Cycling A Used Canister Filter

[Lisa67]

I bought a used tank and fluval canister filter (404, I guess it's an older model). I know there is all kinds of stuff I can buy for the seperate compartments, but what do I need to have in there just for the cycling process? Today I bought carbon in those little bags (made by fluval) and the white "beeds".
Thanks for any help. I'm new to canister filters.

 

[Blubble37]

use anything and everything that can be used as media... I would suggest this layout

Coarse sponge at bottom

Fine sponge on top

Loads of ceramic rings on top of the coarse sponge

Filter wool/floss ontop of the ceramic rings

And finally another sponge layer to make sure the floss doesn't drift out of the filter at all.

That setup should provide you with all the filtration you will need.

 

[Lisa67]

So, you would put all of that in while cycling? I'm doing a fishless cycle. I wont be adding fish for a few weeks (unless the filter cycles faster than I expect).

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, put as much media as you can in before you start cycling. Don't bother with the carbon, that's best saved for times when you might need to remove medications from the tank. You don't need it for 'everyday' use, if you know what I mean

 

[Blubble37]

+1 on fluttermoth

Carbon is only really used to take meds out of the water, and it can also damage the waters stats to some extent as well... use only wen drastically needed.

Zeolite is usefull if you have a lot of ammonia in the tank...