How do I swap filters with out a mini cycle?

[Love_MyFish]

I am swapping out my not so quite whisper ex 70 for a Marineland Multistage Canister Filters c-220 how can I do this and avoid a cycle?

 

[itsgracia]

Can you run them both together for a month?

 

[jsoong]

Or take the filter pad out of the HOB & stuff it into a basket in the canister (not tightly packed, you need water circulation).

 

[Love_MyFish]

Can you run them both together for a month?

I could but the other filter has major noise and I hate it.

 

[Love_MyFish]

Or take the filter pad out of the HOB & stuff it into a basket in the canister (not tightly packed, you need water circulation).

I like that Idea?

 

[WendiDell]

Along with the filter pad you can use the same water and exchange the Activated Charcoal, put as much of the old filter inside the new one as you can.The more you use the less of a change it will make in your tank.
Do you only have 1 filter on your tank?

 

[eco23]

LOL, I've got the same filter. I bought it because of the whole "Whisper" thing (the tank is in my bedroom) and immediately thought it was a joke because the thing is so loud.

Maybe you can take the 2 bio cartridges out that came with the filter and just stick them on the aquarium floor or in a mesh baggie near the filter intake for a while while the new filter has time to develop. It wouldn't look pretty and probably not the ideal solution, but I bet it'd be better than just switching out filter systems.

 

[eco23]

Yeah, Wendi has a really good idea. Just cut out the activated carbon and stuff the mesh into the new filter. Great idea.

 

[Love_MyFish]

Along with the filter pad you can use the same water and exchange the Activated Charcoal, put as much of the old filter inside the new one as you can.The more you use the less of a change it will make in your tank.
Do you only have 1 filter on your tank?

Yes only 1 filter

Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium

 

[ejaramillo01]

That's a great suggestion, adding the cartridges (even if you need to cut them) to the canister trays is the way to go!

 

[WendiDell]

Yes only 1 filter

Sent from my iPod touch using Aquarium

The reason I asked is when you have 2 filters and something goes wrong with one of them, your tank will remain stable. While there is one working filter, changing the other won't make your tank do a mini cycle. 2 filters on any tank over 10g can save you a lot of hassle. I have 2 filters on both my 55g tanks. Twice a filter has quit on me and needed replacing, which took a few days.
I live in the sticks so things like filters and heaters, even test kits have to be ordered online, so it takes time. If I didn't have 2 filters my tanks would have fallen apart. Instead, all I needed to do was o extra PWC when I had the one filter.
Then when the new one got here I put in as much of the old one as I could. And my water parameters stayed stable both times.
Better safe than sorry. If you can find anther, quiet, filter that will fit on or in your tank, its a nice safety net.

 

[Love_MyFish]

The reason I asked is when you have 2 filters and something goes wrong with one of them, your tank will remain stable. While there is one working filter, changing the other won't make your tank do a mini cycle. 2 filters on any tank over 10g can save you a lot of hassle. I have 2 filters on both my 55g tanks. Twice a filter has quit on me and needed replacing, which took a few days.
I live in the sticks so things like filters and heaters, even test kits have to be ordered online, so it takes time. If I didn't have 2 filters my tanks would have fallen apart. Instead, all I needed to do was o extra PWC when I had the one filter.
Then when the new one got here I put in as much of the old one as I could. And my water parameters stayed stable both times.
Better safe than sorry. If you can find anther, quiet, filter that will fit on or in your tank, its a nice safety net.

I have a 29 G High only 24" wide the ex 70 is 18" and doesnt leave much room.

 

[WendiDell]

I have a 29 G High only 24" wide the ex 70 is 18" and doesnt leave much room.

It would need to be a very skinny filter, wouldn't it?
Another way to have a back up, for emergencies,
I have a 5g bucket with a small internal filter and a small submersible heater and gravel about 1/3 high. I cycled the bucket and let the Nitrates get up over 80ppm and close to 160ppm. Then I put spare filter media in the bucket and just leave it in the bucket to soak up Nitrates.
When I've had to use meds in my hosp. tank it kills the bacteria in the filters. So after the fish are healthy and back in their own tank I switch the filter parts and within 3 days I have a cycled tank again.
Using highly Nitrated Charcoal and filter bags gets everything going again.
Having to cycle a tank over and over is a PITA. The bucket of filter stuff makes it a lot easier. And you can keep the bucket anywhere out of the way.
Just an idea to avoid problems in the future. You could even temporarily use the buckets filter while waiting for the new filter to grow the good stuff.

 

[severum mama]

Adding the filter pads from your Whisper to the canister will do the trick, I agree.

I just wanted to add, you don't need to have your Whisper filter running in addition to your canister to use the Whisper as a backup. You can just put the canister media into the Whisper if you ever have a problem with the canister.

Over the past 8 years, I have used a Fluval 204, Rena XP1, several Rena XP2's, several Rena XP3's, and a Cascade 1000 for several years each, no issues whatsoever. IME filter failures are much more likely when using a HOB than with a canister. If you hate the Whisper, ditch it, but keep it laying around just in case, in the unlikely event that your Marineland fails.