I’ve had my fish for about 5 months now, and have been using the filter that came with my set up with little issue. Never had parameter issues, water has always been crystal clear. 1 fish, 3 Bloody Mary shrimp, 1 nerite snail, and a dozen or so bladder snails that ebb and flow. 6 gallon tank.
I recently noticed the flow was extremely slow, even on the highest outlet level. My fish has been hanging out right in front of the outlet. I’ve never changed the cartridge and when I pulled it out it was pretty nasty, I scraped some stuff off just so the water could flow through it more but it’s still pretty slow flowing.
I would like to switch to a sponge filter, but how do I switch without crashing my cycle? My water parameters are perfect, and he gets a 30% water change every other week. This week is tank cleaning week so I’d ideally like to make the switch then.
My current thought is to sink the sponge filter for a day or so before taking the old filter out. Do I run both at the same time? Do I just try to clean out the filter in my tank now? Or get a new cartridge for it? Not sure what the best way to make this swap.
Fish picture for tax. Say hello to Lasagna!
https://i.redd.it/1950zk903kvg1.jpeg
Posted by Tirednanny7890
2 Comments
So, to switch without crashing your cycle, you need to run both filters together for a few weeks. Some will say you only need to do it for 2, but if I remember right, best practice is to do it for at least 4.
Hey! I’ve actually been having the same problem, out of curiosity what sponge filter are you switching to? I’m having a hard time finding one