A couple questions for you all

[illuminum]

I think I've had my tank for 3 weeks now and I have some more questions I was hoping you could help me out with:

1) I've had my tank for 2 and a half weeks. When should I vacuum my gravel?

2) I have an eclipse 12 and the left half of the filter cartridge is getting pretty green. When should I replace my filter cartridge? How often do people normally replace filter cartridges?

3) I have 4 rainbow tetras, 3 other smaller tetras (I forgot what kind exactly) and one considerably small pleco (about 2.5 inches, but it poops alot). I have been doing 3 gal. water changes every other day since ammonia levels are rising faster ever since I added the pleco and 3 tetras a few days ago). Are these water changes adding stress to my fish?

4) I bought my pleco algae wafers since don't really have much algae in the tank at all. I put in 1 a day and its gone by the next. Is this too much/little for that small a pleco?

5)When I gravel vac, should I get the fish out of the tank in order to avoid accidents?

6) My new tetras are always swimming along the edges or the top of the tank. Is this a sign that something's wrong with my water? I've tested nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, harness, alkalinity, and ph and the only thing I could think of that could be wrong is that the water is a little acidic (maybe between 7.4 and 7.8, my tests are sorta hard to look at).

Any input would be appreciated. I hope I'm not asking really stupid questionshere. I'm just really excited about this tank and I don't want to mess it up.

Here's a picture of my tank

PS - How do you all make links to your pictures and have little thumbnails on the bottim of your posts?

 

[Allivymar]

Cute tank.

Couple of ideas:

Your tetras may be swimming near the top just because, or may be showing signs of ammonia poisoning; you say your ammonia is still spiking yes? Whats your nitrite levels too? Both can cause fish to suffocate, and one sign is the fish trying to get air at the top of the water column.

I wouldn't change the filter yet unless its clogged; even then, I would only rinse it off in the tank water your removed during water changes (so you don't kill the nitrogen buggies) and put it back.

You might want to do some partial gravel vacs; maybe 1/3 when you do a water change. Got to get that extra food out of there as well as some of the plec poop. Don't want to clean it all as some of your bacteria are living in there and you're not cycled yet. Btw, does it have a bio-wheel? Oh, and just leave the fish in. More stressful to catch em and drag em elsewhere then it is to just let them be. At some point they may even decide they like the siphon (mine do...they think the stuff flying up is food and try to get to it LOL)

 

[illuminum]

Btw, does it have a bio-wheel?

Yes it does have a bio-wheel. Does that mean that I don't have to worry about the bacteria on the gravel as much?