Can This Filter Ever Be Cycled?

[sb_onefish]

Sure wish I had found and read on this forum before I bought a betta!

Have a 2.5 gallon tank that came with a small Tetra Whisper filter. This filter takes a cartridge that has spongy material on both sides and carbon inside. You have to replace the entire cartridge, throwing away the good bacteria along with the old cartridge.

So I bought some ceramic filter media, it's large ceramic pellets. (AquaClear Biomax filter insert). And put some of these pellets in the filter container along with the cartridge. Only about 8 of them fit.

Also, I went overboard on substrate and there is 3 inches of small gravel in this tank with larger smooth rocks on top of it, so maybe this will help??

 

[petertr]

You can make your own sponge filters by cutting any filter material you fancy to the correct size. Just a thought.

 

[NonstickRon]

You can make your own sponge filters by cutting any filter material you fancy to the correct size. Just a thought.

Its a poor design. Call the Tetra Support line, they'll mail you a sponge cartridge that will slide down in there. I had the same questions and called them and they mailed me one in about a week.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes and get tuned in with the betta folks on this forum. They often discuss small filters for their small betta tanks and will know which ones perform best and with which media types.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LauraFrog]

The ceramic pellets will help. A lot of people keep bettas with no filtration at all, so if you do frequent water changes you will still be fine.

 

[sb_onefish]

I have been reading the betta pages but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on how big a tank or bowl, filter necessary or not, etc. Lots of different experiences and opinions expressed.

I want to get this tank cycled so I can safely go a week without a water change as I travel some for my job.

Good idea to contact Tetra. (You can tell a good idea when it makes you go, duh! why didn't I think of that! lol)

And in the meantime maybe those ceramic pellets will start the colony.

Thanks to all!!

 

[OldMan47]

Have a good look at that filter. My tetra filters, the ones that haven't been replaced yet, have a thin sponge between the filter cartridge and where the water goes back into the tank. That thin sponge is the part of the filter that is meant to be kept. What I do with a tetra filter is cut an X in one side of the cartridge and dump out the bit of carbon they put in it. After that I treat what is left of the cartridge as a mechanical / biological only filter. You cut the X on the side where the water first comes into the filter so the side where it goes back to the tank is still intact. It's not what they will tell you to do but it keeps your filter from losing its cycle.

 

[5teady_2012]

Usually there is a black sponge one, (this is not actually carbon) this is the one you never replace (but clean every 2-3 months) the other pad Green and white usually, is the one you replace.

 

[5teady_2012]

This is what i mean...

there is a thin one at the front (the black one) that slots in, do you have that one? if not this what you need has this is the one you dont replace and holds the bacteria...

 

[sb_onefish]

This is what i mean...

there is a thin one at the front (the black one) that slots in, do you have that one? if not this what you need has this is the one you dont replace and holds the bacteria...

Aha! Yup, that filter looks just like mine but mine didn't come with that permanent black pad, just the disposable cartridge. And I didn't find anything like that to fit the filter at WalMart, Petco or Petsmart.

I will definitely call Tetra and see if they will send me one. If not, I'll have to buy one made for another filter and cut it down.

Thanks everyone for the good info!

 

[NonstickRon]

This is what i mean...

there is a thin one at the front (the black one) that slots in, do you have that one? if not this what you need has this is the one you dont replace and holds the bacteria...

Aha! Yup, that filter looks just like mine but mine didn't come with that permanent black pad, just the disposable cartridge. And I didn't find anything like that to fit the filter at WalMart, Petco or Petsmart.

I will definitely call Tetra and see if they will send me one. If not, I'll have to buy one made for another filter and cut it down.

Thanks everyone for the good info!

I actually decided to return the one I bought to Petsmart and bought a Marineland Pengiun biowheel filter for each of my tanks instead. I ended up chopping the sponge tetra sent me in half and putting one in each of my biowheel filters just as an added bio media.

 

[5teady_2012]

Shame u did that, i have the exact same filter and all the spare parts, i could of mailed you the part you need