Some advice on filter media PLEASE!

[Dwarfs]

that's a good filter , use the sponge that came with it [ it did come with a sponge?, right] I had an older model 403 [ different from your diagram], and used thes ponge in the first chamber . Bacteria colonies will become established on it . Some people cut the sponge in half , they only clean 1/2 at a time [ each break down . I would only use charcoal to remove meds after a treamant [ only in my quarentine tank] I sometimes add vitamines for my fish as well as trace elements for my plants , charcoal would affectivly remove them. Also I would only use something to remove amonia only if I needed to . So you have three chambers . Mine ended up being a boilogical filter in all three chambers, ALTERNATING the cleaning so I had a colonie of bacteria in at least one chamber . Any surface that will not poisen the water or alter it's chemistry will do , many plastics [ plastic milk containers I have cut into pieces and used ] inclueding pvc , glass beads , ceramic . I remember once I had a tank that had fish that liked their water to be hard , so I used crushed coral or dolamite in one chamber for a while . You could also do that with something to soften the water . Come and get me .

 

[silver]

So, do you need Activated Charcoal in your media? It sounds like a lot of people are against it sort-of. Why exactly is that again?

So, would it work good to have just the Bio-max rings in all three compartments? Do you know what I'm talking about by Biomax rings?

Oh, and mine didn't come with any sponge because I got it used so I just buy the stuff at a LFS, the bulk kind it's blue on one side and white on the other.


Silver

 

[Dwarfs]

I personaly do not use charcoal in my display tank . It removes impurities from the water ,and this is good , but it will also remove or weaken the trace eliments that I occasionally add to my tanks . I used to it all the time [ and add vtamins money out the window ] , along with amonia chips [ to remove amonia ]. I just don't feel I need to any more . Good bio filtration and regular partial water changes have worked well for me in almost 5 years . Some of my tanks have plants [as filters] and either a sponge filter or a bubble up box with gravel in it, one tank has only an under gravel filter . Use charcoal if you want to , use ammo chips to , but if you decide not to keep some around just in case . Biomax rings are just a suface for bacteria to colonize on , and should work just fine .

 

[silver]

Well, I guess for sure I am going to use to Bio-max rings in the bottom and middle compartments and maybe the charcoal in the top. Is all charcoal "activated" and if it isn't, what is the difference?


Silver

 

[Bol]

The charcoal that they sell for aquarium use is all activated (that I've seen, anyway).

For a little extra background info, ...

The main thing the charcoal will do is bind certain chemicals found in your water, effectively removing them from the water. (This process is often called "leaching"). In terms of aquaria, it provides "chemical filtration", one of the "holy trinity" of mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration.

Many of these chemicals are what would be called toxins, but as others have mentioned, some are beneficial compounds, especially those containing trace elements that plants require for good growth.

However, most (if not, for practical purposes, all) of this binding is done by adsorption (not absorption), meaning it only occurs on the surface of the charcoal. This fact limits the effective life of the charcoal, as once the surface is "full" of impurities, it does little further good (in fact, it has been claimed that after sufficient time, the toxins leached out of the tank by the charcoal can be re-introduced into the water).

Peoples' opinions of how long this effective lifetime is will differ ... anywhere from a dozen hours to about a week, generally. Of course, that depends on many factors, notably how much "gunk" the charcoal is actually picking up -- if you put it in a "dirty" tank, naturally it will not last as long as in a "clean" tank.

It's not necessary to have charcoal to remove toxins -- it just does it very well (quickly, efficiently). The relatively short effective lifetime is probably a key factor in why many people don't use it on a regular basis, and the good efficiency is probably why many people will use it to "quickly" mop up residual medications.

In any case, "Activated" charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to make it more porous -- that is, to increase the surface area of a given volume. Since adsorption is "all about" surface area, this increases the efficiency and/or effective lifetime of the charcoal.

 

[lucky62]

" charcoal " or activated carbon as it is also reffered to is used in many types of filters , oven fans , respirators , by allowing air or water to pass through it impurities are removed , once it has reached it's capacity to remove impurities it can not be recharged or reactivated , at least not by rinsing it with water . At this point it becomes a source for biological filtration [bacteria colonies ] . If you are going to use CARBON replace it every other time you do filter mantainance .It's priced fairly and you can buy bulk to save . And remember to take it out if you need to treat your tank with meds or trace elements .

 

[babyfish]

Put some sort of bio media in the middle chamber like sintered glass, this has many microscopic holes for the bacteria to colonise.
If you have plants then remove the carbon from the top chamber and replace with bio media topped by filter wool( buy filter wool in the pond department as it's much cheaper, simply cut to size).
The filter wool can be replaced or washed under tap water(if you wash under tap water then dip the wool into a bucket of fishwater before returning to the filter) when cleaning the filter.
Don't squeeze your sponge when washing it, shake it vigorously in a bucket of tankwater, this makes it last much longer, had mine for 4 years now and they still look as good as new

 

[silver]

Cool, thanks guys!!

That was an excellent explaination Bol, thanks!

And thanks to the rest of you too!!




Silver