HELP please - I'm confused about filtration

red_wall said:
Well, first off, make sure you NEVER wash the media with tap water, always with tank water or dechlorinated water, tap kills the BB. (You didn't specify if you did or not, just thought I'd let you know :] )
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It's amazing my fish lived so long -- I have 5 fish that had lived in their original tank for 7 years before getting their new digs and I had been rinsing the sponge and the filter with tap water :omg:.

My newly established tank doesn't actually have a sponge, it's a bio wheel type -- :idea: but hey, it's got room for another "bio bag" - could I plunk into that space the sponge from the whisper filter and leave it for a few days and then put the sponge into the new tank???
 
I don't have all of that kind of stuff in my filter, all I have in my tank is what is shown below, which contains carbon. In the future should I not use the cartridge and use loose filter media instead?

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That's what my penguin uses too .. so ditto to dog_gone's question (sure would be cheaper!!)
 
glad you had that question, too.. I was starting to feel bad because I was feeling like I was taking over your thread! :) I just really want to know what the best way to do everything is...
 
leeser28 said:
but hey, it's got room for another "bio bag" - could I plunk into that space the sponge from the whisper filter and leave it for a few days and then put the sponge into the new tank???
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Yep. I'd leave it in at least a week myself, but I don't really know how long it actually takes.


I have the same blue cartridges on some of mine. after a couple weeks I cut a slit in them to dump the carbon out, then just keep using them without the carbon. I also sometimes just cut a piece of plastic craft mesh to size and wrap polyester quilt batting around it and stick it in the cartridge slot.
I've seen a few people using loose media from their canisters in their HOBs too, and it sounds like it works fine for them.
 
Well, jeez. I haven't had any experience with bio-wheel filters, but the penguin design is exactly the same as my girlfriends 10 gallon minus the wheel. Depending on how much space you have for media, you could put in some aquaclear sponge material (you can cut it to fit your filter), and a ceramic tube bag.

Make sure that there's enough room in your filter BEFORE you buy, this also might decrease the flow through your filter, but not too much I don't think, it's your call (they're only a few bucks anyways)

Anyways, I didn't see the make of your filter when I posted, but, I think you should be okay with just the original packaged floss that you both have, replace whenever the media is ratty and torn.

I highly recommend Aquaclear as a HOB filter, IMO it's the best, lots of room for adding in things.

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Thanks so much RW, that's a big help. :D
 
I too give thanks RW - I just have on other question..

Do the ceramic tubes come with little bags or do you put them in the mesh bags that the carbon goes into? There's actually quite a lot of room in the baskets for stuff. See attached pic.

penguin_biowheel.jpg
 
leeser28 said:
I too give thanks RW - I just have on other question..

Do the ceramic tubes come with little bags or do you put them in the mesh bags that the carbon goes into? There's actually quite a lot of room in the baskets for stuff. See attached pic.
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Most companies (the only one I've used are Aquaclear) have the ceramic tubes pre-packaged in little mesh bags.
 
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