filter issues

[aqua man]

does anyone know anything about the whisper filters? i f you do heres the question- whisper 60 HOB filter comes with bio bags and the black sponge. i leave the sponge for bacteria. What about the actual bio bag that needs to be changed every 6 weeks right ? i use my own media but the bag is nasty and preventing good flow it needed to be changed. but did i destroy bacteria doing so?

 

[Sombunya]

I'd say if you have gravel and a few other things in your tank that the bacteria can collect on, and the bio load isn't too great, you can change out the bag without a major problem.

When I took the very seasoned media (all of it) out of the filter in my 40 and swapped in some fresh, all new, clean media (I needed the old stuff to get my 100 going) I saw a small Nitrite spike that quickly went away in about a day. The tank was and is, lightly stocked.

You should be okay. Just my opinion.

 

[Zagz]

In Whisper filters I use the sponge and some filter floss. I don't use the cartridges that Whisper sells.

 

[neilanh]

Just don't swap everything out all at once if you decide you do want to swap it. Change out a bag, wait 2 weeks, change out a bag, wait, change the filter pad, etc etc.

Also, you can prolong the life of that stuff by collecing tank water during a PWC and just rinsing it thoroughly.

 

[aqua man]

thank you all, i will do a filter change of bags gradually. Zagz what is filter floss

 

[Lager]

Filter floss is a the polyester cotton they stuff pillows with or sell as snow at Christmas time. I use untreated pillow stuffing from the crafts store.

 

[Alaris]

This is what you're looking for:

It's called Polyester Fiberfill (any brand will do). You do NOT want the stuff they sell as "snow" b/c it's either flaky plastic stuff or it has glitter in it. I don't know what kind of craft stores you have near you, but around here we have Michael's, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn. You can also find it at Wal-Mart (if yours still has a craft department).

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

They also carry it at Meijer in the aquarium section as filter material, its the same as the craft store but 2x as much

 

[aqua man]

i have micheals around thanx. s no carbon or zeolite crystals huh just that stuff?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

most just use carbon to remove medications as carbon is basically used up in 7 days

 

[Zagz]

I buy the stuff in bulk and use it in every tank. I never use carbon. You can cut it to whatever size, make it long to fit tall filters, cut in and fold it to fit small filters. It's great stuff.

 

[Sombunya]

most just use carbon to remove medications as carbon is basically used up in 7 days

I've heard other people say similar things. 48 hours it was used up, etc.

Some of our treatment plants use Granulated Activted Carbon (GAC) to remove volatile organic compaounds (VOC's) and the vessels will go for a year before the carbon needs changing. These are 7000 gallon vessels, about 80% full of carbon that flow 300 gpm. That is more than 400,000 gallons a day. Each vessel.

The vessels have sample taps at the 25%, 50% and 75% levels. We test for VOC's at each port and when we get a hit at the 75% port we take the vessel out of service and change out the GAC. In fact, the water goes through two vessels in a lead/lag configuration. We check at the 25%, 50% etc. ports on the lead vessel. After we change the GAC the water flow is reversed and the lag vessel now becomes the lead. So in reality the lag vessel will run for two years before the carbon is changed.

Probably more info on water treatment than most folks want to know, but as our fish live in water... And FWIW, a very knowlegable professional told me that changing carbon occasionally will keep the tank crystal clear and no smells. I use it in my tanks.