Api Testing Kit And General Filter Questions

[twitchii]

so i have a few questions:

i have the API master test kit and have a little silly question about it. For those who don't know, they have these really stupid red plastic guards on each bottle and are really annoying. i ended up taking them off and i was just wondering, would this effect the chemicals?

in terms of filters i'm a little confused as to what to do about them. i know that you're supposed to change them every month or so, but i'm not sure how i would go about. i thought that most of the bacteria lives in them. so when you change the bag doesn't the bacteria go with it? i have a Top Fin 10 filter and i'm just not sure what to do when i think i need to change it in a few weeks.

thnks!

 

[divegirl]

Hi, I bet it was written on your filter instructions to 'change the media monthly'!!! Well....ignore that You're absolutley right that that is where the 'good' bacteria live. All you need to do is when you think your filter is starting to become clogged up, remove the filter media and give it a good swish around in a bucket of dirty tank water and put it back ion the filter....this will remove the majority of fish waste and leave the bacteria where it's supposed to be
Only change the media when it's falling to bits....even then you leave in some of the old stuff to help the bacteria re-colonize [sp].

As for the red tabs on the API kit....I think they're there more as a child safety gadget.

Lisa x

 

[waterdrop]

Agree, I think the red rings must be child-proofers.. I assume the cap still screws down tightly without them? I found after a week or so that I could hold the api bottle in on hand, press the red ring button with my thumb and twirl the cap loose with the index finger of the same hand, allowing me to be holding the test tube in the other hand. Its actually pretty easy but it did seem odd and bothersome the first couple days before I figured this out.

The classic paradox "the bacteria live in the biomedia" vs. "replace your media each X period of time" is the moment that's probably the most common among beginners coming here when "the light dawns!" I always get this little imaginary scene in my head of some filter manufacturing advertising rep visiting his favorite retailer decades ago.. turning to him with a gleam in his eye and saying "I know! We'll just tell them they have to replace it every month! A bald lie! It will work and we'll keep a lot of product moving across the shelves!" Or maybe it was a founding sales idea of one of those companies, who knows, they're never going to tell us!

The disappointing thing for most beginners is that they discover this -after- they've already bought a filter and once they fully understand.. they look at the filter and realize the entire design of the holding of media in the filter box was all about this sales plan and had little or nothing to do about providing the best filter media or the needs of the fish or aquarists! What a filter needs is a big 'ole -layer- of media, not a little thin plastic screen holding a thin screen of light foam or something!

OK, back to practicalities though. These filters will usually still work, even if they are a little on the weak side. They will need to be cleared (cleaned) more often because the screens or whatever can become more quickly clogged with debris, slowing the flow, which, while still providing working mechanical filtration, will lessen the amount of water per hour that is receiving biofiltration and all types of filtration, really.

divegirl is right - you only replace biomedia when it is structurally breaking down and I'd go one step further than her and say that if you had to do that you'd want to try to use -all- of the old biomedia to help the new biomedia make the transition. For instance, if the biomedia consisted of a couple layers of sponge sheet stretched on a frame, as like some I've seen, you'd try to cut out the entire older sponge sheeting and stuff it -inside- the two sheets of new sponge sheet. It would be wider than before but all the bacteria would be there, seeding the new biomedia!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[twitchii]

ok, that makes sense about not wanting to change the media unless an emergency...but

i was reading some where that there is carbon in the bag and that that is what needs to be changed regularly or something. also how can you tell if the bag is breaking down if you're not supposed to take it out of the water?

sorry if the newbie confusion, but i'm not sure of the logistics here yet

 

[Gilli]

You dont really need the carbon in there - should be changed every couple of months or it leaks out toxins. If you need to put meds in the tank to treat sick fish its really important to remove the carbon first or it will absorb the meds and they wont do any good!

You really only need to use carbon when you have used meds in the tank and want to get rid of them after the last dosage, for instance if you nthen need to use a different med.

If you carry out regular water changes every week and maintain the aquarium properly, there shouldn't be any need for carbon.

 

[crazychris]

Can I ask a question about the API liquid test kit as I bought my first recently. Should you shake the bottles each time before you use them or not? Only says you have to for one test I think, where you add from two bottles.

 

[chrisrm]

Can I ask a question about the API liquid test kit as I bought my first recently. Should you shake the bottles each time before you use them or not? Only says you have to for one test I think, where you add from two bottles.

i do just as a matter of course. although i think only the nitrate (bottle 2) tells you to shake for 30 seconds

 

[dthoffsett]

I've used the whisper filter on a smaller tank before. I would just slit the bottom of the white "bag" and dump out the carbon. I'd suggest doing that before adding it to the filter as carbon is much easier to remove when it's dry.

also how can you tell if the bag is breaking down if you're not supposed to take it out of the water?

You'll want to rinse filter media out in old tank water on occasion to get some of the muck off, if bits of the media start falling off/breaking loose when you are rinsing it you should probably replace it. It can tank years for that to happen though.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Twitchii.
What you have amounts to a poor imitation of a Whisper 10 filter. It works fine if you just remove the cartridge during a water change, rinse out the cartridge in the bucket of dirty water before you dump it on your garden, and put the cartridge back where you got it. This will set you up with a sprinkle of carbon that would have never really removed anything anyway, the sample in the cartridge is too small to actually matter for more than maybe a day when the filter is brand new. You will also have a clean enough mechanical filter that still contains your biofilter.

 

[discus_lover]

welcome to our forum....hich type of aquarium you have at present?frewshwater or saltwater or marine..for a freshwater tank the best filter option will always be an external filter along with a biological filter...

 

[waterdrop]

Can I ask a question about the API liquid test kit as I bought my first recently. Should you shake the bottles each time before you use them or not? Only says you have to for one test I think, where you add from two bottles.

i do just as a matter of course. although i think only the nitrate (bottle 2) tells you to shake for 30 seconds

Agree. I give them all a shake before I take the cap off. The nitrate test actually has two timed shaking periods and they should be observed and even considered a minimum.

~~waterdrop~~