55 gallon walmart tank, filtration question

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fyaplam

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Jan 7, 2005
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I have a 55 gallon tank package from walmart (includes things like heater and filter) and the filter is a mechanical/chemical filtration system. It is recommended to change the filter medium every 2-4 weeks.

I'm worried about changing the filter medium now because people say thats where most of the beneficial bacteria grows. How harmful is this overall? If I leave the filter medium in permanentely it will just clog up and slow any filtration whether its bacterial, chemical, or mechanical.

Would I be better off getting a seperate biological filter, or some bacteria sponges to put in the filter I already have? If so please list a recommended product.

What do you recommend I do?
 
How harmful is this overall?

Not to harmfull the bacteria lives on all surfaces in the tank and although the filter cartrige has a good chunk you can switch it out if you have to.


If I leave the filter medium in permanentely it will just clog up and slow any filtration whether its bacterial, chemical, or mechanical?

It will clog up beyond help at some point. I've gotten them to last 2-3 months by rincing them in the waiste water from a water change. But sooner or later they just can't go any longer.

Would I be better off getting a seperate biological filter, or some bacteria sponges to put in the filter I already have?

As a former owner of the 29 gallon kit from Wal Mart (only used the tank it self in the end). I slowly replaced all of the equipment that came with it for various reasons. My heater stopped working so I bought anouther from Walmart and it broke after afew months as well. Mind you I have really bad luck ;) . The filter worked fine but after reading abit I decided to buy a bio wheel style filter. Those have a wheel on the out flow from the filter that holds the biofilter bact on it. You never need to replace the wheel so changing a filter cart shouldn't hurt anything. Something like a Pegiun 330 would fit a tank your size well.
Some people here use only sponges in there filters I'm not to sure exactly what type they use but they have said that they've lasted years with only rincing to get the poo out so to speak. I hope someone can clarify that as I haven't been brave enough to try it. Basically I think they use just a sponge or floss with out the black plastic part. And seriously the general rule of thumb I've heard is you don't NEED carbon (chemical filter) unless you need to get something specific out of the water like a medication after treatment.

If so please list a recommended product.

Tronic heaters have a really good reputation here. I had two in my old tank and they worked great.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/search/...ction=sitebuilder/catalog3-1&keywords1=tronic
I'd recomend anything made by Marineland I'm very happy with their bio wheel filters. I'd look into upgrading to one of these.
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfilters.asp
the 330 is what you'd need in a 55 gallon
Or one of these
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_emperor.asp
the 400 is what you'd need in that case.

Last of all "What do you recommend I do?" :
Don't panic! Or in otherwords relax it'll be fine.

-Neo Sithlord
 
I also have to change my filter media, and was wondering the same question. I have a goldy in there and they are pretty messy, so I probably will have to replace the media completely.


I just took it out and rinsed the media in the water I took out when I changed it, and the media is like black, it didn't really help, rinsing it out, so I guess I will have to get a new media.
 
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If your filter has 2 cartridges, just replace them 1 at a time. That way, you still keep half of the bacteria. If you need to replace both of them, cut up part of one, and put it in with the new ones. That way, you seed the new filters.
 
Well, Usually the Wal-Mart filters are a brand called Aquatech AKA Regent, made by: Marineland. Also, they usually have two cartidges, one is a biological filter. It's some sort of filter foam thingy that there is no need to replace. Then, there is the blue wooly cartridge that has activated carbon in it. The blue wooly one is the one you're "supposed" to replace every 2-4 weeks, and that's simply because of the activated carbon. My recommendation is to purchase another biological filter and slide it in place of the blue wooly activated carbon cartridge. After that, simply rinse them in tank water you've sucked out every other week (alternating one cartidge for the other every week on weekly water changes) and your biological filter should be fine. HTH

EDIT TO ADD: By the by, if you decide to replace the power filters, as suggested above, a little at a time, I'd get two smaller filters that would push ~10 times the volume of water per hour. So in a 55, something close to 550 gallons per hour. So say something like, 2 aquaclear 300 filters. This way, you only clean one filter per weekly water change, leaving the other alone until next week. This is a pretty safe way that almost guarantees you keep your bacterial colonies safe from utter devestation and forcing the tank to recycle. ;)
 
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I would second Harlock's and others suggestions.
If you are hell bent on keeping the original filter, ditch the blue one with the carbon in it. The reason they say to change this filter monthly is because the carbon exhausts itself over the course of time. You really do not need carbon though, unless you are medicating your tank or have chemicals in there you need to get rid of.
When I first started out, I bought one of these filters. As time went on, and I found this site, I learned this was not an appropriate filter for a 55g tank.
What I did, was remove the blue filter cartridge entirely and replaced it with an old pair of my wifes pantyhose (washed and rinsed thoroughly) filled with ceramic hollow media (or any course media you chose). These are typically media used in canister filters, but don't generally stay put that well in HOB filters such as yours.
If you can get a small jar of this type of media, do so and put it in a pantyhose or media bag if you prefer and simply place it in your filter instead of your carbon cartridge.
Now all you have to do is rinse your other cartridge every week or so, and rinse your pantyhose when it looks dirty. You have now multiplied your biologicals tremendously and should have no problems or worries when doing filter maintenance.

It didnt take me long to purchase 2 Aquaclear 500's for my 55g tank. Id rather over filtrate than under. In one filter I use 2 of the factory sponges. In the other, I use a media bag filled with my ceramic media (Effisubstrate or something similar) and one factory sponge.
If I do a big tank vacuum or, as I do about every 3 months, complete gravel stir, I replace one sponge with filter floss to kinda polish the water a little.
 
We also purchased a WalMart 55 gallon recently and ditched the original filter that it came with. We ended up going with a Fluval 304 and have been happy so far. My question concern's gsk177's comment that carbon is not really needed except for certain situations. Currently out of the 6 filter media holders that Fluval has, the bottom two have carbon in them. Is this not a recommended way to go? We currently have a handful of guppies, molly's, and an angelfish.
Thanks for the pointers.

CaliVW78
 
Carbon is used to remove impurities from the water.

While this would seem like a desirable effect in an everyday situation it is rarely needed and sometimes even harmful to what you are trying to achieve in the aquarium.

If you are medicating your tank you need to remove the carbon, as it will remove the medication. After the medicating period is over, then it is a good idea to add carbon for a few days, in order to clean the medication from the tank.

Carbon also has a reputation for removing any foul smells that may be emanating from your aquarium water. However, a tank that emits a foul smell is not being properly taken care of. So adding carbon to remove this indicator of bad maintenance is only covering up something that is being done wrong. This could mask a practice that could harm or kill your fish.

Also, if you are adding trace elements in the case of planted aquaria, the carbon will remove them from your tank and starve the plants.
 
Currently, I'm using an AC 500 and a HOT Magnum 250 canister on my 55g with very good results.
 
I read somewhere carbon removes fish hormones, organic acids, and proteins.
Is this still not worth it (meaning a water change will keep that in check?)
 
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