Am I Doing This Right?

[fishRfriends]

Ok, so I have a cycled 2.5 gallon tank with a Deco Art nano filter. The filter came with just the black insert that your not supposed to replace (I guess where the bacteria primarily lives?) and the white filter cartridge that gets replaced. Now...I just got a new betta but he's pretty sick right now so I'm leaving him without a filter until I think he can handle it. I want to establish some media to use to cycle his tank when the time comes. To do this...do I just stuff the nano filter I have with extra "media"? I had an extra one of the black pieces (sorry dont know name) That I cut up into slices to fit into the filter, so its like 1.5 inches thick with this stuff lol. Then behind that I have the white cartridge it came with. I also had one of those inserts that is white fiber with the carbon inside from my whisper filter. I cut that down and managed to fit it in as well, because...carbon is good, right? So...am I doing this right? Is that too much "stuff"?? I've read up on cycling and what not, but I still just don't get where beneficial bacteria can actually live, and what type of media it will colonate enough to be able to cycle another tank.

Thanks for any input!

 

[fishRfriends]

I dunno what proper bumping etiqutte is...lol...hope this isn't too soon...but bump!

 

[Tolak]

I wouldn't bother with the carbon, it won't do a thing for cycling. It removes chemical impurities in the water.

As long as the water flow of the filter isn't slowed down too severely it's ok to stuff some extra media in to give your next filter a jump start. Nitrifying bacteria colonize on a surface, size being equal something like a sponge, with its many pores, has more surface area than something smooth, like a piece of glass. The bacteria will colonize on the white fiber part of the filter cartridge more than on the carbon. It will grow quite well on the black parts you sliced up.


I used to do the same thing with pieces of filter sponge on my hob filters.