Media to clean "dirty" water

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livewyr25

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Sep 21, 2004
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I have an established 29 gallon cichlid tank. i noticed that the water isnt really cloudy but if u look closely at the tank, u notice what looks like dust particles. i was wondering what is a good media to put in my emperor 280 HOB filter, it has an extra compartment for a media basket so i was just curious what people reccomend for clearning my water. thanks :)
 
If your gonna buy the emperor 280..........might as well buy the emp 400 for 5 dollars more.....(if it fits on the tank......make sure to buy it online or print the online price for petsmart and bring it in to the store(they will honor it). In store its about 79 or so.....online you can find it from 35 - 40 or so. over filtration is a good thing. Also do a search for Big Al's. They also have good prices for U.S. customers.
 
you can try getting those cut your own filterfloss. marineland also mades a thicker blue pad that catches a lot of the dirt and putting a prefilter onto your filter will help.
 
i already own the emperor 280, i was just wondering what a good material ( media) to use with it to clean my water. I read somewhere about using the AC sponges?
 
I have no idea why i posted that response....might hve been an accident.

In my emperor...i use the media basket in the rear.......with carbon and filter floss laid accross the basket.....and in the fron i use a regular emeperor filter.....which never gets dirty casue its second in line...so i never change it. If you want to have 2 media baskets......you can order them from Big Al's for $5. just do a search. If your water is dirty.........that means a mechanical problem....so carbon wont do the trick.....you need something to actually filter out the debris like floss.....i would go with what i mentioned above. You could also try adding a powerhead with the quick-filter(aquaclear).....even though the filter on it wont clean a ton...it gives good circulation so that the debris is pushed around so that your main filters will pick it up.
 
livewyr25 said:
i already own the emperor 280, i was just wondering what a good material ( media) to use with it to clean my water. I read somewhere about using the AC sponges?
Click to expand...

you can get sponges from the aquaclear filters and cut them to fit.
 
i like the carbon filter floss idea, but i tried putting carbon in the basket and it was a mess, pieces ended up in the tank and everything. how do u get it to work for you???
 
go to walmart and get a bag of polyfill and just stuff it in the media compartment.
That'll clear out your water in no time.
 
I lay the media basket flat(while open) Put a little carbon in each of the fillable areas....then just cover the enire basket wiht floss vertically......and cover with other half of basket while still laying flat........pick up media basket after completely closed.....rinse......and install.....but i make sure the carbon side faces the back of the filter....floss faces the tank....so carbon wont slip through the holes in the container. the floss will keep it from floating into the tank...hope this helps.....let me know if you need help...i cam take pics next time and email them to you. :dance
 
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