Where the River goes..

[DogFish]

Does the 2.5 gal minibow cycle eventually? I am currently doing frequent 20-40% water changes to keep the ammonia levels down. So if it does cycle I know it will take longer.
My question is, if it does cycle, when you change the filter, doesn't that completely screw up the cycle again?
Do you change your filter monthly?

Is your 10 gallon that is cycling going to be for your bettas? I am thinking of doing a 10 gallon for bettas in the future. Are your two going to be side by side?
Thanks!

 

[Kyle]

Alot of the bacteria lives in the gravel so it should be fine to change/ clean the filter. Also you should probably be cycling the fishless way by adding ammonia. This is the fastes since you don't have to do water changes.

 

[DogFish]

Alot of the bacteria lives in the gravel so it should be fine to change/ clean the filter. Also you should probably be cycling the fishless way by adding ammonia. This is the fastes since you don't have to do water changes.

Thanks Kyle, that is good to know about the filter. And for sure the next time I will cycle fishlessly. This is being a good learning experience, without too much trauma to my fish I hope.

 

[Where the river goes]

Does the 2.5 gal minibow cycle eventually? I am currently doing frequent 20-40% water changes to keep the ammonia levels down. So if it does cycle I know it will take longer.

Yes, it does eventually cycle. It took about 8 weeks by fishless cycle method...smaller tanks seem to tank longer

My question is, if it does cycle, when you change the filter, doesn't that completely screw up the cycle again?
Do you change your filter monthly?

Don't change the filter, you'll have a good bacteria colony set up in there and you don't want to lose it. Removing the filter will basically cause your tank to go through a mini-cycle. However if you are going to change filters, it is a good idea to "seed" the new filter media in the tank by letting it float in the tank for a couple of weeks. No, I don't change the filter montly. I only rinse the filter in old tank water when I notice the water flow is reduced and/or when I notice excessive vibration from the filter I clean off the impeller.

Is your 10 gallon that is cycling going to be for your bettas? I am thinking of doing a 10 gallon for bettas in the future. Are your two going to be side by side?

The 10 gallon isn't going to have any bettas...though it was tempting hehe. My minibows are side by side with a piece of consruction paper acting as a divider so they don't have a direct view of each other. Every day or so I remove the divider and let the little runts have a little flaring fun lol.

 

[DogFish]

Thank you WTRG..
Very interesting that you don't change the filter. I will do the same, rinsing it out, and keep a very close eye on Nemo.
You have been very helpful!

 

[Where the river goes]

Just curious...what kind of filter do you have?

 

[DogFish]

Just curious...what kind of filter do you have?

I have the little whisper filter that comes with the tank.

 

[Where the river goes]

ah, ok. I have the same filters in my minibows. They do a decent job, but I've noticed they tend to clog easily