rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
In a nut shell, yes 
Hi Help Wanted **updated 30.01.09**
- Thread starter Fisses
- Start date
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
yeah zolite does remove ammonia, but not in a safe and sustainable way so it'snot advised to use it un an uncycled tank.
basically in a normal tank with no zeolite in the filter you'd build up colonies of bacteria which consume the ammonia and nitrite and keep the tank healthy. when you have enough bacteria to consme all the fishes waste we deem the tank is cycled. you can either do this with fish or fishlessly, ther are links to both methods in my signature for more detailed info.
what zeolite does is bypasses the need to have bacteria, it absorbs the ammonia and as there's then no food for the bacteria they do't grow. However after a while the zeolite gets saturated and can't remove any more ammonia so it builds up in the tank and kils your fish.
Unless you test the water daily you'll never know when it reaches saturation so it catches you by surprise and your fish are dad or il before you realise. It also means replacng the zeolite with more expensve fiter cartridges regularly.
basically it's a right con and a simple bit of sponge is much more effective at filtration given the right bacteria colonies on it.
your zeolite will have now reached saturation point so you're effectively in a fish-in cycle now which means daily water changes while the bacteria build up to deal with the ammonia and nitrite for you.
you could just stick some more zeolite in but you'll find yourself int he same situation in another month or so when tha lot becomes saturated so unless you fancy going through this every few months then you'd be best to just follow through the cycle now and replace the zeolite with some normal biological filter media.
basically in a normal tank with no zeolite in the filter you'd build up colonies of bacteria which consume the ammonia and nitrite and keep the tank healthy. when you have enough bacteria to consme all the fishes waste we deem the tank is cycled. you can either do this with fish or fishlessly, ther are links to both methods in my signature for more detailed info.
what zeolite does is bypasses the need to have bacteria, it absorbs the ammonia and as there's then no food for the bacteria they do't grow. However after a while the zeolite gets saturated and can't remove any more ammonia so it builds up in the tank and kils your fish.
Unless you test the water daily you'll never know when it reaches saturation so it catches you by surprise and your fish are dad or il before you realise. It also means replacng the zeolite with more expensve fiter cartridges regularly.
basically it's a right con and a simple bit of sponge is much more effective at filtration given the right bacteria colonies on it.
your zeolite will have now reached saturation point so you're effectively in a fish-in cycle now which means daily water changes while the bacteria build up to deal with the ammonia and nitrite for you.
you could just stick some more zeolite in but you'll find yourself int he same situation in another month or so when tha lot becomes saturated so unless you fancy going through this every few months then you'd be best to just follow through the cycle now and replace the zeolite with some normal biological filter media.
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
You can recharge Zeolite with salt water also... It has it's uses, but they are few and far between, and there is almost always a cheaper option available 
I finally understand.....
so basically since ive had my tank, it has never ever gone through the cycle because the zeolite has been taking out the ammonia stopping the correct bacteria from forming on the filter sponges??
and now that the zeolite has saturated its basically stopped working so is now starting the cycle whether i want it to or not?
right well ive made a leap, and purchased a fluval 2 plus filter which seems a dam sight better than my stingray.. but now i need more advice...
whats the best thing to do to introduce my new filter.. if weve figured out that my tank has started the cycle, is it worth just taking out the stingray altogether and start from scratch with daily water changes? (and yes im getting a water test kit so i'll check levels daily until the ammonia dissapears)
ot take the stingray out but leave the sponges out of it somewhere in the tank so the basteria kinda floats around and gets sucked in by the filter(as the pet shop suggested as it'll have at least some bacteria on it).
or get a bowl of aquarium water, put new media in water, and old media in water and mix it all around and then put new filter media in?
answers on a postcard please
and im really sorry, the penny dropped. i thought that having the stingray was the perfect thing, but ive now realised what you was all trying to tell me
forgive me??
p.s. if you can give me your e-mail address i can send you a pic of my tank and some of my fatty catfish
so basically since ive had my tank, it has never ever gone through the cycle because the zeolite has been taking out the ammonia stopping the correct bacteria from forming on the filter sponges??
and now that the zeolite has saturated its basically stopped working so is now starting the cycle whether i want it to or not?
right well ive made a leap, and purchased a fluval 2 plus filter which seems a dam sight better than my stingray.. but now i need more advice...
