Water Changes with Fish
Hello Dana...
When I cycled my tank, I just kept track of the water perameters and when toxins started to get out of the "safe zone", I did a large water change to gets things back on track.
I had a lot of plants in the tank, so just removed half the tank water. I avoided vacuuming the gravel for fear of damaging my plants. That was several years ago, but I do recall checking the ammonia and nitrite levels daily and if I needed to, I changed out half the water.
I let the tank run for about a month with the plants and all, but no fish. After a month, I did put in a few Guppies and just tested the water daily and did the large water changes as needed. I think the process took about six weeks or so.
Haven't used a "Python". Thought they were a waste of water when you were draining the tank. Not sure how you'd get the hang of treating the water going into the tank, since the water from the tap is going directly into the tank.
B