Carbon

[smb]

I have one of those power filters that hang on the back of the tank. How would you filter the water without having a cartridge for that type of filter? I would think that the floss stuff wouldn't stay in the cartridge area and would end up floating around the tank!

It would with the type of filters that have the sponge and carbon bag.

If there is a way to not have to waste money buying new filters every month and use the floss which is a lot cheaper I would try it.

You could buy an Emperor or Penguin filter with a BIO-Wheel. It will cost more to begin because of buying the filter but you could use filter floss only in those and it would be better filtration for your tank,imo. If you're happy with your filtration now tho, then I wouldn't switch. We all have what we like and dislike and, imo, there's no right or wrong filter if you're pleased with it.

What's the name of your filter you have now? Is it an Aquaclear? What size tank do you have?

 

[fuman_chica]

I have one of the ones that hangs over the back too. Mine is an Aqua-Tech filter with "EZ-Change Filter Cartridges". It has a thing that they call, "double-thick polyfiber pad" that goes over the top of the carbon. And then the other side of the cartridge, is a ribbed thing...so the water and "impurities" can get thru to the carbon and the polyfiber pad.


How would I go about using something different without have to buy a new filter? Is it possible??

 

[guppymonkey]

I have a Whisper II. I got it for free from a friend who quit fishkeeping. I think its made by Tetra (my tank is in a different room and I don't want to run down there just to check).

 

[Kissifish]

Not to throw a wrench into the fix, but here we use carbon and floss to filter our drinking water. It lasts up to 6 months or so many gallons. And I won't drink water that hasn't been filtered, can't stand the chlorine taste. So I know carbon/charcoal has some qualities. Just don't know if it benefits fish.

By the way, I am a retired Medical Technologist and use carbon to purify things in the lab.

Just my opinion/experience. To each his own.

 

[rosierabbit]

i dont even no what carbon is so....

thank god i'm not alone

 

[Lithril]

Carbon is very good at removing chlorine as well as some other chemicals, not sure about use in fish tanks though as the water is dechlorinated first and they're are many other impurities in larger amounts. Agreed that carbon can last for weeks in purifacation systems we use them in the lab at work.

Used to change the carbon in the old eheim that I used to have every 3 months and it seemed to work. Got a small Interpet filter now (MUCH smaller tank ) its a basic sponge and carbon bag system, if this filter floss is as good as everyone says it is may give it a bash soon. So what actually is filter floss?

Went into the lfs today they'd never actually heard about a filter wheel, anyone know where I can get some more info on them?

 

[Inchworm]

I use Ammo-Chips which claims to remove ammonia and can be recharged monthly by soaking in a salt water solution.

IMHO nothing can replace frequent small water changes, but I'd rather be safe than sorry in this area.
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I would think that the floss stuff wouldn't stay in the cartridge area and would end up floating around the tank! (Guppymonkey)

I have a couple of old cartridge type filters that I fill with floss. It does work its way out of the filter and into the tank -- a very unpleasant surprise! To hold it down I put a net bag filled with the ammo-chips right on the top. It does work, but I prefer the AquaClear sponge type filters that I add a layer of floss to, right over the sponge. You'd be surprised how much dirt gets by the sponge and gets trapped here.

 

[guppymonkey]

I have heard that carbon is very porous and is good for growing bacteria for biological filtration. I guess its surface area is large for its size or something like that. So, carbon can serve a purpose!