better to get rid of the carbon, we only really need it after using medications anyway. If it is floss or foam with carbon inside cut a slit in it and empty the carbon out, then put the cartridge back in. Once cycled you could cut some foam to fit in the filter as an alternative to cartridges. Foam lasts for years.

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Neon1977 said:

Thanks again! So glad i did ask then! Will always ask now if im unsure because i get conflicting advice everywhere else! When you say cut a slit in it and empty the carbon out? Without sounding too simple lol, what exactly am i emptying out!? Iv attached pics of the cartridge and foam that i currently have in there.

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Colin_T said:

Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day. Get globes with a 6500K rating (K is for Kelvin).

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. The liquid iron based fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.
I use Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.

Do not bother adding carbon fertiliser to the tank because they are not necessary.

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Neon1977 said:

Thanks again! So glad i did ask then! Will always ask now if im unsure because i get conflicting advice everywhere else! When you say cut a slit in it and empty the carbon out? Without sounding too simple lol, what exactly am i emptying out!? Iv attached pics of the cartridge and foam that i currently have in there.

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Naughts said:

I thought it contained carbon chips. If it's carbon sponge just leave it in until your tank is fully cycled then swap it for regular sponge.

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Neon1977 said:

Brilliant advice thanks so much! The only light i have on the tank is a low voltage LED 12V 1.5W consumption. That came with the tank and is attached to the lid! Will this be ok or!?? . I want to get a water sprite and a anacharis plant will 1 of each be enough for the tank as iv read Neons like heavily planted tanks.

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Colin_T said:

No idea about the amount of light from a LED light unit but if it was bought from a pet shop for an aquarium, it should be ok.

You can buy 1 Water Sprite plant and it should spread rapidly and produce baby plants within a few weeks. If you get too many of them, you can plant them in the substrate.

Get a few Anacharis plants or try some Ambulia and Hygrophila polysperma as well. These get planted in the substrate but usually grow fast and you can take cuttings and plant them in the tank.

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Neon1977 said:

When you say regular sponge in replace of the cartridge what do you mean!? Sorry to sound hopeless just have no idea as iv only been told il have to buy a new cartridge every month.

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Naughts said:

If you go on Amazon and search 'filter sponge' you'll get some options that are just sponge/foam rather than carbon. One of these won't require changing, will last well and will be a lot cheaper than changing cartridges. I have pond filter sponge of different densities tipped with a floss, I bought sheets and have cut them to size - I have 4 tankjs. You may be able to get one small sponge that will already fit.

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Neon1977 said:

Will go check amazon out now thanks so much appreciate it!

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Neon1977 said:

I’m still completely confused! ‍♀ I already have foam at the bottom of the filter where the water gets sucked in and then it goes through the cartridge at the top, now iv just seen some filter sponge on Amazon that I could cut down to size to stick in where the cartridge is but do I replace the whole thing with this foam? It’s hard to know how to go about it because I’m going to lose all that beneficial bacteria from the cartridge aren’t I!

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Neon1977 said:

I’m still completely confused! ‍♀ I already have foam at the bottom of the filter where the water gets sucked in and then it goes through the cartridge at the top, now iv just seen some filter sponge on Amazon that I could cut down to size to stick in where the cartridge is but do I replace the whole thing with this sponge? It’s hard to know how to go about it because I’m going to lose all that beneficial bacteria from the cartridge aren’t I!

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Naughts said:

You would leave the foam in, just replace any carbon as that will expire. You should only replace it once the tank is fully cycled. After a couple of months you will have beneficial bacteria in the substrate, on the ornaments and glass, as well as on the sponge that you will leave in there so the cycle will be ok. But for now, don't throw out nor rinse the filter media because you are cycling the tank.

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