tank cycling questions

[Aspatia]

the first week i got my tank and a bunch of fry, i did a 50% change every
day because i had no filter. now, there is an UGF filter in the tank, so
should i keep changing water or will this slow down the cycling process?

also, what is the difference between biological and mechanical filtration?

thanks,
jeanette

[Shawn Turner]

Aspatia wrote

>the first week i got my tank and a bunch of fry, i did a 50% change every
>day because i had no filter. now, there is an UGF filter in the tank, so
>should i keep changing water or will this slow down the cycling process?

Slow down the process a little, yes. hurt the fish, no, help the fish, yes.

>also, what is the difference between biological and mechanical filtration?

Biological is bacteria eating toxic stuff into less harmful stuff.
Ammonia --> nitrite --> nitrate. Cycling is getting a big enough
population of these nitrobacters to eat all of the ammonia etc
pretty much instantly so that you never have a detectable ammonia
or nitrite.

Mechanical filtering is floss or filter pads or even a net to take out
particles
of stuff.

Shawn T
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