When I pulled those bags of gravel from my cycle and it set me back, I asked this question but noone really chimed in on it. I suspect it was buried in a lot of questions and got overlooked, but anyway.
Here's my reasoning on this one. By all means, correct me if I'm off base, this is just the conclusion that I've come to with my limited knowledge in this arena.
The purpose of the FC is to establish a butt-load (yes, that's a precise measurement) of the good bacteria in your tank so that:
1) The fish don't have to suffer
2) You can fully stock without fear all at once
Now, for the sake of this conversation let's say that all the bacteria Marconis is growing is on that bio-wheel. I know that's extreme, but it's an illistration. If he continues to cycle with it in and finishes, then removes the wheel, there's no bacteria left. What's the point? The tank's no better off than filling it from the tap.
Now I realize, obviously, that its not all on the wheel, but in theory there could be a significant amount. I would think that if he concludes his cycle with the wheel, then removes it, there's high potential for at least mini-cycle when he does this.
Which is what led me to my comment, as well as the decision I made on my tank. Using seed material is good to get things rolling, but the purpose of cycling is to establish the tank that will hold the fish ultimately. If the bio-wheel in this case isn't going to be there to support his load when he adds fish, shouldn't it be removed now, or at some point prior to completing his cycle, so that the permanent contents of the tank house the necessary load of bacteria?
I understand seeding, but considering the small load of those little fish he had for a week, I don't think that even comes into play here.
Yes, I agree that if he removes it now it will more than likely increase the amount of time on his cycle, and removing it right now may not be the right answer. I just don't know that I would consider the tank cycled if he can convert a bunch of ammonia all the way to NO3 in 24 hours with the wheel, and then he removes it.
Seriously, Please tell me if I'm off in left field here, cuz I really don't know, these are just the assumptions I came to in my mind. I am seriously interested in hearing your thoughts on this one.
Now that I've typed that all up and reread it to make sure it made sense, I guess it's really not much different than changing your filter every month, huh?
Sorry Marconis, didn't mean to run your thread off on a tangent.
