Is it possible to have too much in a aquaclear filter

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yankeeslover

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Jan 4, 2012
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i have a AC70 on a 29 gallon tank..love the filter.... right now i have it setup this way, foam, filter floss, bio max,bio max... so i have four things in there currently... i removed the carbon two weeks ago, but now my tank is getting real yellow color from the tannis from my driftwood... i must have boiled that sucker 100 times when i first got it..... must be the carbon kept the water clear..needless to say i want to put more carbon in again as i like the tank clear... i believe the carbon will fit w/this setup but am i stuffing too much in the filter? i would have it, foam,floss,carbon,bio max,bio max...will this all fit? and how long will the carbon remove tannins for? one month?
 
i have a AC70 on a 29 gallon tank..love the filter.... right now i have it setup this way, foam, filter floss, bio max,bio max... so i have four things in there currently... i removed the carbon two weeks ago, but now my tank is getting real yellow color from the tannis from my driftwood... i must have boiled that sucker 100 times when i first got it..... must be the carbon kept the water clear..needless to say i want to put more carbon in again as i like the tank clear... i believe the carbon will fit w/this setup but am i stuffing too much in the filter? i would have it, foam,floss,carbon,bio max,bio max...will this all fit? and how long will the carbon remove tannins for? one month?

Why 2 bio max bags? I have the exact set up, and as far as I know, if it fits, it's fine. But IMHO I don't think carbon will help with the tannin situation, only pwc's and time:).
 
+1 agree on that. I can say from experience carbon does help but at such a slow rate it's barely worth it, time and pwc's and it will take time. :)
 
Fresh activated carbon will remove your tannins pretty quickly actually. I would recommend changing it at LEAST every two weeks to be most effective. After two weeks it really stops absorbing and just turns into a beneficial bacteria bed.

Cramming too much media can slow the flow of the filter, cause overflows, etc. It is not recommended, IME. I ran all my AC's with Foam at the bottom, biomax in the middle and filter floss on top. PWC's took care of the rest. Why the 2 layers of biomax? IMO that is unnecessary unless you are seeding them for another tank/filter.
 
Fresh activated carbon will remove your tannins pretty quickly actually. I would recommend changing it at LEAST every two weeks to be most effective. After two weeks it really stops absorbing and just turns into a beneficial bacteria bed.

Cramming too much media can slow the flow of the filter, cause overflows, etc. It is not recommended, IME. I ran all my AC's with Foam at the bottom, biomax in the middle and filter floss on top. PWC's took care of the rest. Why the 2 layers of biomax? IMO that is unnecessary unless you are seeding them for another tank/filter.

Not to highjack the thread but Biomax in the Middle? H'mm AquaClear has it on top...but I am having issues with Filter flow.
 
It doesn't really matter they tell you to put it at the top so the cleanest water possible reaches the biomax but as long as it has foam below it, I don't think its that big of a deal. Imo.
 
Not to highjack the thread but Biomax in the Middle? H'mm AquaClear has it on top...but I am having issues with Filter flow.

My biomax sits on top of everything. Personally I wouldn't want to overstuff filter pads/floss either. I only have the original pad on the bottom, 2 cut to fit pads, and the biomax on top. My tanks are crystal clear all of the time.
What is in yours?
 
I always put my biomax on top just for ease of setting up new tanks and the QT if I need it. I hated digging up my filter floss just to get to the biomax. I have it in a new mesh sock (you all realize AC's bag will rot with time, right?- ask me how I know ;) ) for easy removal.
 
I have read that the carbon is the best for removing tannins, never read anything about the tannins dissolving over time naturally.
As for over-stocking your filter, you could try removing one of your bags of bioMax and just put slightly more bioMax into one of the bags. I think I have the same idea for my bioMax, use two bags and just change one at a time and toss as need be.
 
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