Marina Slim S10 Power Filter

[Gingimaru]

Hi everyone!

I did a search of the forums for info on this but couldnt find anything (might just have been me though) and google isnt being much help.

I have the Marina slim S10 power filter attatched to my 35ltr tank. Just starting my cycle (fishless) so i can house 1 Male betta, and upto possibly 4 neon tetra. i have used this forum for info on how to do the cycle however my questions are:

1: with the filter comes 2 types of media. one that says its good for tropical fish and one that say its good for goldfish. now one of them is carbon based (tropical) and the other zeolite (goldfish). from reading on here its a bad idea (when cycling) to have the zeolite in as it slows down the growth of the good bacteria as it is absorbing the ammonia. is this the case, and if so should i have 2 of the "tropical fish" filter media in? or would i be ok with one of each?

2: on the bottom of the pump (submerged in the water) is a black sponge (i believe its called a strainer sponge). how often (if at all) would we clean and/or change this?

3: with the filter media, should i be rinsing it in tank water weekly/bi weekly? (i did see something on this in the forums however it didnt seem to explain how long to keep them for) and if so how discoloured is it supposed to get before a change? or should i more be going on levels of ammonia/nitrates etc

3: i havent seen ONE single thing telling and showing me what normal algae growth is like. is it meant to be brown? green? hairy green? fluffy green? whats normal and whats too much? should my entire tank be covered? or should it be cleaned weekly whilst leaving algea on the gravel? i cant seem to find a decent explanation of this(if there is already an article i have missed that explains this FULLY then please post a link. otherwise could anyone explain it to me??)

thanks to anyone who reads and answers

 

[JanJan]

Hi I have got the same filter as you. The little sponge just pops off easily and give it a rinse in aquarium water when you do a partial water change.
With the cartridges here is a tip! Learnt the hard way - switch off the filter before you take any out as the waste in the filter gets sent back into the aquarium ( yuk!)
I slip mine out and gently squeeze them in the old water.
You can get the zeolite out by cutting a slit in the cartridge. I did this with my carbon ones when the carbon had run out.
I think you have to replace these cartridges a bit too regularly for me (only replace one at a time) so I currently have another filter to extend thier life (although I am going to replace both filters soon with a cannister filter).

Fraid' can't help on the algae question

Janis

 

[Blubble37]

you won't need the carbon OR zeolite, take them out and replace them with sponge...

hope it helps

B-37