No filter cartridge????wtf

[Joeyb1731]

am i not supposed to have a filter cartridge in my eclipse nano FOWLR tank? Should i take it out now. My tanks in the middle of cycling, no fish in it though. Im getting mixed reviews but I need an answer from you guys cuz ur the only ones I trust

 

[EvilWays]

leave it in. it can only be benficial. a filter cartridge is just floss and carbon in a package designed to fit in the HOB or Eclipse filter. I say leave it be. im running a 5gal nano REEF and its doing fine with the HOB filter in place. This being said...

You say your tank is cycling, the carbon in your filter is going to remove alot of whats needed for your nitrogen cycle. If you have the filter in place and your tank has already started to cycle, leave it be. if its been a while and your tank is JUST NOW starting to cycle, pull it and replace it (with a new one) after you have cycled...
Hope this helped

 

[Joeyb1731]

well i had the tank running with the filter for 2 weeks just with saltwater and sand. I added 14 pounds of live rock last friday. After I added the live rock, I had a 3 day long ammonia spike, and since then Ive been at 1.0 ppm nitrite just waiting for it to go down. What do you think I should do?

 

[EvilWays]

i say just let it go as you have been. it is cycling fine. i would change that filter out before adding fish. It probably doesnt have enough carbon in it to handle the cycle and fish after so either toss in a new one or keep an eye on your parameters. you seem to be doing just fine though

 

[Joeyb1731]

well the live rock should keep the bacteria and stuff, but if i pull the filter after the cycle before fish, am i gonna mini cycle it cuz ill remove the bacteria. My idea was to just swish it around with the biowheel everyweek in old tank water when I do water changes

 

[Lotus]

You can leave it in, but the bacteria to keep the tank going is on your live rock (not on your filter or biowheel). You should thoroughly rinse your media at least weekly, as having a lot of bacteria in filter media other than the live rock can lead to excess nitrates.

 

[Joeyb1731]

so there really is no reason to keep it in, and if I want to keep switching the filter pads, or switching the cartridge once it cycles, I wont do any damage to the cycle?

 

[Lotus]

No, it won't affect the cycle.

In a new tank, sometimes it's good to have some mechanical filtration to remove particles floating around from the live rock. Just make sure you're keeping the filter media clean.

 

[Joeyb1731]

Can I rinse it in tap water?

 

[Lotus]

Yes, you can.

 

[Joeyb1731]

Lotus...you are a life saver thanks