Changing filters?

[eco23]

The carbon that you have in your tank might contain little black and white rocks. The white rocks are zeolite which in fact DOES absorb ammonia. This may be where you are getting that ammonia absorption that you are referring to.

I also saw in another thread that you mentioned that you seeded your tank with media from an already established tank. Could this possibly be where your carbon came from? If in fact the carbon that you put in the cycling tank came from an already established tank, it will have bacterial colonies built up on it. This would explain why it took you so many drops to reach the desired ppm reading. Basically the bacteria was doing its job. Then once you removed it, you removed this bacteria source which allowed the ammonia to reach the desired ppm faster. This is just speculation.

No. The seeding material was a filter sponge with no carbon that I jammed down into the slots with the bio-filter pads. The carbon that was in there was the stock carbon pads that came with my filter. I didn't remove the filters... I cut a slit in the side, emptied the carbon out and put them back in. I'm not sure why this is an issue. As you yourself said carbon doesn't need to be in the tank. We've also established that the carbon itself doesn't harbor the bacteria. So what is the harm in getting out some scissors, shaking out the carbon and putting the pads back in? This is obviously an advice forum, not a tell you what to do forum, so you can make your own decision, but with all that we've stated so far I don't see how removing the carbon and reinserting the filter pads it was in is a bad idea.

 

[Viper]

I never mentioned taking the carbon pads out and putting them back in was a bad idea?

The bacteria will colonize on anything that it is able to. Including the carbon granules. But that is only if the carbon has been in the tank for a while and has been allowed to have the bacteria build up on it. If the carbon is brand new, it won't harbor much, if any, of the nitrifying bacteria.

I'm not sure where you read that cutting the carbon out was a bad idea? I never made mention of that and in fact I've done the same thing in the past. And yes, this is an advice forum, which is why I stepped in when you said that carbon will absorb ammonia. Carbon will absorb organic materials, which Ammonia molecules are not. Zeolite however, WILL absorb Ammonia and zeolite is pretty often found mixed in with carbon in filter media.

 

[eco23]

I'm not sure why we're still discussing this. Let the OP decide from what he's heard so far.

 

[Viper]

I'm not sure why we're still discussing this. Let the OP decide from what he's heard so far.

We're discussing it so that the OP shouldn't have to decide which information they should follow. It's a discussion board and we should strive to provide the most accurate information.

 

[eco23]

At this point I don't think it's about getting the right info, I think it's about you trying to make a counter point to all of my statements.

 

[eco23]

Regardless, the bottom line is that we all agree that unless it is an extremely established carbon filter, there is no reason to have carbon in it, nor is there any harm in removing it. The last question was should he remove the carbon... We agree on that so that in my opinion is an answer to his question.

 

[Viper]

Regardless, the bottom line is that we all agree that unless it is an extremely established carbon filter, there is no reason to have carbon in it, nor is there any harm in removing it. The last question was should he remove the carbon... We agree on that so that in my opinion is an answer to his question.

I don't mean to make counter-points to everything you say, but I've had an aquarium for about 6 years (not long compared to many others, I know...) now and have been doing tons of research on just about everything as far as fresh water aquariums are concerned and that was the first time I had ever heard of the Carbon absorbing Ammonia.

As for removing/keeping the carbon, I too would suggest removing it, simply for the fact that the carbon will need to be replaced after a short period and can become costly.

 

[Videonut85]

Well, I do already have 6 more carbon filters which I can easily return to amazon. The carbon doesn't seem to be absorbing any ammonia. The ammonia in my tank didn't do anything but sit between 5-6 ppm for almost 2 weeks with the carbon filter. The ammonia JUST started dropping slightly, and so I tested for nitrites, and sure enough they read at .25, the lowest readable level. I guess the carbon doesn't seem to be causing any issues, so I'm not going to bother removing it. Is there a material that you recommend I use in place of this media with my current filter? Is there some sort of material that I can cut to size instead of using the more expensive carbon media?

 

[Viper]

Well, I do already have 6 more carbon filters which I can easily return to amazon. The carbon doesn't seem to be absorbing any ammonia. The ammonia in my tank didn't do anything but sit between 5-6 ppm for almost 2 weeks with the carbon filter. The ammonia JUST started dropping slightly, and so I tested for nitrites, and sure enough they read at .25, the lowest readable level. I guess the carbon doesn't seem to be causing any issues, so I'm not going to bother removing it. Is there a material that you recommend I use in place of this media with my current filter? Is there some sort of material that I can cut to size instead of using the more expensive carbon media?

You can most certainly go out and buy another sponge or some filter floss and cut them both to size. Like mentioned earlier, carbon isn't necessarily a bad thing and does have some benefits, but it will need to be changed fairly often and if left in there too long, can start leaching whatever it is absorbed back into the water.

 

[Videonut85]

You can most certainly go out and buy another sponge or some filter floss and cut them both to size. Like mentioned earlier, carbon isn't necessarily a bad thing and does have some benefits, but it will need to be changed fairly often and if left in there too long, can start leaching whatever it is absorbed back into the water.

So as for the filter floss and sponge, where would I purchase this stuff? Do pet stores carry it? Hardware stores? What kind of sponge are we talking here?

 

[Viper]

Your LFS will carry everything you need. You could buy media like this and just cut them down to the size of your filter's media compartment:

AquaClear Foam Filter - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart

HBH Aqua-Pure Filter Media - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart

Or even something like this if you need a site for your bacteria to colonize (your filter should come with something like this though)

 

[Videonut85]

Your LFS will carry everything you need. You could buy media like this and just cut them down to the size of your filter's media compartment:

AquaClear Foam Filter - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart

HBH Aqua-Pure Filter Media - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart

Or even something like this if you need a site for your bacteria to colonize (your filter should come with something like this though)

The filter floss media is there, with carbon. No sponge though. Or at least I don't think... maybe there is a thin sponge material inside the filter? I just looked at it and I've noticed the filter is starting to turn a yellowish with a tint of brown color. I would assume this is the bacteria and it should look like this?