Treating Ich and filter pad full.

[TwoKlobbs]

Hi all. I’m new to the site and aquarium keeping so I apologize in advance if I posted this in the wrong spot.

Anyways, I’ve had my tank for about 3 weeks and I just noticed one of my fish (and I think a second) has ich. I just raised the temp a couple degrees and rushed to the store to get API Ich Cure. Ich X isn’t sold in Canada. When I put in the treatment, I noticed the filter pad was full and water was going through the bypass. I don’t have any replacement pads since I didn’t expect to need replacements so soon. It’s a topfin silent stream f10 and I believe it has carbon. I removed the pad but where should I keep the pad during the 48 hours of treatment and if I should just replace it. Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You don't want to replace filter pads unless they are falling apart. Then you replace them with a sponge from another brand of filter and that will last 10 years. You can also put sponge in the filter now and let it cycle with the rest of the filter media (pads, etc).

All you need to do is get a bucket of water from the aquarium and squeeze the filter pad out in the bucket of tank water. When the pad is clean, put it back in the filter.

If you have carbon (black granulated substance) in the filter pad, remove the carbon and through it away so it doesn't remove the medication from the water.

-------------------
Before you treat an aquarium for disease/s, you should do the following things.

Work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75-80% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

-------------------
If you ever have to treat white spot, you can raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks, or at least 1 week after all the white spots have disappeared. The heat will kill the parasites and you don't need to use chemicals.

 

[TwoKlobbs]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You don't want to replace filter pads unless they are falling apart. Then you replace them with a sponge from another brand of filter and that will last 10 years. You can also put sponge in the filter now and let it cycle with the rest of the filter media (pads, etc).

All you need to do is get a bucket of water from the aquarium and squeeze the filter pad out in the bucket of tank water. When the pad is clean, put it back in the filter.

If you have carbon (black granulated substance) in the filter pad, remove the carbon and through it away so it doesn't remove the medication from the water.

-------------------
Before you treat an aquarium for disease/s, you should do the following things.

Work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75-80% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
*NB* Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

-------------------
If you ever have to treat white spot, you can raise the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks, or at least 1 week after all the white spots have disappeared. The heat will kill the parasites and you don't need to use chemicals.

Wow this was amazing info! Pretty much everything I needed! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all that! This website seems to be a great source of info.

One more thing is that even though I swished the filter in a bucket of tank water I separated, the sponge doesn’t seem that dirty. Like, the water isn’t that dark. The filter does have an adjustable flow on it but I would think that setting it to a higher flow shouldn’t cause it to overflow. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Colin_T]

The filter pads can clog up and you need to squeeze them out a few times to loosen up the gunk and get it out of the pad. If you just swish it around in some water, it won't remove much, if any gunk. Give it a couple of good squeezes when in the bucket of tank water and see if it helps.

Dirty filter pads will be brown or black. Clean pads will usually be cream or white.

Filters should be able to run at maximum flow rate and not overflow. If the filter media seems to be clean, turn the filter off at the power point and clean the filter. Then set it back up and see if it helps. Sometimes they get gunk build up and this can cause it to overflow.

You can wash the filter case under tap water.

The filter media/ materials need to be done in a bucket of tank water.

 

[AbbeysDad]

@Colin_T has given you some great advice. Since you're new to fishkeeping and the forum I invite you to check out the Newer Hobbyist's Primer on my blog. It's links to a collection of articles that assist in getting up to speed with this fascinating hobby.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

just clean the filter in tank water not going too OTT as the filter harbours good bacteria needed to keep the water safe

 

[TwoKlobbs]

The filter pads can clock up and you need to squeeze them out a few times to loosen up the gunk and get it out of the pad. If you just squish it around in some water, it won't remove much, if any gunk. Give it a couple of good squeezes when in the bucket of tank water and see if it helps.

Dirty filter pads will be brown or black. Clean pads will usually be cream or white.

Filters should be able to run at maximum flow rate and not overflow. If the filter media seems to be clean, turn the filter off at the power point and clean the filter. Then set it back up and see if it helps. Sometimes they get gunk build up and this can cause it to overflow.

You can wash the filter case under tap water.

The filter media/ materials need to be done in a bucket of tank water.

Okay perfect. I’ll do that right away. Last thing. When using the chemical to treat the ich, it says to remove the media. Should I leave the media in a container with tank water I removed? Or can it dry out? I know that it contains the good bacteria so I’m supposed to preserve it but how? Thanks!!!

 

[Colin_T]

You don't remove the filter media because you get rid of the good bacteria that help keep the water clean and this will cause water quality problems. Likewise you never let the filter media dry out because it will kill the good filter bacteria and the tank will cycle again when you get the filter going again.

The only filter media that should be removed when using medications, is carbon (black granules). Carbon needs to be removed from aquarium filters so it doesn't remove the medication from the water. But all other types of filter media/ material, must remain in the filter and the filter needs to run continuously (24/7).