penguin media additions and zeolite questions

[medusaorange]

i posted my entry on the aquaria central and didn't get any responses. so, i hope guys in this forum will love to help me out!

here is my post -

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i'm looking for something that is a great addition to my penguin bio-wheel 350 filter and to make my tank much healthier.

1. i have a media basket - what should i add to it? (ceramic rings can fit in it and i have some unused ceramic rings for my xp3) should i add some to my media basket?

2. if i can use ceramic rings or whatever that normally used for filstar xp3, is it able to make the media stay good much longer and to house the bacteria? should i clean the ceramic rings when i'm changing the water?

3. how much of zeolite do you add to the filter for a 20 gallon long? how often do you change it or not at all? is it recommended for using on the regular basis?

4. what kind of sponge should i use for my filter? there is a couple of media holders that can use sponges instead of actived carbon. i'm thinking about put a prefilter and regular sponge to each media holder and put them next to the media baskets.

 

[Zagz]

I use both ceramic rings and bio balls. You should rinse them in tank water when you change the filter media. The ceramic rings and bio balls will keep your bacterial media in the rings. I have no familiarity with zeolite, I don't use it. I use regular aquarium sponges and filter floss (100% pure polyester pillow batting from Walmart) I don't use carbon unless removing meds. Carbon doesn't stay active for very long and is not necessary.

Welcome to AA, the most helpful and by far the best fish forum on the net!

 

[rich311k]

The ceramic rings would work fine. I would rinse them off once a month or so in old tank water. No need for zeolite or ac except to remove medicine etc. I would use the ceramic rings, sponges and some filter floss to polish the water. I love my prefiilter and would not run a tank without it.

Welcome to AA!!!

 

[medusaorange]

yay i'm glad you replied! for bio balls, could it fit in the media basket? i have never seen in real life, so i have no clue how big the balls are. i'm using zeolite (aka white diamond) to control my ammonia problems because that is what i'm having a hard time to get rid of. it is improving a lot better than last week. so, i wonder if it is okay to use it on the regular basis. ammonia problems happened after my whisper filter died on me and i had to replace it... so, it had all of my bacteria colony. i guess that was how everything crashed. now, i got a penguin bio-wheel (just because of the wheels, i could just move the wheels into new one if the filter broke!) and i already added the bio-spira to my tank... hopefully it will help me!

for aqua central, it looks like it is a very snob forum.

 

[medusaorange]

alright. that was what i thought. i'm using the AC and the zeolite but i will remove them in a week or whenever my problem is solved. i will go ahead and order some prefilter and more sponges. thanks so much for replying!

 

[Zagz]

How long has your tank been set up? I am assuming your tank is very new? Ammonia is part of the cycle if that is the case. IMO pwc's are the way to control ammonia, some of the ammonia removers can actually give you a false reading, meaning the ammonia is still present but may not be read correctly on a test. I would not use the zeolite and just do pwc's every day or second day as necessary. Have you got fish in the tank and what kinds?

 

[medusaorange]

my tank has been set up for 3 months. i think none of this will happen if i had a gravel, but i don't have it. i will add the eco-complete or something similar for my plants. i will go ahead and remove the zeolite the first thing in the morning and hope there will be any difference. i didn't use anything else than zeolite and prime by seachem to remove my ammonia. i have been doing the water changes every three days, but i will go ahead and do that everyday like you suggested.

there are some apple snails, ramhorn snails, and 3 guppies.. this tank is actually a breeding tank, so i could feed the guppies and ramhorn snails to my turtle. but i decided to make this tank as an aquarium hobby. wish me a luck!

 

[rich311k]

Good luck. Keep up your water changes, like Zagz advises and you will be fine.

 

[severum mama]

I would skip the zeolite as well. If you are still cycling, the zeolite may stall the process. When you are finished cycling, you will not need zeolite as you will not have any ammonia to remove. I would just use the media basket with ceramic rings or filter floss.

Hopefully you will have great luck with all your other filters from now on, but if you do have one fail in the future, remember that you can save a large part of your biofilter by floating your old cartridge in the tank with a new filter, or by putting the old cartridge in the new filter (if it fits).

 

[medusaorange]

Hopefully you will have great luck with all your other filters from now on, but if you do have one fail in the future, remember that you can save a large part of your biofilter by floating your old cartridge in the tank with a new filter, or by putting the old cartridge in the new filter (if it fits).

yeah.. it was one of the reasons why i bought the bio-wheel. i can just put the bio-wheels into the new biowheel filter if my filter ever got broke.