Zeolite /ammonia Remover

[corey01]

hi,
ive just bought some ammonia absorbing stones possibly zeolite and im not sure. i was just wondering how often do i bath the stones in salty water so they will recharge any ideas? thanks corey

 

[rdd1952]

Don't use them at all. You do not want ammonia to be removed or your tank will never cycle. You will become dependent on the zeolite and will have to replace it too often as it becomes saturated. You need to cycle your tank to build the bacteria colony to process the ammonia naturally.

 

[GoldLenny]

Correct. While it may be OK to keep some zeolite around in the event of an emergency, it's not needed in a properly "cycled" tank. And although it can be recharged with salt water solution, it can only be recharged so many times before it has to be replace. Further, I've seen too many people that unknowingly have it in their filters and then they dose their tank with salt for a disease treatment and that can cause the zeolite to leech out all of the ammonia it absorbed causing serious problems.