External Filters

[mbu man]

i have 2 fluval external filters.tank has been running for 4 months now and the filters have got the sponge pads in them and the bio mass balls that look like hula hoops in, some carbon in the top of one and some rawphos in the top of the other. is it ok to have the sponge bits in boyh filters or is advisable to take them out of boyh filters??
should i change one of the filters into a calcium canister and the other to have just carbon and rawphos in??
any advise in this would be great

 

[Matthew5664]

I would use one as a mechanical and chemical filter i.e.: carbon phosphate remover and filter floss (change the floss weekly, and by the stuff from the pond section its about £5, ($9) for a huge amount)

Then use the other as a cryptic fuge, take all the baskets out and fill with medium side live rock rubble.

 

[mbu man]

ok thanx.
is it not worth having carbon in one? my lfs goes on and on about the stuff.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Carbon loses it's effectiveness rather quickly; Or at least it does in FW.

 

[mbu man]

yeah,i beleive that it only last for about 6 weeks,maybe thats why the lfs rants on about it,they know that if i buy some i will be a regular every 6 weeks to get some more,lol
i still have the front sponge bits in both my filters, take it that is ok till i can get to my lfs again to get a load of filter floss?

 

[TylerFerretLord]

yeah,i beleive that it only last for about 6 weeks

More like 24-48 hours.

 

[mbu man]

yeah,i beleive that it only last for about 6 weeks

More like 24-48 hours.

i quote from a web page" In general, carbon should be replaced on a monthly basis to ensure that active adsorption is maintained." even this varies from place to place aswell

 

[Musho3210]

probably 24-72 hour in saltwater tanks since theres just so much dissolved organics etc in there. Put it really depends on how dirty/full of things your water has, saltwater as was said has a lot of things in it, therefor wont last that long. I mean, if theres nothing to absorb, it wont get fully saturated. If there is a lot to absorb, it will get saturated fast.

Quality of the carbon also matters.

 

[alexlark]

I guess it all depends on weather you have a skimmer running too, and how good it is!

Do any of you bother with adding carbon? suppose it can't harm just using it now and again, to "polish" the water??

 

[SkiFletch]

There's great debate about carbon here on this forum. I use it all the time personally.

 

[Musho3210]

i wouldnt find any serious problems with carbon, i mean like everything else in the hobby, it has its pros and cons.

 

[Matthew5664]

I use carbon all the time and have one eigth my return water going through some.

 

[andywg]

Carbon is incredibly effective at adsorbing dissolved organics, however those more knowledgable than I (such as bignose and nmonks) have pointed out that it reaches saturation point in as little as 24-48 hours.

The use of carbon in FW is a hang up from not doing water changes (just like adding "aquarium salt"). If you are doing frequent water changes in your SW then the carbon is not going to be doing a great deal, especially if you are running a protein skimmer also to pull dissolved organics out.

Using carbon will almost never be harmful (unless you leave some in from when the tank was loaded with dissolved organics and then start large water changes causing the water to be so much cleaner than the carbon that it begins to deadsorb the dissolved organics into the water) but it may often have such little benefit that there is no great need for it. I myself do not want to have to replace a media more than 2 or 3 times a week.