My problem is: does changing the filter cartridge in a filter affect the beneficial bacteria levels in my fish tank? The reason I did this project was to study the result of changing the filter in an aquarium. My hypothesis is: If I change the filter cartridge in my aquarium then the beneficial bacteria levels will decrease.
First I acquired a fish tank and put 4 fish in it. I took water tests of the water each day for a week. One fish died. Then I took weekly tests until the nitrogen cycle was formed. I changed the filter, and then took water tests each day. I recorded the results.
When I tested my experiment I realized that the nitrogen cycle was established after 3 weeks. Then After the filter change their was a very small increase in Nitrite. After that nothing abnormally changed. This small change could have been from a fish I added to control my algae problem in my aquarium. I both accept and reject my hypothesis. If this change was from the filter change then I accept my hypothesis, but if it was from the fish I reject it.
