Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Something has to be wrong. I've NEVER seen rings this clean on a tank.
3 months running, never say bio max so clean!
- Thread starter Convict2161
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Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hey Dino, are they from your 75??
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nope, this is from a tank at the FD. I'd say 110 is probably a few months old now that I think about it. Maybe 4 months old they look brand new.
The ones on my 75 are brown and nasty looking lol.
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
It could be that the water is getting well filtered before it hits the rings. I know your a fan of floss, is the water going through the floss before the rings???
Would you be equally worried if they looked like yours???. My rings are only slightly yellow and they are in my canister for over 10 months now.....
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Haha nah... I expect my overstocked tank filters to look nasty lol. I swish them around in tank water.
Yeah the floss is getting it first. Guess its doing its job. The tank is overstocked as well at the FD so expected more. It has a 110 and a 70 and its a 46 gallon bow front with about 10 convicts, 1 JD, pleco and a clown loach. Would have had even more fish but I had to yell at the guys, they were always adding fish and not even fish that would survive. But that's a different story.
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd say your grand so. Your just being cautious and rightly so. If my daughter had her way, god only knows what would be added to mine. She once added some probiotic yogurt drink to my goldfish tank because she thought the good bacteria would help them!!!. She was only 4 at the time......
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
That's a good one lol
Ian086
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not for the fish, needless to say they didn't make it
. I only discovered a few ago what happened, she's 12 now!!!. Keep your eye on your little guy...hahaArtesiaWells
Aquarium Advice Addict
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Wow, those rings ARE pretty clean, D -- just like mine in my 110, but in my case there's a justification as my tank has been up and running for what...three weeks to a month, a little more? 
I know in another thread you were telling me not to rinse my media yet in either HOB, but during the last 50% water change I did (last Sunday if I am not mistaken), I took out the Aqueon cartridges and the AquaClear's sponge/BioMax to inspect them, and neither were especially gunky...what I did was, because I have a tendency to overfeed my little piggies somewhat, I dunked and rinsed the cartridges and the sponge in removed tank water, which loosened some debris such as sucked-up extra food into the bucket...then, I replaced both pieces of media to the filters. I left the BioMax alone, as it wasn't clogged with any kind of mulm, and looked like it was attempting to grow tiny bacterial brown spots...
Was this okay at this point?
I know in another thread you were telling me not to rinse my media yet in either HOB, but during the last 50% water change I did (last Sunday if I am not mistaken), I took out the Aqueon cartridges and the AquaClear's sponge/BioMax to inspect them, and neither were especially gunky...what I did was, because I have a tendency to overfeed my little piggies somewhat, I dunked and rinsed the cartridges and the sponge in removed tank water, which loosened some debris such as sucked-up extra food into the bucket...then, I replaced both pieces of media to the filters. I left the BioMax alone, as it wasn't clogged with any kind of mulm, and looked like it was attempting to grow tiny bacterial brown spots...
Was this okay at this point?
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
You replaced your sponges? Or re used them? You shouldn't change your sponges. I haven't replaced mine yet!
ArtesiaWells
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NO, NO -- the sponge was new when I set up the tank about a month ago...but during this last water change, I didn't REPLACE it at all...I took it out of the 110's media basket and dunked it/squeezed it out in removed TANK WATER, loosening some raw debris on it, which fell into the removed water...I did the same with the Aqueon cartridges...
My BioMax looked fine and like it didn't need any "dunking"...
Was this okay?
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
Oh ok lol. Yeah that's fine.
ArtesiaWells
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Whew! Okay...thanks...
How often do you think these media pieces need dunking/rinsing in the removed tank water? Is it just a matter of eyeballing them periodically, or looking for water return flow decreases?
ArtesiaWells
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Also, D -- while we're on the topic of these 110 BioMax rings...here's something I began a thread on and which has bothered me ever since I bought replacement BioMax for this new setup...
YOUR sack of BioMax rings which looks like this:
Is NOT the same as the "replacement" BioMax Hagen supplies when you buy new rings in the store -- HERE is what came in the box of 110 "replacement" BioMax when I bought it:
See if you can zoom in on that image of the replacement media and note the difference in size between the original rings that come with the filters -- like you're running -- and the small "pellets" that come in the replacement boxes (but which are supposedly for the 110 model); I don't understand why Hagen replaced the larger rings with the two small sacks of the smaller BioMax when you buy the media as replacement...
Further -- do you think this will make any filtration difference in my 110?
YOUR sack of BioMax rings which looks like this:
Is NOT the same as the "replacement" BioMax Hagen supplies when you buy new rings in the store -- HERE is what came in the box of 110 "replacement" BioMax when I bought it:
See if you can zoom in on that image of the replacement media and note the difference in size between the original rings that come with the filters -- like you're running -- and the small "pellets" that come in the replacement boxes (but which are supposedly for the 110 model); I don't understand why Hagen replaced the larger rings with the two small sacks of the smaller BioMax when you buy the media as replacement...
Further -- do you think this will make any filtration difference in my 110?
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Convict2161
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've noticed the change also. Doesn't change how it works. One of AC110's on the 75g has the mesh bag like you see in my pic and the second AC110 has 2 little bags with "pellet" like media.
Same thing, although I do like the larger bio rings and my thought process behind it is, it will have a larger area to breed BB. I could be wrong but its just my thought process behind liking one or the other.
ArtesiaWells
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Okay, thanks for putting my mind at ease about that one; I, too, am running the two small bags with the "pellet like" BioMax...
MMantelli
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have ceramic rings in my 55 that's been up almost a year and there's barley any grime on them also. Must mean were over doing it with the floss lol.
Tacoeater
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If they are coming out this clean, are they still doing the job of storing bb? Mine come out this clean on my 406, I have Fluval pre filter media in the lower tray and Fluval BioMax in the next three trays plus the foams that hold everything and come out nasty.
