If I Change My Filter Will I Have To Start A Cycle All Over Again

[sneezy]

Have a 10l tank which will eventually house shrimp. ( It is currently holding some coldwater fish while I do a fishless cycle on my main tank)

Any way the undergravel filter is a pile of pants and I want to replace it with an internal sponge filter but will this mean I lose all my decent bacteria.

Although I am on day 30 of my f/l cycle big tank I don't think it will be ready for at least another couple of weeks and obviously don't want to upset my fish anymore than they already are.

Should i wait until the fish are in the main tank before switching filters even though the current one is underperforming?

Many Thanks

 

[waterdrop]

Have a 10l tank which will eventually house shrimp. ( It is currently holding some coldwater fish while I do a fishless cycle on my main tank)

Any way the undergravel filter is a pile of pants and I want to replace it with an internal sponge filter but will this mean I lose all my decent bacteria.

Although I am on day 30 of my f/l cycle big tank I don't think it will be ready for at least another couple of weeks and obviously don't want to upset my fish anymore than they already are.

Should i wait until the fish are in the main tank before switching filters even though the current one is underperforming?

Many Thanks

ou..ou complicated! not sure it matters a whole lot, either way you've got to establish bacteria in the new filter media however you do it and it will take some time (we usually say 4 weeks on average, but could be faster given how far along you are f/l the main tank..) I would think the main thing would be just getting some of the new media that will be used in the new filter on the 10L into the main tank's filter so it can start to get some bacterial transfer. The problem is you want to do this without disturbing the fishless cycle of the main tank, so it needs to not displace too much of the existing biomedia. Gee, I guess my answer to the direct question then is yes, to wait until the new extra filter is more cycled, unless you want to move the coldwater fish back in and do more fishless on the little tank with the little filter, but maybe others can untangle this better than me...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

get an internal filter for the small tank but don't remove the undergravel yet, run them in tandem then you won't loose bacteria but you get the extra filtration from the internal, be a few weeks before it's up and running properly but the sooner you get it on the sooner things will improve.

 

[pastabake]

Agree with MW, just run them in tandem and then when you remove the UGF you'll have a fully loaded filter.

Why you would want to remove a UGF and replace it with an inferior method of filtration is your call I guess.

 

[waterdrop]

we hope pasta is being tongue in cheek there... unless he is a closet ugf lover

 

[sneezy]

Agree with MW, just run them in tandem and then when you remove the UGF you'll have a fully loaded filter.

Why you would want to remove a UGF and replace it with an inferior method of filtration is your call I guess.

Because the UGF is pants plus I have seen a sponge filter recommended for a shrimp tank because any fry won't get caught in it

 

[waterdrop]

Geez MW, "pants" must be yet another UK slang (..goes right along w this morning )

(sneezy, sorry to do an aside in your thread!)
(your extra reason for sponge sounds good)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Miss Wiggle]

lol, yup pants being another word for underwear or a not so polite way of saying something is rubbish.

yeah i'm a tad confused pasta, UGF's generally speaking are pants and a decent internal/external cannister is generally a much better way to go.

 

[waterdrop]

Actually brings up kind of an interesting side topic... What's being talked about here is a 2.6G/10L tank, super-tiny, right? So do we, possibly out of convenience, think anything different about filtration for a tiny tank, especially if used for temporary things as they often are? I mean, my instinct would be to think of a very simple internal filter or a very simple home-made sponge filter for a tiny tank like this, but might my thinking be wrong and really a UGF would be fine in a tiny tank because it would only probably be temporary anyway, without the eventual decay that is the bane of all UGFs?

I should defend myself by saying I think the correct answer will be that the simple internal or sponge is the better choice here, and I think the top reason would be that you would want to cycle it via having it in one of your other tanks or by being able (in the case of an internal) to just pre-stuff it with mature media from one of your other tanks... but I'm just throwing it out as a possible interesting discussion item to see if you guys agree with me...

~~waterdrop~~