Changing bacterial media as per manufacturer instructions. Really???

[kindafishy]

Thanks, Bubble_B0y. I guess I was making things a little more complicated than necessary!!

 

[Dale_I]

So how exactly do you manage that? I mean, theoretically, that would mean that you would need to keep a second cycled tank ready permanently, filter running and everything. Only problem with that is that you would have to stock it w/ something live to keep the bacteria from dying off, right? So THEN that would mean that you need a minimum of 2 tanks, in case a fish in tank # one goes ill. BUT, when you put the sick fish from tank one into tank two, you infect whatever living creature you might have in there, and potentially kill off the bacteria from the hospital tank. And the whole mess starts all over again.

Not to be overcomplicated, and this might be just an excuse to have another tank, but that is exactly what I am doing right now. I purchased a 20 long and am going to set it up as a permanent QT. I'm using an internal Fluval U3 for filtration, which use the same ceramic tube Biomax that the Fluval 304 has in it that is the filter for my main tank.

I'm going to sparsely decorate it, with the idea of being able to net fish quickly and easily. I'm going to transfer 7 God Barbs from the main tank to live in the 20L. They are hardy fish that are also peaceful. When I get a new fish to put in the main tank, he will live in the QT. If all is good, the new fish can then be transferred to the main tank.

If all is not good, the smaller tank can be used to treat anything. Then I can simply run carbon in the filter to absorb meds (if used), turn the temp up to 86+ to kill off any parasitic life forms, and transfer the Barbs back in after replacing the Biomax with some fresh pieces from the Fluval 304, replacing what I take out of the 304 with new virgin Biomax, which will grow bacteria already present in the filter baskets.

Although this might sound like a hassle, my main tank is stocked and new additions will be far and few between. Basically, just keeping up with any natural deaths that might occur. So, I don't foresee having to flip fish back and forth too often.

 

[abrahamavelar]

biomedia (bioballs, biomax, ceramic rings, matrix etc.... )should never be changed. Just washed in water from the tank.

Sometimes, media such as sponges or cartridges, act and serve both as mechanical media and biological media.
These too should be washed in water from the tank.

ya i have the ceramic rings and i just rinse them when i need to change the carbon n i had this in my filter since 09