Filter Help Please

The August FOTM Contest Poll is open!
FishForums.net Fish of the Month
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆

azores

New Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2007
Messages
43
Reaction score
0
Hi everyone, this forum is lovely!

I graduated from a 10 gallon to a 46 gallon bowfront mid Feb. I now know I have so much to learn on how to maintain a healthy community tank, I look forward to interacting with you all while learning.

I bought a Aqua Clear filter with CycleGuard and Biomax, it has three stages within the system. Only one stage is to be removed at one time to maintain the beneficial bacteria.

I do not know which order to change them. How long inbetween changes and how often to rinse off the others.
Since it was a new tank, I used Cycle to start off the beneficial bacteria. But two weeks ago, an invasion of brownish/green algea appeared

So far I have rinsed off all three at the same time while I did a partial water change of 25%, because my family and I had been overfeeding. The foam filter was quite dirty! I rinsed them off with the tank water, not with tap water.

My tank is now back to normal and the water is surprisingly crystal clear! I have yet not changed any of the three stages within the filter. I also used a magnet to clean off the algea.

The day I decided to attack the tank is right after I noticed one of my fish was ill. A pearl white molly, he appears to have fin rot. I took him out and have him in a separate tank with a separate filter.

I was afraid my other fish would become ill as well, but they appear very healthy!

If it matters which I suspect it may, I have 5 black skirt tetras, 5 neon tetras, 2 mollies, 2 platys, and one algea eater.

So knowing the history of my filter now, if that even matters...what should I do?

The three stages are held in a basket, the bottom is the foam filter, the middle is the activated carbon and last is the biological biomax.

Thanks!
 
ok i did the same jump.. from a 10 to a 46g bow front... and i dont have a filter yet for it.. first what size is the aqua clear one is is 20,30,50,70,110.. and i will write what you have to change



ok the spnge should be changed every 2 months i would change a month and a half..
Biomax should be changed every 2-3 months
carbon should be changed every month...

today i did the samme i did a water change and a sponge rinse in my 10.
 
When I was running hob filters on my tanks they were most all Aqua Clears. Those AC sponges last for years, I have sponges that were at least 6 years old, and still running fine. Just give them a few squeezes in used tank or dechlorinated tap water. Filter manufacturers want you to think you have to replace media, you don’t have to. The same goes for the biomax media, years, and just rinse it.

You don’t have to run carbon, it looses it efficiency after a week or so, and needs to be replaced. The only time I run carbon is to remove meds. I never run it on a regular basis, most people I know don’t.

I have everything from the mini’s/20’s to the 300/70’s in storage. I’m still running a pair of 70’s on a 72 gallon, as it’s separate from my fishroom with the centralized system that replaced all the hob filters.
 
When I was running hob filters on my tanks they were most all Aqua Clears. Those AC sponges last for years, I have sponges that were at least 6 years old, and still running fine. Just give them a few squeezes in used tank or dechlorinated tap water. Filter manufacturers want you to think you have to replace media, you don’t have to. The same goes for the biomax media, years, and just rinse it.

You don’t have to run carbon, it looses it efficiency after a week or so, and needs to be replaced. The only time I run carbon is to remove meds. I never run it on a regular basis, most people I know don’t.

I have everything from the mini’s/20’s to the 300/70’s in storage. I’m still running a pair of 70’s on a 72 gallon, as it’s separate from my fishroom with the centralized system that replaced all the hob filters.
hey tolak. do you think i can run a 300/70 on my46 bow... and thats it..
 

Most reactions

Back
Top