General Aquarium Filter Questions

[DjLeethul]

Hey guys,

I have been posting a lot of questions as of late and most recently it seemed that I had a biological boom or a mini cycle and my ammonia spiked. I have done the water changes and the ammonia levels have dropped to almost zero (I will do another water change).

I currently have a Top Fin 30 gallon filter in my 29 gallon tank (came with the kit) . I was wondering if there were alternative filter cartridges that would be more beneficial to use or other filter media that I can use within this filter.

I currently have the biological sponge version of the filter cartridge but I was wondering if there was something more "fine" for the floss part that would catch smaller particles.

Or would you suggest getting a diatom filter to use intermittently when I feel it is necessary (I saw one on the PetSmart website that was only $15 and was rated from 15 to 200 gallons)


2 Clown Loaches
4 Tiger Barbs
4 Serpae Tetras
29 Gallon Tank

 

[Colin_T]

Just get a bag of filter wool/ filter floss. It is like an acrylic wool and works great at catching fine particles in the water. You can also buy it from some furniture stores and craft shops. They sell it as Dacron and you buy it by the metre.
You might also be able to find sponges with different sized pores. Some are very fine and others are course. Have a look at Aquaclear external power filter sponges, and other brands and see if you can find one that is finer than the current sponge. Then add the new sponge to the filter and leave it to develop the good bacteria for a couple of months before removing the old filter sponge.