Mesh bags for bio filter?

**KevinVA** · 08-14-2012, 10:31 PM

Are they needed? I don't see why they would be, but maybe I'm missing something? Just easy to remove, I suppose... but if everything's going fine, you wouldn't necessarily need to remove them.

The reason I ask is this: My bag only holds so many fluval biomax, but my filter has room for more. What say you? Should I just add more loose biomax, or leave alone?

As of now, after fishless cycling, I have 0amm, 5+ppm nitrites, and 0 inching on 5ppm nitrates. This is after I started with 4ppm ammonia and once I saw nitrites and ammonia dropped, I dosed to 4ppm again. I'm dosing again, right now, to bring ammonia back up to 2ppm.

Is it safe to add more biomax now, or should I wait?

**sheamurai** · 08-14-2012, 10:37 PM

Its handy to have it in a bag so you can clean your filter occasionally. It does get mulmed up.
Just head to the dollar store and buy some nylons...way cheaper and does the job....

**Goes to 11!** · 08-14-2012, 10:40 PM

You could get another bag or run it loose.

I do both in various filters here and there, What kind of filter is it?

It will do no harm at all to add more bio-max now, It cannot start to colonize until it is in there.. Know what I mean?

**KevinVA** · 08-14-2012, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by 850R

You could get another bag or run it loose.

I do both in various filters here and there, What kind of filter is it?

It will do no harm at all to add more bio-max now, It cannot start to colonize until it is in there.. Know what I mean?

Thanks guys, nylons are a good idea.

It's a Penn Plax Cascade 1000 canister filter.

**Gogi** · 08-15-2012, 01:49 AM

Bags make it easier to rinse if you ever get to much debris in your canister or happen to be searching for lost shrimp that crawled up the tube during maintance...u never know.

**KevinVA** · 08-15-2012, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by Gogi

Bags make it easier to rinse if you ever get to much debris in your canister or happen to be searching for lost shrimp that crawled up the tube during maintance...u never know.

lol, got it. Thanks everyone. Appreciate the input. =]

**Trillianne** · 08-15-2012, 04:50 AM

There are some medias, such as carbon or phosphate removers that are finer particles and having a bag to put them in is a good idea... makes them easy to add or remove from your filter.

They can also be useful if you like to keep some cycled media separate for your QT inside your canister.

Otherwise, I just let my rings live wild and free.

**KevinVA** · 08-16-2012, 01:28 AM

Well, I decided to go with a mixture. I already had a mesh bag in there and decided to surround it with free biomax. Wasn't really enough room for another bag, anyway. Had to spread out the biomax and surround the bag. hah