1970s fishkid welcome (continued)

[BlueAura]

Hi again!

Thanks all again for the warm welcome. I'm happy to report that as of yesterday the ammonia in the tank was down to .25 (from 1.0-2.0). So things are moving along in the right direction, without me having to add Prime or do anything else, water wise. I really think vacuuming the gravel did the trick, it was amazing how much stuff came out. No more letting my 12-year-old feed the fishies. No more fish have died since the last report.

I've told the boys that once we get down to 0 ppm we can consider adding some more fish, but only slowly. One question -- the manufacturers of filters recommend changing the filter cartridge a lot more often than seems necessary. What do the pros recommend for a 29 gallon with 12 fish?

 

[Barliman]

I've told the boys that once we get down to 0 ppm we can consider adding some more fish, but only slowly. One question -- the manufacturers of filters recommend changing the filter cartridge a lot more often than seems necessary. What do the pros recommend for a 29 gallon with 12 fish?

No more fish deaths is good news.

The answer to your questions really depends on the fish in question: one plecostomus will put out a lot more waste than a whole school of boraras put together. Also, the cynical side of me thinks they tell you to change the cartridges on a schedule meant more for their benefit, than yours.

Is it a carbon insert? Those wear out in 2-3 weeks. If it's just foam or fiber, wait until you see it clogging and interfering with the water flow.

What kind of filter is it?

 

[SherLar]

As Barliman says, it depends on the filter type and the bio-load of your fish. Remember though, that your filter media is where much of your beneficial bacteria will reside. If you change your media too often, you get rid of much of your bacteria.
My personal approach (not saying it's the correct approach), is to change 1/2 of my filter media every 2nd water change. I do water changes weekly, so basically the filter media is changed monthly. On the weeks that I don't change it, I gently rinse it in dirty tank water as I'm doing my water change to remove any loose detritus.
I don't use activated carbon in my filters unless I'm removing medication or chemicals from my tank, and change back to a non-carbon media as soon as I can.
Maybe someone else has a better way of doing it that they'll share with you.

 

[BlueAura]

The filter is a hang on back type, Aquaeon 20. But now I have a new problem.

When I got home the last Neon Tetra had passed away and I tested the water and now I have a spike of nitrite, somewhere between 5 and 10ppm.

So even though I have a very full schedule tonight, I am going to have to find some way to fit in a water change. From what I've read, there's really no two ways about it.

One thing that is really cool that I wanted to share, I have six glass catfish and they all hide in the same fake log. Whenever I put food in the tank, at least four of them all explode out of the opening at the same time. I'll try to get a video of it because it's just sooo neat!

Christa