Dog-eating Tetra Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 i have an aqua one ar-510 tank and its filter needs new carbon-wool cartiges soon but a friend of mine sugested i dont need the carbon filter also im puzzled about the order in which the filter media is in as i was told by the shop where i got it from the fine filter wool first then it has the carbon filtering attatched to it, then it has a coarse sponge then ceramic noodles. my friend suggested i toss the cartriges and just have sponge then noodles then some filter wool bought in bulk. do i need the carbon because i don't put any thing in the water except cycle and aqua plus half a cap every fornight or so. and i thought the carbon was chemical filtration. what should i put in my filter or should i just buy cartriges every two months? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 I think your friend is on the right track. The replacement cartridges are basically not needed. If your tap water is clean then you only need carbon if you are trying to remove some chemical or medication from the tank. I would set up the filter with a sponge first, catch the chunky bits. Then fine bulk filter wool to catch the rest, then the ceramic media as bio filtration. The sponge and wool can be rinsed out in old tank water and put back in untill you cant clean it any more. That covers your mechanical and biological filtration, and chemical (carbon) is only needed in special cases. Be carefull about making big changes to your filters though, you dont want to upset they cycled media any more than you need to. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog-eating Tetra Posted December 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 ok it has two parts to the filter so should i just chane one then leave for week then do other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 I usually give it a couple of weeks. Its better to be safe than sorry, especially if your bioload is quite high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog-eating Tetra Posted December 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 umm i got i think two plecos or bn i'm not sure which but they about 5 cm and 5 tetras, 5 guppies and 2 dwarf gouramis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 OK.. that wont be a huge load on the filter, but just dont change out everything at the same. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.