Recommended Filter Media

[rodandalisonthompson]

I have just purchased a Fluval 205 External Canister Filter to replace the built in Juwel filter that I had (which was MASSIVE inside the tank).

The filter comes with three filter baskets of which the bottom one is Carbon and the top two are BioMax ceramic granules.

I notice that also available is:
Ammonia Remover media
Peat Granules
Polishing Pad
Zeo Carb (combination Carbon and Ammonia Remover)

The question is......should i stick with the 1 x Carbon, 2 x BioMax that came with it or should i perhaps go for 1 x Carbon, 1 x Ammonia Remover and 1 x BioMax?

Is there really any benefit to have two baskets worth of BioMax?


By the way....what a difference it makes when you take the Juwel filter out; suddenly there is so much more room in the tank!

 

[Beemeeup]

I have just purchased a Fluval 205 External Canister Filter to replace the built in Juwel filter that I had (which was MASSIVE inside the tank).

The filter comes with three filter baskets of which the bottom one is Carbon and the top two are BioMax ceramic granules.

I notice that also available is:
Ammonia Remover media

I have been using that Filter since August. I changed the medium later to exclude carbon for a while and put in two half sections polyester pads to clean the water. I also added more ceramics to those sections.
every month I then put some carbon filters back in. My ammonia levels are always zero so i see no need for that.

 

[andywg]

Carbon is generally superfluous to filtering needs, as should be ammonia removal chemicals. PEat can be of use in creating a soft blackwater tank.

Having more biomax means more surface area for a bacterial colony, which is good. When I ran fluval externals (before they all hit the two year old mark and leakjed water all over the floor) I ran ceramic rings at the bottom followed by two trays of biomax or alfagrog, depending on what tank I was cloning from.

 

[nmonks]

I'd go further that andywg and say that apart from the biological filter media, everything else is rubbish and can be thrown away.

Peat is useful only for specific tanks, and is not useful in general community aquaria. Carbon is totally useless except for removing organic compounds. Since it will remove medicines added to the tank, for most aquarists, carbon isn't just useless, it's dangerous. Zeolite (chemical media that removes ammonium) is useful in certain cases where you can't run a biological filter (e.g., tanks with a very low pH, or emergency tanks set up for a batch of fry). But otherwise, it's pointless.

I'd remove everything except the biological media, and fill up any gaps with filter wool. Filter wool is cheap, easy to clean/replace, and does a great job of removing particles from the water.

Cheers,

Neale