whats the best thing to do to introduce my new filter.. if weve figured out that my tank has started the cycle, is it worth just taking out the stingray altogether and start from scratch with daily water changes? (and yes im getting a water test kit so i'll check levels daily until the ammonia dissapears)
ot take the stingray out but leave the sponges out of it somewhere in the tank so the basteria kinda floats around and gets sucked in by the filter(as the pet shop suggested as it'll have at least some bacteria on it).
or get a bowl of aquarium water, put new media in water, and old media in water and mix it all around and then put new filter media in?
answers on a postcard please
and im really sorry, the penny dropped. i thought that having the stingray was the perfect thing, but ive now realised what you was all trying to tell me
forgive me??
p.s. if you can give me your e-mail address i can send you a pic of my tank and some of my fatty catfish
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
No probs, glad you've got your head around it now.
The sponges in the stingray will have some bacteria on them so if you can then find a way to cram them into the filter, take some of the media out from the fluval if needs be. not familiar enough with the designs of these two filters to know how it'd work but just make it work somehow!!
As a last resort you can put the sponges in the tank somewhere but it's infinitely better if they're in the actual filter as they need that forced fast flow of water through them to keep the bacteria alive.
Then big (50%+) daily water changes until you get your liquid test kit and then monitor daily and do whatever water changes are needed to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm
The sponges in the stingray will have some bacteria on them so if you can then find a way to cram them into the filter, take some of the media out from the fluval if needs be. not familiar enough with the designs of these two filters to know how it'd work but just make it work somehow!!
As a last resort you can put the sponges in the tank somewhere but it's infinitely better if they're in the actual filter as they need that forced fast flow of water through them to keep the bacteria alive.
Then big (50%+) daily water changes until you get your liquid test kit and then monitor daily and do whatever water changes are needed to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm
i just couldnt get my head round what everyone was saying, but after reading through the instructions last night for the new filter and this morning reading through what everyone was saying it finally clicked!
the new filter is basically, 2 halves which click together and then slide up inside of the filter. In each of them halves you have sponge which traps the big stuff, then when you put the 2 halves together you can put a fine polyester pad (or carbon to get rid of medicines) to trap even smaller particles.
is it worth leaving the polyester pad out and putting my old filter media in there instead untill the cycle has finished then replace with the polyester pad? or put the polyester pad on and somehow cram the old media in somehow?
the new filter is basically, 2 halves which click together and then slide up inside of the filter. In each of them halves you have sponge which traps the big stuff, then when you put the 2 halves together you can put a fine polyester pad (or carbon to get rid of medicines) to trap even smaller particles.
is it worth leaving the polyester pad out and putting my old filter media in there instead untill the cycle has finished then replace with the polyester pad? or put the polyester pad on and somehow cram the old media in somehow?
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
take out the polyester pad and replace it with the mature media that you have. getting the ammonia out of the water is life saving for your fish, getting fine particles out isn't!
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Yes, excellent! This is getting under control now. The media solution sounds great MW. I think this is going to work much better. Next comes the test kit and we'll want to be sure to give the right help on using it.
~~waterdrop~~
~~waterdrop~~
well, the changeover is done, after i'd finished moving the filter and stuff, the tank was an absolute mess, but withing a few hours it had nearly all cleared up leaving little bits moving around(obviously because i have no fine polyester filter pad), but i can already see its a much better filter too!!
hopefully getting a test kit tonight(the one with the drops and stuff) and will get results up asap
thanks for all your help
hopefully getting a test kit tonight(the one with the drops and stuff) and will get results up asap
thanks for all your help
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
And things have started to move in the right direction That Fluval internal will give you years of plesant service
That Fluval internal will give you years of plesant service Good stuff.
i was tempted to fork out for that new U series thing, but the fluval seemed good enough to me. not keen on the bubble venturi system as makes some noise bu its a cracking idea.
im just worried about keeping on top of the water changes, but since my filter is a few months old im hoping it has lots of bacteria already on it so we'll soon see
i was tempted to fork out for that new U series thing, but the fluval seemed good enough to me. not keen on the bubble venturi system as makes some noise bu its a cracking idea.
im just worried about keeping on top of the water changes, but since my filter is a few months old im hoping it has lots of bacteria already on it so we'll soon see
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
Aye, it will either be a quick 1 week mini-cycle job, or a full blown month+ fish-in one... Only time can tell. Heers hoping for you 
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
have you got any test results yet then?
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