Carbon Filter

[Joanna69]

I'm using a carbon filter sponge in my tank because I have partly rainwater in the make up of my tank water and understand carbon is best in this instance as it clears any possible organic nasties. A few questions about it:

Can carbon filters be cleaned or do I need to change it to a brand new on each time?

If, as I think, I ned to change it, how often? Once a month? Once a fortnight?

As I understand it the bulk of the good bacteria lurk in the filter sponge. If I'm changing to a brand new filter regularly what about my bacteria levels? Will a new filter impact on my bacteria levels to such an extent that my tank suffers from say high ammnia levels because a large chunk of the bacteria were thrown out with the filter? Or won't having a new filter make any difference as the tank water/substrate will keep things going along until the new filter get's going?

I know people think carbon is chucking money away but I'd rather be safe with my rainwater (have V. high PH from the tap and rainwater seemed a good solution given my tank is a modest 63litres - have posted about the reasoning etc before).

Anyway, I've done a search both here and google and can't really find anything to hand that answers my questions. I'm just worried that binning my filter I'll be binning all the hard earned bacteria too.

Would it be worth cutting off a bit of my carbon filter and putting in a piece of normal sponge that stays there when the carbon one is changed? Obviously I would clean the little piece of normal sponge when needs be, but I figured it may be a way of ensuring my filter system always has something in it with lots of bacteria.

Any ideas?

 

[mark.w.jones]

Im struggling to picture your filter set up. Usually you have wool where the water enters the filter, followed by filter sponge, sometimes a coarse and a fine, followed by your filter media. Your carbon filter, be it a sponge or a tray, I would suggest probably needs to be after the wool but before the sponge and filter media. If your filter is not set up like this then I apologise

ps have you read this:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=139488

 

[furryrabbit]

if its like my sponge filter it goes ; wool , carbon sponge , coarse fine. or white , black ,green, blue.

p.s. its an internal juwel sponge filter. i wash out the sponges in aquarium water every fortnight and replace it every 6 months. hope this helps

 

[Joanna69]

Sorry, to explain.

Its a fluval filter that came with my tank. Just a bog standard cylinder one that goes inside the tank, stuck on the side with suckers - its a "fluval 2 plus underwater filter".

Here's what I have:

http/www.theaquariumshop.co.uk/fluval-uno-600-o-20.html

You open the filter catridge and inside there's a space to put in your piece of sponge. My filter came with two sponges in the box. One normal polyester one and one carbon one. I'm using the carbon one.

Hope that helps.

Really intreagued to understand my filter sponge and the effect of binning an old one for a brand new one. Tired and late - didn't explain myself very well!!

 

[breezer40]

I know that filter The carbon sponge will need to be changed about once a month but because if you dont they start to leech the toxins back into the water. Rinse the white foam pads in some of the tank water when water changing but if they do get a bit worn never change both of them together or all the bacteria will dies..do them one at a time with a month or so apart. Hope this helps

 

[Torrean]

you probably don't need to change the whole filter pad. Just open up the filter cartridge and dump out the old carbon. Rinse the pad in tank water and then replace the carbon with activated carbon purchased at an lfs. This will help with your bacteria worries because you'll only be throwing away the carbon not the whole filter pad.

Tor

 

[Joanna69]

Aha! Thank you so much.

I was getting my sponge filters muddled with my foam pads! Okay, got you. I'll change the carbon sponge once a month and clean the filters regularly (in tank water) but bin them after 6 months [but not bin both sponge and foam bits at the same time].