So I just upgraded the filter in my 10g from the whisper 5-15 that came with it to to a Bio-Wheel Penguin 150. There are two advantages to this:
1) the bio wheel will filter the tank 15 times per hour verses 10 times per hour.
2) I plan on upgrading to a 20 gallon soon and this filter should be good enough for that tank too.
If you are familiar with bio-wheel/penguin filters you know that there is space for two filter cartridges. I assembled the new filter and saw that there was plenty of space to put my old filter cartridge from my whisper in. So I did.
Here's how it works, the water comes in through the intake and goes past my old filter cartridge (which is completely intact) it then goes through the bio-wheel filter media and then through the bio-wheel itself.
My questions:
1) Should I expect a mini cycle? All my old bacteria is in that whisper media which is now still in the filter. I'll be testing daily with an API master's but I just want some opinions on this.
2) Should I disassemble the old filter cartridge (IE, take out the plastic frame and all the charcoal) and just scrunch up and throw the old media in behind the new filter cartridge? I'm just worried that with the set up I have now my bacteria might not migrate to the new media.
3) If I see any signs of a mini-cycle I plan on getting a dose of Bio-Spira which has worked for me in the past, I can't remember though, do I need to remove activated carbon before dosing? I know that means taking out both filter cartridges (both the whisper and bio-wheel cartridge have carbon in them) does that mean when I add bio-spira the only real filtration happening for a few hours will be the bio-wheel itself? And the bacteria will be able to colonize on this?
I realize my question is kinda complicated so any and all help is appreciated!!!
Thanks!
1) the bio wheel will filter the tank 15 times per hour verses 10 times per hour.
2) I plan on upgrading to a 20 gallon soon and this filter should be good enough for that tank too.
If you are familiar with bio-wheel/penguin filters you know that there is space for two filter cartridges. I assembled the new filter and saw that there was plenty of space to put my old filter cartridge from my whisper in. So I did.
Here's how it works, the water comes in through the intake and goes past my old filter cartridge (which is completely intact) it then goes through the bio-wheel filter media and then through the bio-wheel itself.
My questions:
1) Should I expect a mini cycle? All my old bacteria is in that whisper media which is now still in the filter. I'll be testing daily with an API master's but I just want some opinions on this.
2) Should I disassemble the old filter cartridge (IE, take out the plastic frame and all the charcoal) and just scrunch up and throw the old media in behind the new filter cartridge? I'm just worried that with the set up I have now my bacteria might not migrate to the new media.
3) If I see any signs of a mini-cycle I plan on getting a dose of Bio-Spira which has worked for me in the past, I can't remember though, do I need to remove activated carbon before dosing? I know that means taking out both filter cartridges (both the whisper and bio-wheel cartridge have carbon in them) does that mean when I add bio-spira the only real filtration happening for a few hours will be the bio-wheel itself? And the bacteria will be able to colonize on this?
I realize my question is kinda complicated so any and all help is appreciated!!!
Thanks!
