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You have layers of stuff in there. Does some of it look a bit like cocoa puffs? That's the biomedia and that is treated with care. You likely have some coarse sponge and fine sponge, too. Anything else in it? Maybe something resembling salad macaroni? That stuff is all mechanical...

Let's say your total tank's bb population is 10 million. That's probably much too low but I have no idea of the actual count in a typical aquarium as I'm looking and finding no information on population levels. They populate every wet surface with access to oxygen, after all. But, for kicks...

Can you set up a hospital tank? Doesn't need to be fancy. Then you don't risk harming the healthy fish in the tank.

I didn't say you were doubting me, I said you were doubting proven technology. One person presented an opinion (with zero evidence, BTW) that the wheel isn't enough by itself. I'm backing up my claims that it most definitely is because I dislike when people present opinion as fact.

Not really. The water doesn't flow through it like a sponge but rather over the surface so it doesn't really get nasty. I had algae in the old tank and it grew on the spillway but not on the wheel. So, I never cleaned the wheel. Ever. Not even a swish. Didn't need to.

Oh, for crying out loud. No, you cannot see the bacteria without a microscope. But, where do you expect them to grow? The wheel has a massive surface area for such a tiny thing and great conditions for them to grow on. They thrive where the conditions are good. BTW, for the first year or...

It depends on how you stock, really. A lightly stocked tank is fine with less filtration than a fully stocked tank. Lots of folks go bigger because they push the stocking limits. And, new ones are often priced so similarly that it's only a few dollars more to go up a step. I will say that I...

Well, it's hard to say what is causing the problem from the outside. Might be cancer, might be a reaction to a parasite. There are even viruses that can cause cyst growths. If the fish seems to suffer, I'd euthanize. But otherwise, I'd just let it be. You could consult a vet but most folks...

That's the key -- know how much you should expect to pay and don't be afraid to ask questions. You are on the right track. Evasive sellers are liars, simple as that. The only thing I'd add is to check if there are any local aquarium enthusiast groups. Many tanks change hands there, used...

Just buy another strainer cover (or call the customer service number and tell them it was missing from the box... Maybe it was?) Stick something over the hole ASAP, though. It looks like a nice, safe hidey hole to a fish.

Dry bacteria is dead bacteria. The media can house new bacteria, it doesn't spoil or anything. But even if they moved all the fish out, a wet filter has live bacteria for weeks or months, even, if the dirty gravel is still producing ammonia.

I bought used, no regrets. Saved a bundle and got a nicer setup then any kit. All it needed was a light sanding and a bit of urethane. :thumb: It's easy enough to sterilize glass and plastic. Spritz the whole thing with vinegar and then hydrogen peroxide, let sit a few minutes for the two...

It looks like pale yellow ammonia tests and sky blue nitrite tests. That's the dead giveaway.

I didn't test it at one year. It was more like two when I shoved the biowheel into a canister full of biomedia and moved the fish over to their new digs. I moved a rock and two decorations as well but not the gravel. No mini cycle. :cool: That wheel was plenty full.

Rolling in it, I'm sure. :pimp: :lol: I'm all about not sending cash down the crapper :drain: Just don't want anyone to be fearful that they are jeopardizing the tank they worked so hard to cycle if they find that water is bypassing their filter pad in spite of swishing. Bacteria love the...

I suspect tumor.

I'll address the window thing. I put my new tank in a room with more window than wall on two sides. It's in a solid corner but between a south facing and and west facing window. It gets direct sun for a while and indirect all day. The tank has a t8 single with good reflectors and some sort...

Oh, Brookster. I say this with respect because I've read a lot of good posts from you but you're dead wrong on this one. Cleaning it saves money and saves the bacteria that are on it but the population on the wheel is more than sufficient. If they weren't, my fish would have died years ago.

Yes, salt is a treatment for ich. So is increasing the heat a bit. Are you seeing white spots on them? Fish will clamp fins from nitrite and ammonia exposure, too. If you don't have any salt sensitive fish in the tank, you can add some to the tank to help with nitrite poisoning symptoms and...

I love my canister filter, too, but would probably go HOB on a 29 for the cost savings.

You do know that the fish don't hold it all day and then everybody poops at once, right? :D You're done. Get some fish!

My canister is about 75% biomedia. I pour that in a clean bucket with tank water. The other 25% (a little of the ceramic noodle stuff and a coarse sponge at the bottom, floss and a polishing pad at the top), I clean under running tap water and then toss in a second bucket with tapwater and...

Just to further muddy things, some folks will use a limestone rock to raise GH and kh both. Results with coral and stone are simply less predictable than measured solutions.

Why not baking soda? It's pure sodium bicarbonate; aka bicarbonate of soda. Or were you meaning not baking powder (which contains baking soda but also other things undesirable in an aquarium)?

Prior to the nitrates going red, did you change water weekly? Vacuum the substrate? Treat the biomedia with care and you can only improve things by cleaning the filter. But if you haven't been cleaning the substrate (and I mean moving decorations and really sucking the yuck out), it's the...