Fluvial U3 Poly/carbon Pads

[nehpets81]

Hi all,

I am looking to get a bit of a better understanding of the Fluvial U3 filter I am using. In particular I am a bit confused about the Poly/Carbon pads...

It is suggested in the manual that these need to be replaced very regularly but I have also been advised that they are not needed unless you are trying to remove chemicals.

Therefore, should I just remove them? If so, do I take out the whole pad and should it be replaced by anything else?

I would have thought that these pads would also contain some bacteria so wouldn't replacing them every few weeks cause problems with this respect anyway?

Sorry if this is really basic, just not been able to get my head round it!

 

[ZoddyZod]

Normally you would use carbon to remove medication after dosing the tank. It can also be used to remove other 'nasties' but generally isn't seen as required in the filter constantly. However, as they are built into the U3 there's no desperate need to remove them. Those pads also contain the 'polishing' part of media and removing them would mean your tank would have more 'bits' floating around.

dont be concerned about the "replace them regularly" speach either. It's just an attempt by the manufactures to get a steady flow of income from you. The carbon will eventually 'exhaust' (become full and unable to absorb anything) but you dont need to throw the whole pad away and start again......unless you want to remove medication.

 

[nehpets81]

Those pads also contain the 'polishing' part of media and removing them would mean your tank would have more 'bits' floating around.

Thanks for that, I guess this is the bit I was missing - so this would be the main reason to keep the pads if I didn't need to remove any nasties from the tank?

My tank hasn't yet finished it's fishless cycle yet so I thought I'd ask about this while it's not too much of a problem to change things around...

Oh, and to be clear - I don't need to change the pads every couple of weeks as it is only the carbon part that degrades this quickly?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Oh, and to be clear - I don't need to change the pads every couple of weeks as it is only the carbon part that degrades this quickly?

it depends what chemicals are in the tank as to how quickly the carbon will exhaust, but correct, you dont need to replace them regularly. I've been running a U3 for 18 months and never changed a single component. Just give them a good clean out in tank water every couple of months to remove the gunk.