Guest Danicole Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Just curious! (I was going to put this in the poll section, but it doesn't seem to get many hits, and I don't see an add poll option here, soooo) I only change my media out if it is getting ratty and holey. I don't see the need to do anything other than rinse out the media when it gets dirty(learned that from cichlid boards since a lot of the de-nitrifying bacteria live in the media) and if it starts to get holes in it and isn't working as well as it should, then it won't kill anything to replace it. Plus since I don't use carbon or any of the ammonia-removing media in the tank I don't need to worry about replacing it every month to keep it active. As for media. Right now in my 20 gallon planted tank I have an aquaclear 20(I know it probably isn't enough flow, but I'm too lazy to look up how much more I need ) I have 3 sponges in it. Figure I have plants to take up nitrates in the water instead of needing to rely on bacteria, so all I really need is to get the waste out of the water. In my canister filter(I need MORE!) I have a level with sponges, 2 coarse, 2 "fine," a level half filled with bio-rings and some of the hard foam stars, and one with some floss in it. I am going to switch that one around once I get the money to. I want it to have one of each of the sponges, the layer of floss and the rest to be filled with bio-media. I figure the couple of sponges and the floss can remove all of the solid waste and keep the water clean looking, and the rings have more than enough room for bacteria to grow(plus it is easier to clean!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Petperson04 Posted July 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 30, 2008 (edited) I have a Penn-Plax Cascade filter on one tank, and a Whisper filter on the other. The Cascade has the cartridge made for it and another sponge/floss pad. The cartidge has floss and carbon in it, and I only change it maybe every 2 months or more. My Whisper filter has the bio-bag (a floss pouch with carbon inside, only I emptied the carbon becuase it was messy and wasn't doing anything), a thin sponge, and an extra sponge/floss pad I stuffed in there. I haven't replaced the bio-bag, and the tank's been running for 3 months. Edited July 30, 2008 by Petperson04 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Erinaceus Posted July 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 30, 2008 I have not idea what brand of media we use. The type though, is keramic erm ... they resemble some types of dog biscuits (my English fails me). We replace it when it gets worn down. So far (since last November) maybe 2 times I think. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member daryl Posted July 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 30, 2008 I, personally, stuff every filter I have with baggies of the ceramic media, also. The reason I like it is that it NEVER needs replacing. Even if you have an absolute catastrophic occurance in a tank - and you need to nuke the tank, you can boil out that media and use it again -good as new. You never have to buy it again. I do not replace my mechanical filteration - the floss and floss covered cartridges until they literally fall apart. They are banged clean in a bucket of used fish water at every water change, but are left in for a looooong time - months and months and months. The biowheels never need to be replaced, either, for they can be pped or bleached to nuke 'em. I prefer the Ehiem brand hard biological media. It is a bit more expensive, but is uniform in size, solid and non-crumbly, and small enough to make it easy to stick it in even the smallest space in a filter box. I keep baggies of it in a tank that is run on ammonia alone - feeding the beneficial bacteria that live in the media. Anytime I need an "instant cycle", I can pull a baggie of media from that tank. Anytime I close down a tank, I can boil the media out and drop it back into that tank to seed again for a time when it is needed again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CountryLovah Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 Ever since I found this board I use the Fluval Bio Max in every one of my tanks. As silly as it sounds, I didn't realize that you didn't HAVE to use the cartridges that came with the filters.. Now I still do use the cartriges at times, but when I do I remove the carbon. Then in the second slot I fill mesh bags with the biomedia. Also in the smaller tanks that use the Whiper filter cartriges, I remove the carbon, and add the biomax in place of it. That way I still have use for the extra cartridges I had already purchases, but get the benefit of the extra bio material.. I've also learned from Daryl's methods and have cleaned a leftover 5 gallon tank with Potassium Permangate with the plan to do exactly the same thing. Keep baggies of it on hand in case of emergency... I love the idea. It just has to cycle first. I want to do a brand new cycle that way I know that everything in there is PERFECT and disease free. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Chrissy_Bee Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 I have aquaclears mostly and I have sponges and ceramic cylinders in them. I don't ever replace either, just rinse it when it gets really 'gunky' 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dkisosondi Posted July 31, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted July 31, 2008 I use bio-max and polly fill. I will usually change out a little of the polly fill at each cleaning if it needs it. I usually keep 1 tray of pollyfill and 3 trays of biomax in one filter and 2 trays of pollyfill and 2 trays of biomax in another filter. Sometime I don't replace, I just add more if I see the pollyfill is compacted and have room in the tray for more. 2 Fluval 405s 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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