Cleaning tank during cycling

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bhath19

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Should I clean my tank at all during the cycling period, and if so how much?
 
I heard that since the beneficial bacteria lives on various surfaces present in the tank, you should try not to disturb them as much as possible. So you probably don't want to clean (such as scrubbing and aggressively vacuuming) until your tank is fully cycled. But water change is a must.
 
dud said:
I heard that since the beneficial bacteria lives on various surfaces present in the tank, you should try not to disturb them as much as possible. So you probably don't want to clean (such as scrubbing and aggressively vacuuming) until your tank is fully cycled. But water change is a must.

So don't clean the gravel, just use the siphon to take out water? And what % of the water should I take out and how often during cycling?
 
Are you doing a fishless cycle or do you have fish in your tank? If you do have fish, water change is a must since you don't want to lose any of your fish due to excessively high nitrite or ammonia concentration. In that case a 'normal' water change (e.g. 20-30% per week) is required (if you have very light fish load), but make sure you are monitoring ammonia and nitrite level, since you will probably have spikes. You'll have to change water as necessary in those cases. Oh, and you're right, don't clean the gravel but just take out water.

As for fishless cycle, I don't know much, so we'll have to wait until someone who knows better chips in.

Grrrr, just lost a bid at ebay by a penny.... :evil:
 
dud said:
Are you doing a fishless cycle or do you have fish in your tank? If you do have fish, water change is a must since you don't want to lose any of your fish due to excessively high nitrite or ammonia concentration. In that case a 'normal' water change (e.g. 20-30% per week) is required (if you have very light fish load), but make sure you are monitoring ammonia and nitrite level, since you will probably have spikes. You'll have to change water as necessary in those cases. Oh, and you're right, don't clean the gravel but just take out water.

I do have fish in my tank, and are you sure it's okay to change the water that often when beneficial bacteria is trying to form which will eventually lower the ammonia level to 0ppm. See I keep getting different opinions, my dad for instance said he didn't do 'weekly' water changes and all of his fish were healthy, etc. So what should I do? 8)
 
Hmmm, you got me there. You're correct in that you don't want to starve the bacteria while cycling. But one thing for sure, you *DO* have to do water change to keep your fish healthy and happy.

That being said, for me I never had to do 'weekly change' while cycling because I always had a spike high enough so that I had to change water before a week went by. Of course the first 10 days when I didn't know about this forum I didn't change any water. :wink:

It'll probably depend on your tank size and fish load. What size of tank and how many fish (and what kind) do you have?
 
dud said:
Hmmm, you got me there. You're correct in that you don't want to starve the bacteria while cycling. But one thing for sure, you *DO* have to do water change to keep your fish healthy and happy.

That being said, for me I never had to do 'weekly change' while cycling because I always had a spike high enough so that I had to change water before a week went by. Of course the first 10 days when I didn't know about this forum I didn't change any water. :wink:

It'll probably depend on your tank size and fish load. What size of tank and how many fish (and what kind) do you have?

I have five fish (2 swordtails, 3 guppies) and a 5 gallon tank.
 
vaccum the gravel surface but dont dig into the gravel. Rinse the filter cartridge in the bucket of water you take out of the tank. I change about 10 to 20 percent of the water per week. That is half a gallon up to a gallon for your 5 gal tank.

I see one problem. You have a full load of fish right off the bat for the 5gal tank. One or 2 fish at most is best till the tank has cycled. The full load of fish could cause ammonia or nitrites to go to high and kill. Test the water often. When levels get dangerous do a partial water change (pwc). Again 10% to 20%. At the 2 (ammonia first then nitrites) peaks you may do 2 or 3 pwc a week.

Good luck
 
Wow that's a lot of fish to start with. Like me, you probably won't have to wait a whole week to do your partial water change. Keep a close eye on your water condition and do partial water change as necessary.
 
Do not change your filter cartridge until the tank is completely cycled--even then, I would not change it until it is full of bacteria. With all my tanks, the filters do not get cleaned until they need it--once every two months or so. Let that bacteria grow and multiply. I would also caution you about gravel vacuuming--you need that ammonia source.
Do you have a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrtie and nitrate? If so, what are your water parameters right now?
 
Menagerie said:
Do not change your filter cartridge until the tank is completely cycled--even then, I would not change it until it is full of bacteria. With all my tanks, the filters do not get cleaned until they need it--once every two months or so. Let that bacteria grow and multiply. I would also caution you about gravel vacuuming--you need that ammonia source.
Do you have a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrtie and nitrate? If so, what are your water parameters right now?

Ammonia was 6ppm using the test kit and then applying the formula to find the exact amount of ammonia .09ppm and Nitrites 0ppm
 
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