filter changes

[colegamby]

ive got a whisper filter on this ten gallon that i just got from a friend. the filter pad is so dirty that its starting to overflow into the tank without going through the pad. is it alright to change the pad straight out. will that kill the beneficial bacteria. i tried cleaning the pad in tank water but that didnt help.

 

[Tolak]

What type & quantity of fish are in the tank, and does it have any gravel or other decorations? If it has mature gravel and is not too heavily stocked, you could put a new pad in the filter, and let the old pad sit in the tank, preferably where some water flow can get at it. This will help keep it from getting an ammonia spike.

If there is any "goop" left in the old pad, try squeezing that into the new filter to jump start the new bacterial colony.

Tolak

 

[colegamby]

there is not more then ten inches of fish in there right now. there is gravel and some fake plants. there is also an amazon sword in there. Ill get a new pad and leave it inside the tank. how long do you think it needs to be in there.

 

[Tolak]

I'd leave it for a couple weeks, keep an eye on water parameters to make sure you don't get an ammo spike. After that it should be fine.

The inches of fish thing is a basic guideline, not a rule. 10 neons at 1" each would be lightly stocked. 5 angels at 2" each would be pretty well maxed out. 1 plec at 10" would be horribly overstocked. As long as you are closer to the neon deal and nowhere near the plec end of it, it should work out.

Tolak

 

[colegamby]

thanks tolak my tank is leaning towards the neons. my dad said to just switch it out but i thought i remembered reading somwhere that you werent suppose to do that. im always learning. thanks again