Filter question

[Pac-Man]

i have a tetra whisper running on my 10 gallon tank and its been setup for about 2 months with three lemon tetras(i plan on getting some more once the nitrogen cycle is complete). my filter runs with these replacable things called bio-bags, IT DOES NOT HAVE A BIO WHEEL. Your fill these bags with carbon and replace them like every month. so i recently replaced my bio-bag that i had originally started the cycle with (i took it out and put in a new bio-bag). well anyway afetr this my nitrites soared. did i make the cycle start over again when i did this??? ps. right before i did replaced it i did like a 50% water change, could this have started the cycle over again??? thanks.

[PigMonkeyFish]

Are the Bio bags the only source of bacteria rich filtration on the tank? if yes then that will be the problem. By removing them and replacing with new your beneficial bacteria have gone. Is it possible to remove Bio bags in stages? sorry i'm not farmiliar with them but idealy you should never change all the filter media at once.
Hope this helps

[TANKER]

That is a common problem with small filters with only one filter pad. You toss the pad, you toss your bacteria culture. An alternate aproach to the stock pads would be to get some ceramic bio media and place it in the bottom of your filter, place a small pad of floss over this, and then if you need the carbon place that on top. An easy way to make a container for your carbon, or anything else for that matter, is to take an old pair of nylons and cit the leg off it. Fill the leg with the media of choice and tie it off with a rubber band, zip tie or whatever, trim the unused portion and you have a nice insert for your filter. By replacing the media this way you can change that cheap single stage filter into a 3 stage filter with a bio bed in it.

[Pac-Man]

is there nay other way i could keep my bacteria??? maybe put the old bio bag inside the new one for a while then take it out??? would that work???

[blakeoe]

I had a whisper filter for my 55 gallon tank and i upgraded to a penguin w/ bio wheels. The difference was quick! They weren't that expensive either, i got it for about $20 @ Pet smart. Definetlt the way to go! If you do not want to replace it what tanker said sounded good my friend has a filter like that on his 25 gallon and it works fine. An even cheaper way and what i did for a while with mine is go to hobby lobby and get some 100% polyester padding or pillow filler and put that between the bio bag and the wall of the filter. This is supposed to create a place for the bacteria to grow and allow you to keep the bacteria when replacing your bio bag. Since the water going through the polyester is already filtered you don't have to clean it nearly as much as the bio bag HOWEVER it didn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference as the filter with the bio wheels.

[Pac-Man]

well there is some sort of black pad between my biobag and the water realease. will that keep the bacteria???

[Pac-Man]

any1???

[Pac-Man]

please i need some advice

[fish_doc]

The older whispers did not have this pad. For those not familiar with whisper. Their new filters have a floss filter and a seperate sponge filter in them now. You can replace the floss filter while keeping the sponge with some of the bacteria still in the filter. So yes Pac-man you are correct in thinking that you should use both and only change one.

[John]

For some reason, I just seem to love whispers. I just love them. I don't know why.
Would keeping some of the carbon from the old bio-bag and putting it into the new one help keep some of the beneficial bacteria? I guess you'd have to be careful not to let it contact too much air and keep it wet.

[Pac-Man]

yea would what john said work??

[Pac-Man]

) sowell what could i do?? i really dont have much money (only 25$) and by the way im not 25, im alot younger. my profile just says im 25. so dont make the assumption that im a 25yr old bum living with his parents!!!!!!! (i do live with my parents, but its acceptable at my age ) i cant afford a new filter, so i need some help. would i just stuff the old bio bag with bacteria into the new one for a while??? or dump the carbon from the old one into the new one??? im confused!!! heres a pic of my filter incase it will help you decide on what i need to do to keep my bacteria culture:

[Pac-Man]

it uses these cheap things called bio bags to filtrate biologically. this is my problem. when i throw these out, and replace them, the bacteria goesout with them. i need a way of maintaning the bacteria culture...

[John]

I guess what I would do (and do actually do) is take some of the carbon from the old one and put it into the new one (with some new carbon). You could also cut a few pieces off of the old bio-bag and put them into the filter by the new one (I think). Overall, since some bacteria also will stay on the tank ornaments and plants, you don't have to think that all the bacteria goes out with your old bio-bag.

[Pac-Man]

hmm that seems like a good suggestion john but would it actually work to keep the culture??? can someone assure that what john is saying would work to keep the bacteria colony???

[fish_doc]

John is correct. If you cut a one or two inch square and place it in the new filter. Enough bacteria will be on there to seed the new filter quickly. Just dont keep the filter out of the water for a good length of time. The bacteria is like fish they need water in order to survive.

[Pac-Man]

sp if I do this the cycle wont start over again??

[fish_doc]

You may have a mini cycle but you wont have a full tank cycle.

[Pac-Man]

ohh... it wont be too stressfull for the fish though right??? i mean i understand if you do a big waterchange u might go through a mini cycle too???I have some seachem stability. should i add this after i put in the new filter too??? i beleive that "Stability" isnt snakeoil. someone correct me if im wrong

[fish_doc]

It dosent matter what brand filter you have when you clean the filter you will have a mini cycle. There is no way around it.