Filter media

[Michele]

Hi. I have an AccuClear mini & 200 which came with the foam & carbon filter. I also added the AmmoRid while first starting my tanks. I was wondering what type of filter media are necessary? Some say you don't need carbon or you don't have to change your media once a month as it says on the box. Thoughts???
Thanks

 

[Michele]

oops. meant to type AquaClear mini & 200

 

[tstenback]

I always run the filter with the carbon and sponge and rarely run the ammorid. the carbon does becomeredundant after a short time but it does give extra surface for the bacteria to occupy. I rarely change my filter simply swish the sponge in water that i remove from the tank(dont use tap water it will kill the bacteria.) If its real dirty i give it a few squeezes in the old tank water but thats about it. If you have to change the media i put the new media in with the old for couple of weeks and then remove the old media this way i dont lose the bacteria in the filter. HTH

 

[Bol]

What type of media are necessary? Depends on your conditions, but personally, I think all you need in most situations is something to perform mechanical filtration -- the foam sponges that come with the ACs do nicely.

Currently, I run two sponges in my AC 300, with some homemade "filter floss" in between. The floss is actually just some polyester batting material I got at a hobby shop.

I clean my media in the way that tstenback mentioned -- swish them around in siphoned-off tank water, mostly. I only change my media when they're obviously breaking down.

One thing that may be worth mentioning: I'm not sure about the AmmoRid product, but the way Activated Carbon works, after a period of time it can leach some of the adsorbed toxins back into the water.

 

[crazie.eddie]

What type of media are necessary? Depends on your conditions, but personally, I think all you need in most situations is something to perform mechanical filtration -- the foam sponges that come with the ACs do nicely.

Currently, I run two sponges in my AC 300, with some homemade "filter floss" in between. The floss is actually just some polyester batting material I got at a hobby shop.

I clean my media in the way that tstenback mentioned -- swish them around in siphoned-off tank water, mostly. I only change my media when they're obviously breaking down.

One thing that may be worth mentioning: I'm not sure about the AmmoRid product, but the way Activated Carbon works, after a period of time it can leach some of the adsorbed toxins back into the water.

I agree. Basically, if you problems with high ammonia, adding zeolite in the media tray or using ammonia reducers is not necessary. High ammonia is usually do to to much left overfood, not enough filtration, overstocked tank (too much waste), or dead fish. Carbon is not necessary unless you have discolored water or a fish odor smell. Though if there is a fishy smell, this is normally due to overfeeding as well. What's normally sufficient is just additional sponge filter for bacteria to colonize. I normally just leave the carbon in the media, becuase this also a great bed for the bacteria to colonize.

Carbon does not leak the materials back into the tank...it just loses it's effectiveness over time.

 

[Bol]

Oops, I stand corrected about the AC and de-adsorption.

Under aquarium conditions, it does seem that de-adsorption of compounds is highly unlikely.

However, some brands of AC can leach phosphates into your water, especially soon after being introduced.

 

[Michele]

Interesting. I am planning on removing the AmmoRid & will not be replacing them.
How long can I leave my AC filter in before replacing??

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I've been running my aquaclears with nothing but a pair of the foam sponges for many years now. This way I can thoroughly rinse one sponge while being sure the other sponge has a healthy bacterial colony on it. Whether carbon is necessary depends on what your tap water is like, but more often then not you don't need it.

If you rinse out the filter and media (or in my case half the media) once per month then you should be good.