debris problem

**vafa** · 01-03-2013, 06:30 PM

so my 1.5 is currently cycling
the only media in the filter is a sponge designed to remove debris from the tank
the sponge is cycled and from an old tank
because the filter is so small i had to squish it in which released some debris
so i thought it would be gone overnight.
i was wrong, half was gone the other half was sitting on the gravel
i mixed up the gravel so the filter can suck it up
it is sucking up much by the time it has landed on my gravel
what should i do?

**imma24** · 01-03-2013, 06:37 PM

Wow - that's a tiny tank - before I address your question, what are you planning in putting in there?

Since it's cycling I wouldn't worry about the debris right now - generally, debris can be picked up via siphon.

**vafa** · 01-03-2013, 06:39 PM

some type of shrimp,
so i should wait till it's cycled
then do a water change with a siphon to get debris out

**imma24** · 01-03-2013, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by vafa

some type of shrimp,
so i should wait till it's cycled
then do a water change with a siphon to get debris out

Personally, I would wait until the tank is cycled - I assume you are using ammonia to do that?

That water change wont' take long will it? LOL - you could just empty out the whole tank, clean the gravel in dechlorinated water and replace all the water to get rid of all the gunk.

**Sandz** · 01-03-2013, 06:51 PM

Yeah just gavel vac with an airtube

**imma24** · 01-03-2013, 06:53 PM

Yeah (didn't think of that one!)- I can't imagine a siphon would fit in there anyway LOL

**vafa** · 01-03-2013, 06:55 PM

one problem
because there is bacteria in my sponge if i change my water
i will lose my ammonia which will take away the bb life.
i don't have pure ammonia i use flakes which take longer to release ammonia
thats why i am am going to let it cycle then change 30 percent and get debris out
SHORTEST pwc ever

**imma24** · 01-03-2013, 07:07 PM

I would change as much as is needed at the end - I assume you will be testing your water parameters all the time - it's important to have a good test kit while cycling so you can do this yourself (like with a liquid kit)? Very often at the end of cycling, nitrates are higher than they should be - the big water change should be done to lower nitrates (if they are more than 20ppm).

**Goes to 11!** · 01-03-2013, 07:29 PM

The filter is not going to do much of a job sucking it up because sponge filters running by themselves [As in this scenario] are primarily for BB colonization [Bio-filtration] & not mechanical filtration. They just don't usually have the power for that.

Do you have an Ace hardware or grocery store nearby? They usually have pure ammonia.

**~firefly~** · 01-03-2013, 07:35 PM

1.5 gallon?

US gallon or imperial?

If it's US gallon then that's just over 5 1/2 litres of water. I think that's too small even for shrimp (who do swim around). Even the most experienced aquarist would struggle to keep the water quality stable.

Even imperial gallons (equating to just under 7 litres) is a bit small.

I'd happily grow moss in it though