Should I Change My Filter Sponge?

[abbiebrown]

Hi, I have a Aqua Flow 200 in my tank, and it's recommended that the filter be changed every month...should I do this? will it not get rid of all the good bacteria? it does have carbon pieces inside, will they still work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[micko]

No. You do not need to get a new one until the one you have is falling apart.

 

[Blubble37]

yes, it is a good idea to change the filter sponge (only after a long time though) as eventusally all the fish waste clogging it up will make it collapse, anyway the carbon bits will tgake over while the new sponge developes its colony of bacteria

Hope this helps

Blubble

 

[abbiebrown]

so should I just rinse it in tank water when I do a change and not worry about the carbon?

 

[micko]

That would mean your constantly in cycle bubble? Why change it? Its beneficial.

 

[KittyKat]

If the sponge is a rough one, then it should never need changing - I have rough sponges which are 10+ years old and still working fine. Also they clean well, when squeezed in a bucket.

Fine sponges, on the other hand, have a tendency of clogging up, so those do need to be changed. If you do have a fine sponge (filter wool/floss), then I would replace only half of it at a time.

Also, your carbon is not doing anything anymore, so treat it as a normal sponge and wash/replace as you would with any other sponges and you can replace it with a normal (non-carbon) sponge if you ever need to.

 

[abbiebrown]

thank you both for your help

 

[Blubble37]

That would mean your constantly in cycle bubble? Why change it? Its beneficial.

not really as the foams take a long time to collapse (my last one took me 5 months ) and while the foam is cycling the carbon/zeolite takes over and does its job for a while before becoming redundant.

Blubble

 

[KittyKat]

That would mean your constantly in cycle bubble? Why change it? Its beneficial.

not really as the foams take a long time to collapse (my last one took me 5 months ) and while the foam is cycling the carbon/zeolite takes over and does its job for a while before becoming redundant.

Actually, that's not quite the case: if you replace enough of the filter media to cause a mini-cycle or a full cycle.. you just have a mini-cycle or a full cycle. On the other hand, in theory, even replacing 50% of the media should not cause a mini-cycle in a well set-up aquarium. It is, of course, worth being cautious.

Yes, zeolite will absorb ammonia, but it will absorb calcium and suchlike over ammonia.. so by the time it compensates for an uncycled filter, the water mineral content would be low enough to harm most fish in the long term. This is why zeolite should be used with caution. Carbon helps in the immediate term, but it is slow at taking up things and only works for a short period of time, before it is used up.

 

[Blubble37]

should i stop using zeolite in my filter then as from what you say it can be potentially harmfull. Also, does washing carbon foams in chlorinated water age the carbon?

Blubble

 

[KittyKat]

should i stop using zeolite in my filter then as from what you say it can be potentially harmfull. Also, does washing carbon foams in chlorinated water age the carbon?

As with all such things, I would not use it unless I had a very specific purpose for doing so. For example, a good reason to use carbon would be to remove remaining medication from the water after a treatment and a large water change.. to be honest, I can't come up with a good reason for using zeolite in a freshwater tank right now.

A quick rinse of carbon under chlorinated tap water will use up *some* of it, but the amount is negligible. Soaking it in tap water will use up more of it than just a quick rinse..