New to Fish Cycling- Please Help

[MortisiaDowler]

Gravel cleaners can still be used with different substrates. You might not be able to push the gravel cleaner into the substrate but you can push it down onto the substrate and that should suck out some of the gunk between it. Don't worry too much if you can clean it really well, just do big water changes and try to remove whatever gunk you can easily suck out.

Do not remove the filter or try to clean it until it is at least 6 weeks old, otherwise you can disrupt the bacteria and slow its development.

Update: I did the most unorthodox thing ever. Because the biorb is using ceramic media which are small- medium rocks some of the fry got trapped and died there. I tried to take them out with the net but I couldn't so I panicked that they would mess up my tank cycle. So I kept 10 liters of the tanks water, I put the 2 big mollies there and then I removed the ceramic media and the artificial pants and then I just drained the tank completely. I didnt clean the filter and I cleaned all the deco in the tanks water. Then I put everything back with 10liters of the old water and 20 liters of the new dechlorinated water. The water is a bit cloudy now but I think its settling. I will wait a couple of hours before I check the ammonia etc.

Do you think I messed up doing that or is it just like doing a 75% water change?

 

[Colin_T]

It might have upset the filter bacteria but if you keep the feeding down and monitor water quality you should be fine.