Ditching Carbon

[Mako Man111]

Sorry, I know I made this same post in the Hardware section, not really sure if it was the right place but anyway, here goes:

Aight, so I got one aquaclear 110 running in my big tank with a 3 layer system, the first is a large sponge, the second is a layer of carbon, and the third is Biomax stuff that contains little porous rings that are a good place for bacteria to take root too. I also have some other Top Fin power filters on my 3 other tanks that have the mesh filter bags that you put carbon into. I will soon be buying aquaclears for those 3 tanks if you guys think the plan I may implement below is good. Now, I'm looking to ditch the carbon as it is no good for when you are trying to treat tanks for diseases and it forces you to replace the bag every month to aviod it leaking the stuff it picked up back into the water and it make me loose all my good beneficial bacteria.

In the Aquaclear 110 should I just keep the foam and the biomax and just run those together without the carbon? So it would just have one large sponge and the bag of biomax.

For the other three I would do the same thing when I get some smaller aquaclears for them.


All opinions are greatly appreciated!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

First of all, carbon does not dump anything back into a tank- that is an urban myth.

I run 20 AC filters of assorted sizes. Most gotten before they started the biomax- the ones I got with it I just chucked it into the garbage. All My ACs run with some combination of sponges and floss (this is replaced rather than rinsed as the sponges are). Some have 4 year old sponges doing just fine. The biomax will clog.

The only time I run carbon in any of my tanks is when I need to clear meds or forget to turn on my room airfilter after cleaning it. I am a smoker and w/o the air filter I get film on the surface of some tanks.

 

[Mako Man111]

First of all, carbon does not dump anything back into a tank- that is an urban myth.

I run 20 AC filters of assorted sizes. Most gotten before they started the biomax- the ones I got with it I just chucked it into the garbage. All My ACs run with some combination of sponges and floss (this is replaced rather than rinsed as the sponges are). Some have 4 year old sponges doing just fine. The biomax will clog.

The only time I run carbon in any of my tanks is when I need to clear meds or forget to turn on my room airfilter after cleaning it. I am a smoker and w/o the air filter I get film on the surface of some tanks.

Ok cool, I really won't be replacing the sponges unless they really deterioate so those will always be in there, but I will replace the biomax every three months, how does that sound?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

When you replace the biomax, even if it has become degraded due to clogging, it still holds beneficial bacteria. Replacing it can result in an ammonia spike.

What I was basically saying above is not to use it at all. Instead, use two sponges. I usually have a layer of floss between them. However, when a given filter is being used to boost mech filtration more than bio, I will cut a sponge in 1/2 lengthwise and use one piece and increase the amount of floss.

Since floss is a poor media for hosting bacteria, replacing it regularly doesn't create any problems.

 

[Mako Man111]

When you replace the biomax, even if it has become degraded due to clogging, it still holds beneficial bacteria. Replacing it can result in an ammonia spike.

What I was basically saying above is not to use it at all. Instead, use two sponges. I usually have a layer of floss between them. However, when a given filter is being used to boost mech filtration more than bio, I will cut a sponge in 1/2 lengthwise and use one piece and increase the amount of floss.

Since floss is a poor media for hosting bacteria, replacing it regularly doesn't create any problems.

But won't the sponge hold enough bacteria to cope after I put a new biomax in? Also, I plan on getting a 2217 Filter Classic Plus Eheim to run in conjunction with the ac so wouldn't I be alright then?

Also, what exactly is floss and what does it look like?

 

[minnow]

Mako - you're right. There will be a small ammonia spike but not a huge one, that's what I love about AC filters. Also, don't ditch your biomax! If the ceramic degrades, that leaves more surface area for beneficial bacteria. I have never ever replaced my biomax in 2 years of using them. (I have two sponges + a biomax btw)

 

[Mako Man111]

Mako - you're right. There will be a small ammonia spike but not a huge one, that's what I love about AC filters. Also, don't ditch your biomax! If the ceramic degrades, that leaves more surface area for beneficial bacteria. I have never ever replaced my biomax in 2 years of using them. (I have two sponges + a biomax btw)

Alright sweet, thats great. Yeah I may get another smaller sponge and run 2 sponges and the biomax.