Changing Filter Parts

[mattlee]

i have had my tank set up now for about 3 months and my woolen filter sheet is really dirty and stained from a carbon filter that was fitted and doesnt wash out when rinsed in tank water. how often do i need to change this? and when a new one is placed in how much bacteria will i loose....?

i have an aquaone ar620 with the filter system built into the hood and there are 2 woolen filters, 1 on the spraybar end and 1 on the return end. 2 black sponge filters in the same areas as the woolen and lots of ceramic media hoops below all of this. i have good water readings but it looks like it could do with replacing. i have put the new wool filter underneath the old 1 to try and pass on some bacteria, is this ok? if so when do i throw the old 1 out?

 

[waterdrop]

It sounds like you've got it pretty well figured out with your own common sense. You just have to guesstimate any piece of media removed against the knowledge that 1/3 media removal is what's recommended as ok when donating media to other cyclers. Taking away 1/3 is a lot and is known to not cause too much disruption to a mature tank. Now your tank is still 3 months shy of what we'd call really mature, but your colonies are probably pretty strong and I'd say you will not suffer or even probably notice any mini-spiking with that pad removal. Unless someone else who really knows this filter well (I do not) comes along I'd probably just overlap the fine pads by one or two weeks until a convenient water change filter clean date.

~~waterdrop~~
ps. I'm probably being excessively cautious, maybe someone who knows it would just say to toss it, lol~

 

[mattlee]

thanks again waterdrop i will keep it as it is for a couple of weeks then throw the old one away.

 

[OldMan47]

Don't worry too much about who makes the parts for your XP filter MattLee. I have several of the XP Filstar filters, because I really like them, but the biggest benefit that I have found in owning a nice canister is that I am not tied to any one manufacturer. I have some of each of these in various filters: Rena sponges, pot scrubbers, filter floss, formed fiber filter media, ceramic media for another brand, loose plastic easter basket grass, etc. What I am looking for in biological media is something with a large surface area to its own volume. That lets me place lots of biological effectiveness into a small space and makes me more comfortable when I place things into the filters that are not bio-media. It also makes me feel better about stealing some bio-media to clone a new filter. Don't let the filter manufacturers limit your options.