Filter Media

[Aquaman2009]

Hi all, another filter question to ask, when doing an 80% water change recently I also decided to rinse my filter media in the tank water which I removed from the tank, I noticed that the white media was falling apart and was absolutely filthy so I threw it out, I then rinsed the black media and put that back in so now my filter contains the original two rough spongy things that were already in there from the beginning, and one black media, my question is this...do I need to replace the white spongy type thing I threw out or will it be OK with the two original thingies and black media?

 

[Aquaman2009]

Hi all, another filter question to ask, when doing an 80% water change recently I also decided to rinse my filter media in the tank water which I removed from the tank, I noticed that the white media was falling apart and was absolutely filthy so I threw it out, I then rinsed the black media and put that back in so now my filter contains the original two rough spongy things that were already in there from the beginning, and one black media, my question is this...do I need to replace the white spongy type thing I threw out or will it be OK with the two original thingies and black media?

I should also have mentioned that the filter I'm using is a fluval plus 3

 

[razer121]

erm, let me get this straight.....

you had the two "white spongy things" one each side?? orginaly, with the one you threw out in the middle?

the black i belive is a carbon thing, only needed to get rid of bad stuff in the water, belive it may be useless after say a week or so...im no expert though

now the one you threw out, was it fine media?? i think you should be fine....

 

[glolite]

The white media sounds like the floss which sits on top of the sponges and acts as a fine filter removing fine particals from the water, normally you just rinse it weekly in used tank water but if it was falling apart then yes replace it. You can buy floss in lfs. When rinsing the sponges it's best to do one at a time so that you don't loose all of the beneficial bacteria. This keeps the water healthyand prevents a new cycle beginning. Also it's best not to do more than a 50% water change ever. Better to do 25% weekly. Smaller regular changes are tons better than infrequent large changes of water as these can stress the fish too much and cause illness.

It would be worth testing your aquarium water for ammonia and nitrItes after a few days to check there's no mini-cycle.

PS the black media is carbon and should either be replaced every four weeks or better still not used except to remove medications if you use them.

 

[Aquaman2009]

Yep the white one I threw out was the fine floss type pad, I'll buy a replacement for it, I just wanted to make sure I was ok to run the filter without it, I'll also replace the black one shortly thanks..

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you should be fine. The polyfloss or fine pads main function is fine (smallest particle) mechanical filtration and running without it will just mean some of the fine stuff won't get caught. As with all media there's some functional overlap and so the fine pads will have gained some of the beneficial bacteria, so I agree with the above comment that its always good to be testing ammonia and nitrite during changes like this. Hopefully your main biological sponges will handle that function without a blip though.

~~waterdrop~~