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Oliver has one month left in the tiny tank he came with. When we move in a month, so will Oliver--to a 65 gallon tank with all the bells and whistles. In the meantime, he is still living in his sad little 10 gallon tank with a Tetra whisper filter. He is 4" long.

Here's my question: if a complete water test (API master test kit) shows 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and only 5.0 nitrates, are there other compelling reasons to do a complete cleaning of the tank?

Do those numbers mean the tank is clean? Or are there other reasons to clean his small tank every two weeks (with a 2/3 water change halfway between cleanings)? I read that it is important to do a full cleaning very often with a tank as small as Oliver's, but if the numbers are coming back this good, should I?

I remove Oliver's poo with a fish net as soon as I see it. So there is not much debris floating around in his tank.

Thanks for the help!

Those levels sound fine to me. Just do a partial water change every week or so (assuming those levels stay good) to get some fresh water in there and it should be fine until you get that nice big tank for little Oliver.

la-pa -- When you get a filter for the 65 make sure you get one that will pump at least 5 times the volume. Check on the gph rather a tank size.