How to go about replacing the sponges in my AC 30

new2tanks

new2tanks

AC Members
Feb 18, 2006
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t.o
Hi,

One of the sponges in my AC 30 is in pretty bad shape, its clearly falling apart and has very little life left in it.
while rinsing it out last week , when I was pressing too hard it was literally ripping.
the other sponge is old but not far along.

I have new sponges. do i just throw out the old one and put in a new one?
Looked through the old posts and articles but couldnt find a specific answer.

Thanks!
:)
 
Yup, just replace one of the three media items at a time. Keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite as a precaution, you may have a mini-cyle as nitrifying bacteria get back up to their previous levels.
 
You can try replacing the sponges that are falling apart and put them in the filter. With the old sponges, I would try putting the sponges that are falling apart in an unused nylon stocking and hanging it in the tank or even putting it in the filter if there is enough room.This will help seed the new sponges for a week or two and then you can throw the old sponges away without the worry that the pieces will break more and be all over the tank causing a bigger problem. If you do it this way, I doubt very much you will see any spikes in ammonia or nitrite but be on the lookout anyway for them. I am sure that everything will work out fine.

Marinemom
 
How do you like the AC 30 so far? I ordered the AC 50 for my tank, setting everything up tomorrow. I ordered a 20 gallon tank and a lot of people on this site recommended the AC power filter..
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will replace it one at a time as suggested and may keep the really nasty sponge or part of it anyway in the filter. when will it be safe to replace the 2nd sponge?

sirsears, I like the AC 30. i have it on a 10 g so i have it on low current setting which is okay for my fish. the only thing that bothers me is that after a year of having it on my tank, the propeller has to be cleaned every week which is very annoying. other than that it does a great job, very cost efficient!
 
that is good to hear! So I hate to beat a dead horse, but just to clarify.. even though the instructions say to replace the filter media every 1-3 months, is it best just to rinse them off? I think the instructions say to replace bio-max every 3 months, the carbon every 2, and the foam every month.
 
I dont use the carbon media unless removing meds or some other stuff. so i use 2 sponges and one bio balls mesh thingy.
i suggest u dont touch your media while the tank is establishing. i didnt rinse or squeeze out sponges for the first month. then i started rinsing *ONE* media item at a time in old tank water at ever 2 week water change.
now more than a year later, one of the sponges is ripping at touch and i am discarding it for a fresh sponge.

AC 30 is a good choice all round.
 
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