I got a little overzealous with my water change

[mardi]

I'm a little concerned that I might have disrupted the good bacteria in my tank.

I have a 5.5 Gallon tank. This evening I:

-Took some of the old tank water and used it to swish

1. My Filter pad
2. filter bag covering my filter intake tube
3. Filter foam I have covering the filter outflow

I removed 50% of the water, and started filling the tank, when I realized there were still quite a lot of thick particles in there. So, I started siphoning again and before I knew it, had taken out a little more than 60% of the water.

I didn't take any of the ornaments out, but they did get moved around a bit when I was siphoning/adding water. I added Prime (had been using Stress Coat).The last time I siphoned was exactly a week ago.

I'm going to re acclimate Bowie to the water, because I'm sure I messed up the Ph. But, what I want to know is, will I have another bacteria bloom? Should I be retesting my water for everything.

And after all this, I feel quite silly. But if anyone has done this and can tell me what to expect, I'll feel a lot better.

[mardi]

Oh, and thanks to everyone who takes the time to reply to this. This is my first tank that's a:) Filtered and b:) larger than 2 gallons. I'm in quite a mood this evening.

[1fish2fish]

How long has it been set up and how long has it been cycled? A 60% change really shouldn't disrupt your cycle.

[mardi]

I set it up on November 20th, it's only been cycled for about a week. Which, looking at the calendar, seems like a really short time. I've calmed down about it now and have just decided to keep an extra close eye on everything for the next couple of weeks.

Thanks so much for the reply!!

Originally Posted by 1fish2fish

How long has it been set up and how long has it been cycled? A 60% change really shouldn't disrupt your cycle.

[Myates]

You swished out the filter media in tank water- as long as you didn't replace it, and that the gravel was still in water I wouldn't worry too much. Go ahead and test it tomorrow and the day after to make sure there are no spikes- but the bacteria should still be alive and fine in the gravel and filter.

[EvilVOG]

from what i understand, the "good" bacteria live on anything wet, like gravel, decorations, filter pads, ect. and as long as they stay wet the bacteria will remain. (probably temp. dependent to some degree, but as long as it wasn't freezing or super-hot...)

Anyway it can take 4-8 weeks for a tank to be completely cycled according to the sticky in the habitat board. It's a good read for setting up an aquarium.

[mardi]

Nope, I didn't replace the filter media. I put Bowie back in his tank, and he's swimming around happily. I'll take your advice and test the water for the next couple of days to make sure everything is good. I was just mostly concerned since the bacteria had only been established for such a short time.

And thanks so much for the reply.

Originally Posted by Myates

You swished out the filter media in tank water- as long as you didn't replace it, and that the gravel was still in water I wouldn't worry too much. Go ahead and test it tomorrow and the day after to make sure there are no spikes- but the bacteria should still be alive and fine in the gravel and filter.

[mardi]

Yeah, I read the sticky, just had a "moment" here for a second. I was mostly concerned because it seems the tank had only so recently cycled. :-p

I know it seems like a really short time; but everything that is supposed to happen when a tank cycles, happened for me. It probably helped that I was feeding Bowie flakes up until a few days ago and didn't siphon the tank from the time I set it up, until last Sunday.

I'm still going to keep an eye on everything, just in case. Thanks for the reply, I can be quite silly at times.

Originally Posted by EvilVOG

from what i understand, the "good" bacteria live on anything wet, like gravel, decorations, filter pads, ect. and as long as they stay wet the bacteria will remain. (probably temp. dependent to some degree, but as long as it wasn't freezing or super-hot...)

Anyway it can take 4-8 weeks for a tank to be completely cycled according to the sticky in the habitat board. It's a good read for setting up an aquarium.

[EvilVOG]

ok... i had my 3 gallon read like that before tho, and that's supposed to be too small to cycle. (doesn't mean yours did not) Personally i'm just going to keep making occaional water changes, as it won't hurt the cycle and gives me piece of mind.

[Myates]

Originally Posted by mardi

Nope, I didn't replace the filter media. I put Bowie back in his tank, and he's swimming around happily. I'll take your advice and test the water for the next couple of days to make sure everything is good. I was just mostly concerned since the bacteria had only been established for such a short time.

And thanks so much for the reply.

Welcome! The bacteria can die off after a bit, even in water- but it takes a couple of hours to do so- 2-3 normally, sometimes some people are able to keep it alive 4-6 hours. So a quick water change, even one that lasts 30 minutes should be just fine!