DIY filter media

[terrapin24h]

All,
I'm looking for some DIY filter media suggestions for our two tanks. One is a 30gal with an emperor filter and the other is an eclipse 6 gal tank; both by marineland. I have been combating brown algae(actually i think it's a cyanobacteria) in both tanks for a while and i think the compulsory carbon use in the filter cartridges is either causing or exacerbating the issue so i've started working on trying to figure out how to make my own carbon-less filters. What all do you folks suggest for media? I got a whole bunch of filter floss for now and it seems to work well. Let me know what you think, thanks!

--chris

[Sounguru]

filter floss or aquarium sponge would be my choices with sponge winning by about a full length..

[Commodore 64]

1. Slit the filter bag.
2. Pour/shake out the carbon.
3. Put filter cartridge back in the filter.
4. Wash the gunge from the filter cartridge every week in tank water during water change.
5. Continue until filter cartridge falls apart. You'll get at least 3 months per cartridge (more than likely at least 6 months).

This works great for Eclipse types where the water spills over the filter cart. On my Penguin (now retired), there may have been some short-circuiting through the slit, but I still collected a lot of gunk, so it seems to have been working, at least in some reasonable capacity.

The Penguin also had these filter baskets intended for ammocarb or loose carbon. I filled them with Biomax noodles, since they never need replaced.

[terrapin24h]

1. Slit the filter bag.
2. Pour/shake out the carbon.
3. Put filter cartridge back in the filter.
4. Wash the gunge from the filter cartridge every week in tank water during water change.
5. Continue until filter cartridge falls apart. You'll get at least 3 months per cartridge (more than likely at least 6 months).

This works great for Eclipse types where the water spills over the filter cart. On my Penguin (now retired), there may have been some short-circuiting through the slit, but I still collected a lot of gunk, so it seems to have been working, at least in some reasonable capacity.

The Penguin also had these filter baskets intended for ammocarb or loose carbon. I filled them with Biomax noodles, since they never need replaced.
I have one for my emperor, and i have it filled with floss, works good. I was thinking about getting another and putting something coarse in it and the floss in a second, for kind of a 2 stage physical filter