Tank Is Cycled! Yeah

[powerdyne6]

I have a 38 gallon tank
I haven't posted in a little bit but my tank has finally cycled, basically I added enough ammonia to get the level up to about 3.5ppm and by the next morning it had dropped to 0, finally. I did this for 2 days to make sure.
My nitrite also stayed at 0 and my nitrate was up above 100ppm

so I dedcided it was time, I basically did a pretty big water change, added water at about the same temp with some dechlorinator let it sit for about a day and a half, tested everything again PH was at 7.0, ammonia was at 0, nitrite was at 0 and nitrate was at 15 to 20ppm

next day which was yesterday I added some fish, I got 5 green tiger barbs which are about 1 inch long and 2 bala sharks which are about 2 inches long (I know the tank is too small for these but when they get bigger I have a better home for them to go to)

so hopefully all goes well (better than last time)
thanks for all your guys/girls help in the last 30 or so days

is there anything I should know ahead of time or any tips you guys/girls can give me

Thanks in advance Mike

Oh yah quick question: My filter is a marineland penguin 250 or 300 I believe with the bio-wheel, what should I do with the filter cartridge that is in the filter?
leave it in, rinse in the water or put a new one in???

 

[Will91]

Definitely leave the bio-wheel alone. It is not meant to be changed unless it becomes damaged somehow. At best, all you ever want to do is rinse it in fish water - never tap water. The biowheel is where the beneficial bacteria have colonized.

As far as any floss/charcoal filter, you should be able to leave this in place too. This only provides particulate filtration and any charcoal provides chemical filtration. You can periodically rinse it in fish water or replace it at some point in the future if you desire.

 

[powerdyne6]

Definitely leave the bio-wheel alone. It is not meant to be changed unless it becomes damaged somehow. At best, all you ever want to do is rinse it in fish water - never tap water. The biowheel is where the beneficial bacteria have colonized.

As far as any floss/charcoal filter, you should be able to leave this in place too. This only provides particulate filtration and any charcoal provides chemical filtration. You can periodically rinse it in fish water or replace it at some point in the future if you desire.

I never said anything about me changing the bio-wheel, all I said was what should I have done with the filter cartridge the one with the carbon in it after the tank had cycled, replace it or rinse it in the fish water
I rinsed it in the fish water