I read on here that people say not to change the filter because of the good bacteria, etc. I dont have a biowheel I just have a 10gal topfin filter with a cartridge that slides in. Should I be cleaning this out and replacing the black stuff inside of it or should I be throwing it away and getting a new one? A biowheel would be nice, but I have a lot of hobbies and have to decide which one to pay for each paycheck. So any help would be awsome!!
Filter Media
- Thread starter polocrosseplyer
- Start date
You can also buy a filter sponge (reusable for up to a year or more) for an aquaclear or fluval and cut it to fit in your top-fin. this can be rinsed in old tank water (preserves bacteria) and reused. Include a piece of your old cartridge if you make the switch (it will contain bacteria and "seed" the new filter sponge)
i have some AC sponges that are going strong at 6 years. there's no reason to discard them if they're still viable.
you 'should' rinse them until they no longer allow free flow of water through the filter. then, cut a piece off the old one about one third of the total and place it behind a 'new' one. NEVER toss the entire filter pad .. you're discarding the most significant concentration of your biofilter.
as for the carbon inside the pad (the black stuff), there are many types of carbon sold for aquarium use but VERY FEW of these are actually capable of adsorption in water. only HIGH QUALITY ACTIVATED GRANULAR carbon which has been degassed in an oxygen oven at temperatures close to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit is functional --- anything else is worthless. i can recommend Marineland activated granular carbon in this regard though there may be others. degassing enlarges the apparent surface area of each carbon granule, thus greatly increasing the adsorptive capacity.
look for activated carbon which is phosphate free. a great many carbon grades are washed with phosphoric acid in an effort to support the adsorption sites since this is cheaper than degassing. this phosphate will leach into your aquarium water and can reult in a major algae problem.
deep beds of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) are always more effective than shallow ones of equal area. also, for a given amount of GAC the smaller the granules, the greater the adsorptive capacity. generally, there needs to be 4 to 10 grams of GAC for every gallon of water depending on stocking density. such carbon beds typically last only a month at best and more typically 2-3 weeks since most hobbyists tanks are overstocked.
if your filter uses prepackaged cartridges containing carbon, realize that these cartridges typically contain poor quality carbon and if quality carbon is used, only 20 percent or less of the recommended amounts of GAC is present. you can slit open the cartridge and fill them with more GAC but many pad filter types simply will not hold that much. thus, the carbon in the vast majority of filter pads on the market simply are not functioning.
carbon is not an neccesity, from what i have read it only does a few things, help clear up water clarity, remove medication and remove smell.
so should I be putting something else besides carbon in the filter bag? or just get better quality carbon like liv2padl suggested?
i'd recommend just not using carbon at all. you can accomplish the same thing that carbon does, by simply changing your water every week.
But do I have to remove the old carbon cartrige thats in the filter or will it be ok to just leave it?