Filter Media?

[Aqua Tom]

The most often i could do it is every other day, minimum, w live a little way away and mil only has one useable arm lol, it's actually a 370litre... my maths deserted me. So still 25?

Yes, 25% is 25% no matter the size of the tank.

Then as the filter matures, up it to 30-40-50% in stages.

You are doing a great job & at the end of it your ML wont believe the change in the look of the tank & the general health of the fish, Kudos to you.

Tom

 

[bmonki]

i actually meant should i still do 25% as i cant do it daily LOL - I may be a bit crazy but i do know what 25% is thankfully (i ended up doing more like 30-35% cause i got distracted hehe)

 

[BFM]

Go to your shop where you have been spending money, and ask for some filter media / gravel. Mine are very helpful, and go out of their way to ensure you have a stable tank.

 

[raptorrex]

my mother in law has an old tank, which is currently running with no filter she wants to get a filter the same as ours (an internal 3 stage one with carbon and crystal max) - what i was wondering is my filter has two sponges, if i swapped one of mine for one of the new ones firstly would it affect my tank as my filter is quite happily cycling what we have would the loss of half the bacteria cause us problems? secondly i know it would kick start her filter but her fish are living in pretty high ammonia and have gotten used to it... would the absence of ammonia and addition of nitrite/nitrate kill them from the shock?

Donating one of the sponges might cause your filter to mini cycle as you'll be losing half your bacteria stock. you'll just need to monitor and take action if needed.

As for the effect of an ammonia free tank, I would have thought that even though the fish 'have gotten used to it', it'll have an impact on their lifespan. Why not start doing water changes in her tank to slowly bring down ammonia levels until the bacteria have caught up?

humm, you loose far more bacteria, just cleaning your filter.

as a couple of truly knowledgeable member have said, 1/3 will have no detrimental effect on your system.

oh, hum, blind leading the blind! or trying to, anyway.

 

[bmonki]

my mother in law has an old tank, which is currently running with no filter she wants to get a filter the same as ours (an internal 3 stage one with carbon and crystal max) - what i was wondering is my filter has two sponges, if i swapped one of mine for one of the new ones firstly would it affect my tank as my filter is quite happily cycling what we have would the loss of half the bacteria cause us problems? secondly i know it would kick start her filter but her fish are living in pretty high ammonia and have gotten used to it... would the absence of ammonia and addition of nitrite/nitrate kill them from the shock?

Donating one of the sponges might cause your filter to mini cycle as you'll be losing half your bacteria stock. you'll just need to monitor and take action if needed.

As for the effect of an ammonia free tank, I would have thought that even though the fish 'have gotten used to it', it'll have an impact on their lifespan. Why not start doing water changes in her tank to slowly bring down ammonia levels until the bacteria have caught up?

humm, you loose far more bacteria, just cleaning your filter.

as a couple of truly knowledgeable member have said, 1/3 will have no detrimental effect on your system.

oh, hum, blind leading the blind! or trying to, anyway.

not entirely sure how to take that comment.... Anyway...

i cant donate a third, its unfortunately half or noting as the sponges in my filter (2 of them) have a hollow centre for the carbon to go in and a foam plug to stop it falling out... if i were to cut one of the sponges the carbon would then fall out.

 

[raptorrex]

my mother in law has an old tank, which is currently running with no filter she wants to get a filter the same as ours (an internal 3 stage one with carbon and crystal max) - what i was wondering is my filter has two sponges, if i swapped one of mine for one of the new ones firstly would it affect my tank as my filter is quite happily cycling what we have would the loss of half the bacteria cause us problems? secondly i know it would kick start her filter but her fish are living in pretty high ammonia and have gotten used to it... would the absence of ammonia and addition of nitrite/nitrate kill them from the shock?

Donating one of the sponges might cause your filter to mini cycle as you'll be losing half your bacteria stock. you'll just need to monitor and take action if needed.

As for the effect of an ammonia free tank, I would have thought that even though the fish 'have gotten used to it', it'll have an impact on their lifespan. Why not start doing water changes in her tank to slowly bring down ammonia levels until the bacteria have caught up?

humm, you loose far more bacteria, just cleaning your filter.

as a couple of truly knowledgeable member have said, 1/3 will have no detrimental effect on your system.

oh, hum, blind leading the blind! or trying to, anyway.

not entirely sure how to take that comment.... Anyway...

i cant donate a third, its unfortunately half or noting as the sponges in my filter (2 of them) have a hollow centre for the carbon to go in and a foam plug to stop it falling out... if i were to cut one of the sponges the carbon would then fall out.

its a comment about the forum, in general, ATM. but, take it as you like.
your info was wide of the mark, on accuracy. is all.

you can donate, bacteria, by wringing some of your sponges, into the filter to be seeded.

 

[bmonki]

I don't see how my posts were not accurate (apart from mis calculating the size), i was simply explaining the situation and asking two questions as i didn't want to mess up all the work i have already done to get our water right.

Thanks, will keep that in mind.

P.s I'm not blind, a white stick is not required, neither is someone to lead me