Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Hello again! I just installed my Bio-Wheel 350 filter in my 20 gallon tank, it is about 13 days old, will this filter change do anything drastic to my cycling? And should I be ready to do emergency water changes? Also: Does the water normally get cloudy when you install a new filter? Edited January 13, 2011 by xMrBaconx 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jody Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Your old filter contained media (I assume) that had beneficial bacteria growing in it, which aids in the nitrogen cycle. Removing the filter would cause a major bump in your cycle. BB grows on everything in your tank, gravel, ornaments etc. So you may have not removed it all. You may be going through a bacteria bloom now while the bacteria propagates, which causes cloudy water. Fill your filter with as much media as possible for the bateria to grow on and keep up with daily water changes to aid in cycling. A water test of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates will tell more of the story to be sure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Okay I will do that, I figured that by removing my old filter, It would cause some issues, I could see some of the BB buildup on the bio wheel of my old one. I also have two biowheels now and a lot more room in the filter, so wouldn't that theoretically boost the speed of my cycling? Edited January 13, 2011 by xMrBaconx 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jody Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Yes your bio wheels will have lots of surface area for the bacteria to grow on. Some people add bio media in the box for more bacteria to grow. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thank you for your help, Im rather surprised, I just tested my tank and the levels are: Ammonia - 0.75 Nitrite - 0.25 Nitrate - 0 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jody Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Yep I would say you caused a huge bump in your cycle. You want to keep your ammonia and nitrites as low as possible (some is required for the tank to cycle). But ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the fish. So that means daily water changes. The goal is to end up with just nitrates which means the cycle is complete. I use Nutrifin Cycle which contains BB when I am cycling to speed up the process. I think Seachem makes a similar product. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 How much ammonia and nitrite should I leave in the tank that will not be harmful to my fish, are my levels right now safe? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jody Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Excellent question! The main Kokos site reccomends to keep them under 2.0 (here is a link to that information ). I personally would try to keep them under 1.0 at the the very maximum but make a daily water change and test those levels daily. Other members may chime in here with levels. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ashlee18 Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) If you have fish in the tank you want to keep it below .25, .50 is manageable but pushing it. If no fish, then above 1 to get it cycled faster. 2 works fine as well Eta: nitrites above 0 are toxic and you want to get it to as close to 0 as possible. Edited January 13, 2011 by ashlee18 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thank you so so much! I was very concerned that my levels might be too high! I will keep them at around .25, I can't wait for my python syhphon to come in, that will make my daily lugging of water up and down two flights of stairs about 30 times each way less of a pain! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member jody Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thanks ashlee for the proper levels! It has been so long since I cycled I really needed a refresher 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted January 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 If the bio-wheel of your old filter fits in the slot of one of the two in your new filter, could you have put it in there? It may be too late now, since you've already made the change. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 14, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 14, 2011 If the bio-wheel of your old filter fits in the slot of one of the two in your new filter, could you have put it in there? It may be too late now, since you've already made the change. The bio-wheel from my old filter is about an inch too short to fit in the new one, that was the first thing I tried when I got it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted January 14, 2011 Admin Share Posted January 14, 2011 You could cut the old bio wheel and put it in the filter part to let the BB's soak into the filter media 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baconxx13 Posted January 15, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 15, 2011 You could cut the old bio wheel and put it in the filter part to let the BB's soak into the filter media That is a super awesome idea! I will go do that now, thank you! =] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin koko Posted January 15, 2011 Admin Share Posted January 15, 2011 Your welcome... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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