What to put in my canister filters?Media?

NeonFlux

NeonFlux

Water agent
Oct 16, 2005
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Los Angeles, California
Real Name
William
Hi guys, prepare for a wall of text, okay here goes. :help:

To he honest, I have a lot of ceramic rings in my canisters..I did some research and it said that these ceramic rings serves it's purpose as back-up bacteria. Is that necessarily true? I have a lot, actually, too much of them. I rather place something in, that would help with nitrosomas & nitrobactors growth, enlarge ... and support EVEN more!not back-up in this case. Anyone know what encourages them to grow big colonies of them to support the water? Note that my tank is A-OKAY, no problems. Thinking of too many rings, I removed some!!:devil: :o Too much! I'm currently using custom cut filter media from marineland that would cut easily to fit into the containers inside the canister, I bought this product at PetSmart. It's blue on the outside, white in the inside. Last night I cleaned my 205 and 305 canister filters, *shock*!!no no, I didn't clean the media with tap water lol, dun worry!!I placed more of these custom how-you-want-cuts filter bags onto the containers. Seems good and all, but I STILL see debris, dust particles in my tank even after how many hours...?!maybe it just takes time :headbang2:. So far the filter bags I know are the:whisper quilt battling, and the marine land filter and thats about it...

Guys, if you can hype me up with some pointers of what's the one out there that I can really invest on, I will greatly appreciate the support. Thank you.
 
Regardless of how much or what you put there, the colony you get is only going to equal your bio-load. Even a filter without any rings, balls, beads, cylinders isn't going to stop you from having a sucessful tank.

In fact, there is enough surface area in any tank to support your bacteria requirements.
 
Really!...Hmm...Some if I buy new fish, this "ceramic rings" will come in handy then?Thanks for the info rbishop
 
No, the ceramic rings won't help at all. As rbishop stated, the amount of good bacteria (biological filter) in your tank will grow based on the number of fish you have (bio load). These bacteria will grow on any porous media that has water current on it. Unless you have a bare glass tank, the ceramic rings won't do anything. Just a marketing thing.

Personally I prefer hang on back filters like the big AquaClears stuffed with floss myself. Less fussing than a cannister and *much* better water movement given it's more diffused and top/down. Cannisters I reserve for occasional water polishing or gravel vac'ing without changin water, etc.
 
blasterman_ said:
No, the ceramic rings won't help at all. As rbishop stated, the amount of good bacteria (biological filter) in your tank will grow based on the number of fish you have (bio load). These bacteria will grow on any porous media that has water current on it. Unless you have a bare glass tank, the ceramic rings won't do anything. Just a marketing thing.

Personally I prefer hang on back filters like the big AquaClears stuffed with floss myself. Less fussing than a cannister and *much* better water movement given it's more diffused and top/down. Cannisters I reserve for occasional water polishing or gravel vac'ing without changin water, etc.
Click to expand...

I see...So it does absolutely nothing. Wow -_- okay, looks like I will have to definitely remove all the ceramic rings now...That means more space now to put in quilt battling or some sort. Marketing purposes, AGAIN eh companies? companies?! I wont fall for them again just like carbon. :mad2:

Anyway, about filters, my Rena air improves water flow and circulation, creating mini-whirlpools ^_^.

One more question:

Does Bio-Balls help? Or it's basically whatevahs
 
actually Neon, I take what he says with a grain of salt. Its not a marketing ploy to seperate money from the consumer, Bio-media works. And if you already have it, use it.

RB is right, however Blasterman is wrong to certain extent. IMO at least 70%-80% of the bacteria resides in your filter, despite what other say. Thats why when you throw out filter media in HOBs it creates mini-cycles.

If you have them, go ahead and use them, you call.

Also, carbon isn't a gimmick, it has its uses, and is a good idea to keep some hand just in case.

Bio-Balls do the same thing that the rings do.
 
If your adding filter bags with carbon inside the dust particles you see are most likley carbon particles.
The way I understand cannisters is

First you put the ceramic rings to break up and trap larger particles.You will see the crude at the bottom of the filter.
2nd sponge types to trap larger particles.
3rd floss to trap the particles that get through the sponge.
If you have quick release on the hoses it takes under 15 minute to clean the inside, use tank water.Try to clean every 2 weeks.
 
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