Filter and bio media

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Coolysd

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Hey y'all! I have a Aqueon Quietflow 75 hob. I have read that instead of purchasing new filters, I could DIY with stuff like this. Thoughts?

I could also use some help choosing the right bio media for my 75gal tank and filter unit and how to use it.

Also, I just gotta say, I LOVE reading thru all of the different threads. I have gained so much and I wanna say Thank You all for being here!
 
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Hi, I am def no expert, and I'm sure someone who is will chime in.
I watched the youtube Pimp my filter series and got a lot of good ideas from there. Got rid of the cartridges they supply with a lot of filters, hoping you will keep buying replacements, and used the recommendations I found. I think Aquarium Coop does a video along those lines too
 
Thank you so much! I love that youtube name! Hilarious 😂 I will be checking it out for sure!
 
I can't watch videos due to phone internet being rubbish, but if you want to add or change filter media, use sponges and add some to the filter for at least one (preferably 2) months before removing the old media. Or if you have multiple pieces of filter media, remove one bit and replace it with sponge, wait a couple of months and replace the other bit.

You can buy sponges for different brands of power filter and use a pair of scissors to cut them to fit in your filter. I used AquaClear sponges but there are other brands too.

You can buy cylindrical sponges with a hole in the centre. These normally go inside an internal power filter but the sponge can also be put on the intake of most external power filters. It acts as a prefilter and stops a lot of leaves or gunk getting into the main filter.

You clean sponges by squeezing them out in a bucket of aquarium water. The sponges get re-used and the bucket of dirty water gets poured on the lawn or garden.

Sponges will last for years and most should last at least 10 years before they start to break down and need replacing.
 
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Look at this 2 ways.
1st is the removal of detritus. This is done when the water goes through filter media such as floss, sponges etc. As long as what you use is toxic free you can use whatever you want. I use various stuff depending on the size of the tank. For instance I have a tank that I use for breeding. I have partitioned it with a medium size sponge such as you'll see in the back of tanks in your local stores with the actual pump behind it. That traps the larger particles before they get to the pump and recycled. If they aren't removing enough of the detritus use a smaller size sponge (more dense and with smaller holes in it) or use a large one with a small one behind it. This is common in most actual filter pumps where the filtration chamber has sponge with floss. Anyway, all that does is to trap the gunge.

2nd is the "garden" area where you grow the beneficial bacteria. On a good many systems there are ceramic noodles or plasic balls in a chamber that do nothing other than provide as much surface area as possible to allow the growth of bacteria. Having that in a pump gives a quicker build up of the bacteria and ensures that all the water in circulation gets in contact with the ceramics thus capturing toxic chemicals such as the ammonia which is broken down to nitrates and nitrates.
Whether the ceramics are in a filter pump is neither here nor there. All the bacteria will still build up on substrate and any rocks etc you have in a tank, but may not be as effective as most tanks have places in them that aren't as active with the water flow.
What I'm finding out from my new intended marine tank set-up is that it's the rocks and sand that do most of the bacterial work. Most of the rocks are like sponges in appearance with a huge amount of surface area due to it being riddled with holes. Of course a good tank still needs a means of collecting the detritus so filtration medium is used for that.
So, really you have both a filter and a bacterial garden doing different things and they aren't necessarily in a single chamber such as in a pump.
Just make sure you don't ever clean the ceramics with anything but chlorine free cold water. A quick rinse to remove any detritus is all you need do. The sponges are flushed out in cold chlorine free water too, but to be honest the bacterial growth on them is very small compared to that on the ceramics so I'd say it wasn't essential as long as the ceramic bacterial growth is undisturbed.
 
If you have room in the filter housing, you could use one layer of sponge and one layer of floss. Every 3 or 4 weeks, rinse the sponge in tank water and replace the floss. If you dont have enough space for both, then use just sponge.
I buy my floss on amazon.. this is the best deal
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765BK73V/?tag=ff0d01-20
 
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