Fluval 405 Maintenance

[betta4me]

Hi, I'd like to know what type of media you prefer in your baskets and what is your maintenance routine?

Thanks!

 

[Zagz]

I have ceramic rings, bio balls and filter floss. Maintenance is different on all my tanks. Some are done monthly some are done bi-monthly.

 

[FastFly67]

what do ceramic rings do? All I've got in mine is a charcoal bag and the white stuff which I'm guessing is filter floss.

 

[betta4me]

Mine currently has carbon and ceramic rings (what came with it). Should I switch those out as I do maintentance to something better? Also, I would think it would be a good idea to only change one or two of the baskets at a time as to not disrupt the bacteria too much.....?

 

[Zagz]

Carbon is not needed in a tank unless removing medications. It only remains active for about a week. Just switch the carbon out to filter floss. I use Walmart brand crib batting, 100% pure polyester, not the antibacterial kind. I cut it to fit, very inexpensive. Another inexpensive thing I use in my cannisters is plastic pot scrubbers. Work the same as bio balls and ceramic rings but are 3 for $1.

Never change more than one basket at a time for sure.

Ceramic rings, bio balls and other media like that store beneficial bacteria in the filter to keep the cycle complete and avoid spikes of ammonia and nitrite.

 

[FastFly67]

What's a good way to get rid of the fish tank smell?

 

[chipchop]

Zagz -
that was news to me - i didnt know that you don't need the carbon. So you are saying i should add the floss. And then monthly should I change out the media or not? Just clean it? They really don't tell you anything in the directions.
I have had my 120 gallon for a while - maybe 9 months now. Its doing very well. Mostly south american cichlids. But thanks for the advice.

 

[Zagz]

I rinse my media out in old tank water and reuse it till it is worn out. The floss will wear out the ceramic rings etc will last years.

Fish tank smell? What kind of smell, algae, earthy? Or another smell?

 

[FastFly67]

I rinse my media out in old tank water and reuse it till it is worn out. The floss will wear out the ceramic rings etc will last years.

Fish tank smell? What kind of smell, algae, earthy? Or another smell?

dad describes it as 'swampy' and 'acidic'
i don't know how to describe it. it's basically a bare tank with a peice of driftwood (moved it into this tank to help seed the cycle.) i've got a canister filter that rated for up to a 60 gallon tank and it's only a 29 gallon so it's not under filtered. i've got a carbon pack, 2 peices of filter floss and a rough black pad in the "trays" (it's what came with filter) i do about a 25-30% water change a week.

 

[CaptainAhab]

Ceramic rings, Purigen, GFO and carbon.

I disagree with the comments on activated carbon. There have been numerous studies that show activated carbon does not lose it's efficiency that quickly, it highly porus and polishes the water and removes much more than meds. I'll have to look around for the links.

I think it adds value to both my FW and SW tanks but that's just me,

 

[Zagz]

I find most people find carbon unneccessary for their tanks. In FW planted tanks, it can cause some problems over time I've heard. I suppose it is a matter of choice.

Fastfly are you doing a fishless cycle?

 

[roka64]

I run purigen and just use the ceramic rings in my Fluvial FX5 and 304.

 

[fort384]

dad describes it as 'swampy' and 'acidic'
i don't know how to describe it. it's basically a bare tank with a peice of driftwood (moved it into this tank to help seed the cycle.) i've got a canister filter that rated for up to a 60 gallon tank and it's only a 29 gallon so it's not under filtered. i've got a carbon pack, 2 peices of filter floss and a rough black pad in the "trays" (it's what came with filter) i do about a 25-30% water change a week.

Do you have any Cyanobacteria growth (Blue Green Algae) in the tank, or any algae growth at all? Cyanobacteria often produces a noticeable odor...

 

[FastFly67]

Do you have any Cyanobacteria growth (Blue Green Algae) in the tank, or any algae growth at all? Cyanobacteria often produces a noticeable odor...

nope. no algae whatsoever. they are koi and quite a few people (from here) have said that koi have quite a distinct odor. doing a water change every 3 days or so seems to have taken care of the problem.

 

[roka64]

I have to agree and disagree with Captain....I think it really depends on bioload and feeding/maint habits of the tank as to how long the carbon will last.....