What media do you use in your AC filter?

[SkarloeysMom]

AC filters come with 3 different filtration media - sponge, carbon and these little ceramic ring things that bacteria grows on. If you have an AC then you already know this. So what parts of those 3 filtration types do you still use in your filter?

I'm going to remove my carbon bag after reading some of the things about carbon and its ineffectiveness over time. What's the point if there's a chance that if left too long it will release toxins into the water. Guess I'll replace the carbon with an extra sponge.

So of those of you with AC filters, what do you use in your filter box?

[Lady Hobbs]

I use only floss. I like it too. It traps so many fine particles that a regular filter pad does not.

[Fishguy2727]

I would replace the carbon with more Biomax. In general the sponge should work in one layer, so the rest of the media will just be for bacteria to grow on, in which the Biomax has more surface area.

[crackatinny]

Mine has 4 stage filtration, originally 2 sponges, ceramic noodles and carbon, I ditched the carbon in favour of floss.

[Lady Hobbs]

Sorry. Didn't read it correctly. I don't have AC filters but use floss nonetheless.

[modster]

I have AC 50 with sponge and a lot of biomax. I have seen AC with biowheel!

[RobbieG]

I use the sponge and the noodles - they usually give you more than enough to fill the whole chamber without the carbon

[SkarloeysMom]

One sponge and more noodles it is! I'll be ditching my carbon tomorrow.

[YaYgoldFish]

Its kind of the same thing on fluvals..On my fluval 105 i have this big sponge pad, and on the other side i have carbon, ceramic rings, and i think another sponge i cant remember, but what i did was take the old ( and way smaller) ceramic rings from my old AC and added it to my fluval( in between cartridges) i honestly dont know if it changes anything but i wouldn't change a thing! :)

[Fishguy2727]

I would not recommend and do not use carbon. More biological media is better. And in something like Fluvals, I would use filter floss packed in before the biological media.

[SkarloeysMom]

Thanks Fishguy and everyone else who responded. I've removed all the carbon from all 3 of my tanks. Next time I'm at the fish store I'll buy some more bio max to add to the AC filter box in my 10g.

[zackish]

Are AC filters pretty much HOB filters that are just as good and setup like canister filters?

[SkarloeysMom]

AC is AquaClear and it is a HOB filter with a layered filtration system. It has a sponge with a bag of carbon on top and then a layer of bio max rings in a bag. I ditched the carbon and now I just have the 2 layers. The bio max rings are I think just for growing your bacteria and the sponge is for filtration. The model 50 I have turns over the water at 200gph! Pretty darn good for a 10g.

[Fishguy2727]

They are not the usual slide in a cartridge type HOB. The media is the same as in Fluvals (both Fluval and AquaClear are made by Hagen), so it is like a canister mated with a HOB. I do not think they are quite as good as a canister though. For one, I use filter floss in my Fluvals and for it to work best, I cram it in. That means the water needs to be under pressure to get through, which would not work with an open HOB. Secondly, I prefer media to be loose, it allows the water to flow through it better. And your media options are a little more open with a canister.

[gm72]

I have AC 50 with sponge and a lot of biomax. I have seen AC with biowheel!

Aquaclear doesn't make biowheel HOBs, at least here in the US. Maybe overseas or maybe you saw a modified one? Different manufacturer?

I use the stock sponge as the first layer and then use Ehfisynth for the remainder. ACs are the best HOBs, IMO.

[Lady Hobbs]

I'm really wanting to get an AC 110. I'll just cram floss in the back, tho, and probably leave the sponge. The sponge is taking the place of the bio-wheel, really, but I don't like the wheels. The floss gets stuck in them sometimes and I have to use less floss than I'd like. The wheels are probably fine for setting the tank up but other than that, I see no great need for them.

[gm72]

I stock my HOBs with the sponge and Ehfisynth, but I still recommend the sponge prefilter. I only have to rinse out the internal sponge once about every 6 months. The prefilter takes care of everything else and also adds to the bacteria culture.

That AC 110 is a BEAST.

[cocoa_pleco]

most of my filters are canisters, and i use ceramic rings, bio-balls, tons of sponges, and rarely ever carbon

[modster]

Aquaclear doesn't make biowheel HOBs, at least here in the US. Maybe overseas or maybe you saw a modified one? Different manufacturer?

I use the stock sponge as the first layer and then use Ehfisynth for the remainder. ACs are the best HOBs, IMO.
yea... it was DIY modified.
http://www.cichlidforums.com/attachment.php?postid=56102

[gm72]

It looks like the biowheel is completely immersed in water. I though the idea with the biowheel was to expose the bacteria to air? Or maybe I'm not seeing the picture properly?

[modster]

i guess this one is better. http://www.cichlidgallery.com/albums/album126/30652867717_G.sized.jpg

[gm72]

I don't see a pic of the filter?

[Fishguy2727]

Both pics show the Biowheel half-submerged, which is fine since it is still gettting air. In actual Biowheel filters it is suspended and most of the wheel is exposed to the air.

Unfortunately the Biowheels are Marineland and AquaClears are Hagen, now if there was just a corporate merger...

Biowheels are a biological media. In the AquaClears the biological media is the Biomax, so it is the Biomax that is equivalent to the Biowheel. The sponge will inevitably have lots of nitrifying bacteria, but the Biomax is designed with the most surface area per volume.

[Zerileous]

right now, my AC 30 is running a filter followed by BioMax. There is a lot of open space back there, but I don't think thats a problem. After your staunch support of floss Hobbs, I might try it, I have a bag of it somewhere. If I were to start having some serious parameter issues, I would go to the store and shell out the big bucks for some Seachem Purigen. For minor parameter issues or removing meds, I run the carbon pack for about 48 hours.

This is OT, but I think i am going to pack my internal fluval next time I need to change the media on it.

[gm72]

I put as much media in the back of the ACs as possible. The little pack of media it comes with nowhere nears its capacity, which is why I, a long time ago, bought a massive box of the Ehfisynth.