Reddit mentions of Fluval Biomax Bio Rings - 500 grams/17.63 ounces

I'll list off the things you need in order of importance

First is bigger tank! Your bowl isn't cycled anyway so more water volume can only help. I have the same tank that you linked and I like it but I don't really like using filter cartridges so I just changed it out for this stuff

Next, heater. Warm water has been in my experience the biggest difference between a healthy and unhealthy betta. You want one that has an internal thermostat and you can manually set the temp to a number. You'll want a thermometer to go along with it

Filter is important but not as important as heater imo. You'll still need it if you don't want to be doing multiple weekly water changes to keep the quality perfect

Finally are the comfort items: plants, caves etc. If you want plants decide how into it you want to get. Regular gravel would be fine with some plants but if you really want to go for it get something like ecocomplete or fluorite that's designed for plants. I'd recommend at least a couple live plants (Anubias and crypts are easy) because they go crazy for them.

Everything else is mostly to make things easier for you or for decoration.

When you have it set up you'll want to do weekly 20% water changes. A test kit will help you make sure that you're on the right track. If you have any ammonia: water change. If you have any nitrite: water change. If nitrate gets to 20: water change.

Okay so with that being said them you should take out the charcoal and save that for later if you need it, not something you need for daily use especially if you want to go planted since it will counter act with any ferts to my knowledge. As for substrate you honestly have so many choices but ada would be good if you want to go planted or to even go with no filter. As for the filter if your going to run one you need to get a biological filter. I use these

You also would need a sponge as a mechanical filtration but if your putting one over the intake that works as well. Sorry if Im either telling you stuff you already know or I'm just repeating things.

I'm sorry are you saying you have 12 fish in a 3.6 gallon tank right now? And you're thinking of upgrading to a 10 because your parents will be doing the maintenance when you are away? If this is the case, that is absolutely not an ok set up for those fish. I don't want you to feel bad. But, you need to bring all 12 of those specific fish back to the LFS as none of them are acceptable in a 10 gallon. There is only one fish that can be in a 3.6 gal that I can think of, that is a male or female betta. But, if you're going to be staying in the dorm, then bring the tank with you unless they have rules about aquariums or leaving the heater unattended. If they are going to do all the maintenance, get a 20 long and they won't have to do hardly any maintenance and you can keep all the fish. Move them over immediately and buy a bottle of Seachem Stability and dose the tank every day until it's cycled. But, you will need a gravel vacuum, just a small one like this and you can use it if you have sand. If you want gravel, you would need a larger tube or it can bend easily. Get the tank at the $/gallon sale. Order your other items online and see what's cheaper. But, You will HAVE to get the following: The Stability, an API Master Test Kit (it will need to be used regularly for testing pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates), a filter (get something like this Aquaclear 50 so you will have enough filtration for those fish and the box is a good size so you can add filter media like this instead of the cartridges which aren't as good anyway. Then all they'll have to do is swish around in the bucket of tank water maybe once a semester. But, there are more things to buy for a tank, a lid, a light, substrate, live plants, etc. An adjustable heater.

The best pet parent you could be would be to return the fish and get a Betta and for goodness sake, tonight at least add water to the top so it's close to being 3 gallons at least.

Do you have any recommended bio media? Or is something like this fine?

Setup

Item| Description
---|---
Tank | 55 Gallon
Filter|[Marineland Penguin 350] (http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Penguin-Power-Filter-70-Gallon/dp/B0009IMDQM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1406908824&sr=1-1&keywords=bio-wheel+350&dpPl=1)
Filter | Marineland Penguin 150 filled with Biomax
Heater| Aqueon 200w heater
Substrate | Tahitian Moon Sand
Substrate| CaribSea Eco Complete
Lighting|Marineland Single Bright

I wish I went with a better lighting system as it's very weak, I can only grow low light, easy going plants. Currently looking for something better. I also want to upgrade to a [this] (http://www.amazon.com/Cascade%C2%AE-Canister-Filter-Gallon-Aquariums/dp/B0002DJ9NY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406911455&sr=8-1&keywords=pennplax+canister+filter&dpPl=1). canister filter.

I have in there some platties, had 4 red and 4 yellow but some died and some spawned, I don't know how much platties I have. I also have 2 green cory catfish, and 2 zebra danios (I know I'm supposed to have more, but when I first started out I had about 6 of each with some guppies. Had a bad ich attack and lost everyone except the two corys and two danios)



http://imgur.com/a/Pbs4X

https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Biomax-Bio-Rings-ounces/dp/B000HHSG5M/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2WNF2ZJX4HU97&keywords=filter+media+aquarium&qid=1564853679&s=gateway&sprefix=filter+media+a%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-18

This is one of the product. If you to your amazon wishlist, I could buy it for you.

Canister filters are pretty simple. There's a hose that goes from the tank into the filter (into filter, out from tank). It uses a pump to push the water through a few layers of filter media. First few layers are usually some sort of foam or mesh to help remove larger bits. Next layer is usually a bio media. Next layer is usually a super-fine gritty substance (some people use activated carbon, some folks use something like purigen) wrapped in a mesh bag to help remove all the super-fine bits.

Lastly the pump will push all that water through the output hose into the tank.

Instead of just dumping the water in the tank all willy-nilly, the eheim filters have a spray bar. It's essentially a hose that has lots of holes in the end so that the water comes out neatly across a larger area - instead of just in one big stream.

Would you recommend these?

I would get these biomax rings and instead of the unassembled bags, I would just toss them right into your filter. Leave your existing pad in there for a few weeks to give the bacteria time to form on the new stuff. You could put the bio rings in a piece of pantyhose if needed. It's cheaper and probably less work.

Cartridges like this are basically scams. They eventually get overloaded and then force you to buy new ones every couple of months, or sooner, depending on how messy your water gets. They also often contain activated charcoal, which is great from removing compounds from your water, but is useless about 99% of the time for aquariums. It will remove medication from water, but generally medications crash your cycle anyways, so a 100% water change is perfectly fine. You're better off with an aquarium sponge to serve as mechanical filtration, which costs about $3, and you can rinse off in your old tank water when you do your water changes, meaning it will last basically forever.

When people talk about media, they mean some sort of hard material that serves as a breeding ground for bacteria, for example this one from Fluval. That's a good thing, as that bacteria is what keeps ammonia from killing our finned friends. Filter media lasts for a long while, and you only ever change out part of it at a time so you keep your cycle running.

Do you already have a filter unit? In basically any filter you can replace their cartridge with a sponge + media with little to no hassle.

Well, I don't know exactly what kind of media you have in your filter. I would put a bunch of bio rings in there and then some filter floss type pads. You mentioned rocks being in your filter earlier. If that's carbon, replace it with bio rings. Carbon isn't needed in a filter except for removing medicine. I might even go ahead and switch that out now, since you're basically starting over anyways.

Back to the original question, squeeze out the pads when they get clogged up, in a bucket of tank water. Don't use tap water, as the chlorine can cause harm to the bacteria. Then the bio rings you can rinse off with tank water that comes out of your syphon hose from time to time.

Any where it will fit really. Stick it on the bottom. Get rid of the carbon it comes with and add more bio rings. https://smile.amazon.com/Fluval-Biomax-Bio-Rings-ounces/dp/B000HHSG5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519305194&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+bio+rings