Starting brand new 10 Gallon

[IsisP]

On 8/11/2023 at 6:19 PM, Galabar said:

Que tipo de filtro es? Es posible que pueda enjuagar el cartucho con agua del tanque y reutilizarlo. Además, si conocemos el tipo de filtro, podríamos recomendarle alternativas que podrían funcionar mejor y ahorrarle dinero. 🙂

 

On 8/12/2023 at 3:36 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I can't seem to find a good video. Essentially everything goes from left to right.

Red = sponge

Blue = ceramic media location

You just get the sponge that would fit appropriately and not let the water overflow (taller than the water line, but shorter than the height of the back wall) and add in some ceramics to the right side.

You've been adding bacteria, so ultimately you're still waiting. Try to find some foam and stuff to "mod" the filter and that way you have a more permanent media solution. Once you have that, especially the ceramic, then you can add in the bacteria directly to the media chamber.

Awesome and very interesting, where can i find the ceramic and sponge that could fit my filter? Do you have any recommendations? 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/12/2023 at 10:36 PM, IsisP said:

Awesome and very interesting, where can i find the ceramic and sponge that could fit my filter? Do you have any recommendations? 

There's a ton of things you can use.  Common ones for smaller setups are:

Ceramic media:
aquaclear biomax (also sold under fluval brand, same product)
eheim substrat pro
seachem matrix

Sponge:
-aquarium coop sells some
-aquaclear foams

There's more, but those are the two most common.




 

[IsisP]

On 8/12/2023 at 4:33 AM, Pepere said:

With the Aqueon filter, the plastic holder of the cartridge and the teeth of the plastic outflow grid are designed to hold colonies of beneficial bacteria and maintain them when changing a cartridge.

yes, changing a cartidge will still throw out a good portion of the tanks colony, but so long as you dont scrub those grids it will recover well.

A couple of points.  
 

1.) The red light on the filter alerts you to when flow through the cartridge is slowing down allowing water to back up behind the cartridge.  Failing to change the filter is not harming the unit, but water is starting to flow over the cartridge in essence bypassing the cartridge.   Water that is bypassing the cartridge isnt getting filtered, is it…?  So no harm done to the hob, but still need to change cartidge so water goes through it instead of over it.

2.)The Aqueon is a back to front flow design.  If you pullout the cartridge and holder to replace with foam you need to allow space in back for water to flow behind whatever replacement media you opt for.

3.)  when cycling there is no need to get worried by a “spike” of ammonia of 0.25% and do waterchanges or try to get rid of it with chemical absorbers…  The bacteria need ammonia to grow and establish.  I cycled my tank by instilling liquid ammonia to dose it to 2 ppm, and redose it when the ammonia dropped below 0.5 ppm…  In regards to snails, I had snails introduced when I put in liveplants.  I didnt want them and had no concern re ammonia levels and despite actively trying to remove the snails the thrived…  ammonia levels be darned…  Even levels of 4ppm did nothing to tamp them down…

4.) Cycling a tank is going to take a fair amount of time without adding an already cycled sponge or filter squeezings.  The thought of bacteria in a bottle products cycling a tank in 1 week in my experience is wishful thinking. I have zero confidence in bacteria in a bottle products after cycling several tanks.  I used multiple doses and brands cycling a tank and cycled tanks without adding any bacteria in a bottle products.  I perceived Zero benefits in the Bacteria in a bottle products in time it took to establish a cycle. I dosed multiple times every few days trying Fritzyme, quick start, Stability, Dr Tims, Brightwell etc…

Time is the biggest factor.

figure on at least 2 months.

I dont much care for the ghost feeding method myself. Especially for a new fishkeeper.  How much food is needed for intended fishload?  How is a new fishkeeper to determine such?

I prefer to dose directly with ammonia.  Fritz Fishless fuel uses 4 drops per gallon of water to dose the tank at 2 ppm ammonia. You instantly have the tank dosed to provide food for beneficial bacteria.  No waiting for the food to rot to produce ammonia, and you have a way to determine how quickly beneficial bacteria are able to fully metabolize an ammonia challenge fully to nitrate.  Ie early on when you have both colonies of bacteria present it may take a week to metabolize a 2 ppm challenge to 0 ammonia 0 nitrite… A few weeks later a 2ppm challenge will fully metabolize to 0 ammonia 0 nitrite within 24 hours.  With ghost feeding you have no idea how big a challenge of ammonia the tank is getting or how quickly it is able to metabolize it.  As such I am guessing many people declare their tank is fully cycled in a short period of time and in fact the cycle is very tenuous at best.

I have cycled a tank very quickly.  Using a cycled filter is very quick, adding filter squeezings establishes in about a weeks time.  Adding potting soil from household plants or Black Kow composted manure also establishes a cycle in a tank in a few weeks time…

 

Bacteria in a bottle products are outstanding products for manufacturers to make a profit from. I never perceived any benefit from them in establishing an aquarium cycle myself.  I spent over a hundred dollars trying to see a benefit from them…

 

Thank you so much for all your advice, is very much appreciate it. Actually, I have found an interesting video about a guy using the same model as I do, and he doesn't use the cartridge, he bought sponges and a filter fiber from another brand and ceramic rings and organize them into the filter chamber. Heres the video in case you can watch it, I think I would do the way he did, if it last longer and I can improve my filtration. I will consider buying the ammonia fuel and try it, hope my little guy can resist the process and my plants too. I am excited to put into practice everything I could, I think aquariums are fascinating and a really good hobby to learn from.

On 8/13/2023 at 3:13 PM, IsisP said:

Thank you so much for all your advice, is very much appreciate it. Actually, I have found an interesting video about a guy using the same model as I do, and he doesn't use the cartridge, he bought sponges and a filter fiber from another brand and ceramic rings and organize them into the filter chamber. Heres the video in case you can watch it, I think I would do the way he did, if it last longer and I can improve my filtration. I will consider buying the ammonia fuel and try it, hope my little guy can resist the process and my plants too. I am excited to put into practice everything I could, I think aquariums are fascinating and a really good hobby to learn from.

 

[IsisP]

On 8/13/2023 at 1:46 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

There's a ton of things you can use.  Common ones for smaller setups are:

Ceramic media:
aquaclear biomax (also sold under fluval brand, same product)
eheim substrat pro
seachem matrix

Sponge:
-aquarium coop sells some
-aquaclear foams

There's more, but those are the two most common.




 

Thank you!! i have found the perfect tutorial and now tih you the perfect materials to follow it and improve my filtration!