Filter Cartridges

[juliethegr8t]

Sorry to bring this up again, but I never got a clear enough answer to apply to my own situation. As most of you know, I have a newly cycled tank. It took over a month to do this, I'm not sure exactly how long. However, the information for my filter says to change the cartridges monthly. They do contain carbon, and I don't know if this matters or not. Anyway, I realize the carbon can put bad things back in the water once full (heck if I know how long it takes to get full), but I also don't want to get rid of all the good bacteria growing in my cartridge (in the floss I assume) by removing it. How long should I wait before putting in a new one? Any help is appreciated, thank you!

 

[smb]

IMO, I would drop the carbon. It's pretty much useless and just a waste of money, imo.
Cleaning meds from a tank or clean the water after you put bogwood and it leeches and makes the water yellow with the tanic acid..then those are 2 good reasons to use it.

Other than that, I can't see much of a reason to use it and usually don't.

Per cleaning your floss or whatever you put in there-
I have 5 different cartridges between 2 different HOB's to change, so I am on a schedule to clean one a week and it keeps the biological colonies thriving.

There is no clearcut answer to anyone on how often. It all depends on how often you feed, what you feed, what fish you have and how fast it gets dirty.

 

[impur]

You have a few options here, depending on what type of filter you have. If it has 2 cartridges in it, change one this month, and the other next month. Or you could simply clean them off in tank water, cut a small hole in the bottom and remove the carbon that way. Then they should be ready for another month or so till you need to clean them.

If you don't have biowheels on your filter, I suggest you go purchase a couple AquaClear sponges. Set those in your filter and the bacteria will grow there. These will last a good year or more. Just keep rinsing in old tank water if they get real dirty. This way you can simply toss the cartridges and replace with no worries.

 

[MountGuppy]

my uncles a fish expert and he says the carbon helps purify the water but i dont know do what works for you.