Media - Needed or not?

[carebear]

I was reading some of the posts and they made me think of a question I have been meaning to ask. To lend a little background, I do a 30 - 40% water change weekly. I vacuum 1/2 my substrate, clean the filter and wash down the walls in the aquarium every time I do the water change. I've got fairly consistent readings in terms of 0 ammonia and nitrites. Do I need to have the carbon and for that matter, the ammonia medias in my filter if I'm cleaning/changing water every week? Is it overkill? Or, is it good to have as well? I also add "cycle" after every water change as well. Anything else I should or shouldn't be doing? Your comments are always helpful!

[gm72]

Sounds like you are actually doing too much.
1. No need for carbon or ammonia removers once the tank is cycled and stable.
2. Adding cycle to the tank after every water change is totally unnecessary.
3. I'm surprised that you aren't experiencing problems with your water conditions given you are cleaning your filter every water change. Again, unnecessary.

By cleaning the filter so often you may be disturbing the bacteria colonization.

[Wild Turkey]

Yup gm pretty much covered it all. The answer is a No. currently i just use foam inserts in my trickle filters, i only use carbon when i want to remove something from the water.

[William]

Cleaning your filter each week ech week is not only unnecessary: It is negative. Just reove leafes etc that mgith get stuck around the intake.

[carebear]

Thanks so much for your comments. Being new at this, I'm never quite sure if I'm doing the right things. I have too many fish for my tank and felt I needed to keep it a little cleaner. So, how often do I add cycle? How often should I clean the tank/filter? I assume changing the water weekly is a good idea. What is the rule of thumb?

[gm72]

Cycle is never needed once your tank is stable.

Clean the tank once weekly, yes, your gravel vacuuming schedule is fine.

Filter--clean only as needed to clear any potential clogs. What kind of filter is it, by the way?

Your weekly water changes are needed, so please do continue with those!

[carebear]

The filter is an AC30 which hangs on the back of the tank. Thanks...

[gm72]

Wonderful filter, I have them on all of my 10 gallon tanks.

Definitely only clean it if the flow decreases due to clogging.

I run my AC30s like this:
1. Sponge prefilter on the intake
2. Eheim Ehfisynth to the brim in the media compartment.
3. Rinse out the prefilter as needed.
4. Never, ever have to open the rest of the filter.

[carebear]

I'm not sure what a prefilter is? Does it go over the intake tube? And as for your second point? What the heck is that? I never heard of it! Need help there...I just opened the motor section today and cleaned out all of the built up gunk inside it. I've never touched that until today and it's been running for approx. 7 months. Do you have a sponge filter inside the compartment as well? Thanks for your help!!!

[jman]

good work answering you guys

[gm72]

Ah, let me clarify. The sponge prefilters I use and encourage are here:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

By using these you never have to open your filters. The prefilter acts as the primary mechanical filter, the rest down the line is the biological filter.

Eheim Ehfisynth is a brand of biological media. A comparable media would be Fluval biomax. Basically it is a sintered glass component that allows for maximum surface area onto/into which the beneficial bacteria will colonize.

[Fishguy2727]

#2 is a biological media, correct?

No need for any chemical media in general.

Filters should be cleaned once a month. If you are just cleaning the mechanical media and not the biological you should not have any negative effects even if you did it every day.

[gm72]

Biological, yes, as in the post.

I never clean the bio media now, only the prefilter. I have filters that have now been running for literally over a year without bio media cleaning. The prefilter catches everything. Great system.

[jbeining75]

I just run AC's sponge then biomax the rest.... The biomax gets changed every 4 months or so but only one bag at a time so the bag sets there for awhile before being changed. My sponges never get changed. Just washed out like once every two months...

[Minderella83]

I would like to get a sponge filter, do you just put it over the strainer or what? Also, is the only place you can buy one is on the internet?

[MandyL]

Biological, yes, as in the post.

I never clean the bio media now, only the prefilter. I have filters that have now been running for literally over a year without bio media cleaning. The prefilter catches everything. Great system.


When you pull the sponge off the intake or turn the filter off, doesn't all the gunk just float back into the water?

[gm72]

No, it is captured in the sponge. I mean, some of it comes out, but not an appreciable amount.

[MandyL]

Very interesting! Thanks for the tip!

[gm72]

Any time! I use those prefilters on every single one of my filters, whether HOB or canister. Never have to open them up! Just rinse the sponge when it gets clogged and I'm up and running again!

Also makes it super easy to add another tank. I don't ever have to worry about cycling any more. Just add the established prefilter to the tank and stock.

[carebear]

Fantastic information! Thanks so much!

[Minderella83]

since somehow my question got skipped. I will ask again. I would like to get a sponge filter, do you just put it over the strainer or what? Also, is the only place you can buy one is on the internet?

Does anyone know where to buy a sponge filter to put on a HOB filter and how to place them on, do you just stick them over the strainer or just on the intake tube?

[gm72]

I use these on all of my filters, hooks right on the intake. They come with several adaptive pieces to allow a good fit with just about any filter.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Minderella83]

Thank you for the information. I guess I will be ordering via internet some sponge filters.