Let's Talk HOB "Cartridge" Media...

[reyma10]

You can do that for a while but eventually the carbon will give out and need to be replaced every month

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Ohhhhh yeah they look nasty. Although after a rinsing they don't really look all that bad. But no, they don't have to be bright and shiny new to be effective - once they get "dirty" I feel they are more effective since they are doing two jobs at once, mechanical and biological filtration.

Can you explain that last statement?

 

[ArtesiaWells]

You can do that for a while but eventually the carbon will give out and need to be replaced every month

That's what we're discussing; if the carbon inside these HOBs will HAVE to be replaced -- either by cutting open the floss pad and removing the old carbon to replace for new, which I'm not gonna do, or by swapping out the whole cartridge for a new one -- because they will eventually "leak toxins" back into the water if exhausted...or if they can simply be reused by dipping in removed tank water...

 

[Alyxx]

Can you explain that last statement?

Once they get dirty, bacteria has colonized in them so they are now doing biological filtration as well as the mechanical filtration of catching particles that are in the water. New clean cartridges can only catch the particles until bacteria colonizes them, and if you are replacing them regularly then you will never be seeing a benefit of the added bio filtration.

And as for the carbon being exhausted in a month, that's true, but the carbon won't have any detrimental effect on your water. It just won't be filtering out dissolved organized like tannins or meds anymore. There isn't a need for carbon in most tanks most of the time. As has been said, it takes very acidic or basic conditions for carbon to degrade into the water. After a month it will just be sitting in the cartridge inert. And if that worries you you can always cut it out of the filter cartridges before you put them in (or after they have been in for a while if you want).

 

[Darkseid76]

These are my filters. Aqueon Quiet Flow 55 and Aquaclear 50.

You can see the differences in the Aqueon Cartridges. One has been in for several months and I just replaced the other 2 weeks ago. In the Aquaclear I switched out the sponge instead of rinsing but have been using the same biomax for almost 7-8 months. It would of been longer but I used my original biomax to seed my QT filter. No carbon in the QT. Carbon run in the Aqueon by default. Carbon run in the Aquaclear optionally.

I will say I have no concerns of carbon leaching toxins back into my aquarium, nor have I ever had issues stemming from it. Does it become useless? Yes Harmful? Not in my opinion.

 

[reyma10]

Hi Reyma!

Thanks for the input and pics; finally, I get to see someone's Aqueon in action on their tank!

I have the model that came out before your 55/75s, which is just the QuietFlow 55; it seems that you have your water level set so that the 55/75s create a kind of "surface rippling" effect, which I do with my tank as well...is that so?

Yea I do have my level of water pretty high to my filters make a rippleing effect in the tank

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Once they get dirty, bacteria has colonized in them so they are now doing biological filtration as well as the mechanical filtration of catching particles that are in the water. New clean cartridges can only catch the particles until bacteria colonizes them, and if you are replacing them regularly then you will never be seeing a benefit of the added bio filtration.

And as for the carbon being exhausted in a month, that's true, but the carbon won't have any detrimental effect on your water. It just won't be filtering out dissolved organized like tannins or meds anymore. There isn't a need for carbon in most tanks most of the time. As has been said, it takes very acidic or basic conditions for carbon to degrade into the water. After a month it will just be sitting in the cartridge inert. And if that worries you you can always cut it out of the filter cartridges before you put them in (or after they have been in for a while if you want).

Thank you!

This is basically all I wanted to know...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Thank you very much for providing such detailed pics, Dark; I will respond to some of your sentiments individually as best as possible:

These are my filters. Aqueon Quiet Flow 55 and Aquaclear 50.

Almost the same set up as me -- though I am running an AquaClear 110 with the QuietFlow 55!

You can see the differences in the Aqueon Cartridges. One has been in for several months and I just replaced the other 2 weeks ago.

So, you leave these cartridges run for several months at a time? And why did you replace the other one...do you replace them rather then "rinse" them off to be reused?

In the Aquaclear I switched out the sponge instead of rinsing but have been using the same biomax for almost 7-8 months. It would of been longer but I used my original biomax to seed my QT filter. No carbon in the QT. Carbon run in the Aqueon by default. Carbon run in the Aquaclear optionally.

Since getting acquainted with AquaClears, I have been advised to never really touch the sponge block...only rinse it off in removed tank water and use it until it literally is falling apart...same for the BioMax...is there a reason why you switched out the sponge on your AC?

I will say I have no concerns of carbon leaching toxins back into my aquarium, nor have I ever had issues stemming from it. Does it become useless? Yes Harmful? Not in my opinion.

Thank you for your valued opinion -- but do you just leave your Aqueon cartridges in until you REPLACE them, so THAT is why you don't fear toxins leeching back into the aquarium, or do you leave them almost indefinitely, just rinising the loose debris off?

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Yea I do have my level of water pretty high to my filters make a rippleing effect in the tank

I have found, with the QuietFlows, that if you're water level is TOO high, the filter has no flow at all, and simply bubbles some tiny flow return out (when looking at the flow from the inside of the tank)...to make these Aqueons give that cool "fast ripple" effect across the surface, I have to keep my water level just a tad below "filled up"...

 

[reyma10]

Well mine works fine with the water pretty high

 

[Darkseid76]

I had some issue in my tank so I swapped some inserts to maximize mechanical filtration from a heavy gravel vac and to trap medications with new carbon. Otherwise I dont touch my inserts.

Yes you can just rinse inserts from either filter in old tank water.





This my outflow. I dont clean that either lol, I noticed that after water changes some of fish like to nibble on the film thats growing or collecting or whatever on the outflow lip.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Well mine works fine with the water pretty high

Yeah -- that's about the level I keep my 55 at too, so it gets that awesome ripple effect as seen in your pic...

I'm just saying that if the water is kept even HIGHER than that -- to the point you can see the blue bio-grid oxygenator bar on the lip return from looking at the front of the tank -- the filter doesn't even appear to be "pushing" any water; it just looks "stagnant" (though it is, of course, still filtering)...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I had some issue in my tank so I swapped some inserts to maximize mechanical filtration from a heavy gravel vac and to trap medications with new carbon. Otherwise I dont touch my inserts.

Yes you can just rinse inserts from either filter in old tank water.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I had some issue in my tank so I swapped some inserts to maximize mechanical filtration from a heavy gravel vac and to trap medications with new carbon. Otherwise I dont touch my inserts.

Yes you can just rinse inserts from either filter in old tank water.



View attachment 163702

This my outflow. I dont clean that either lol, I noticed that after water changes some of fish like to nibble on the film thats growing or collecting or whatever on the outflow lip.

Indeed -- my flow on the Aqueon is similar, perhaps a bit more "aggressive" in the ripple; as I have been discussing with the member above, these Aqueons are dependent on how high the water level is in terms of "watching their effectiveness" in water return. I have found, conversely, with the AquaClears that THEY seem to "work best" when the tank's level is high so that the return creates a big, aggressive ripple across the surface -- if the water level drops below a certain point, my AquaClear 110 tends to deliver a messy, splashy wave that really beats up the plants that are in its wake...

 

[Darkseid76]

Yeah the Aquaclear has a steeper drop than the Aqueon. As the water evaporates I get the outflow i prefer but no big deal IMO.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Yeah the Aquaclear has a steeper drop than the Aqueon. As the water evaporates I get the outflow i prefer but no big deal IMO.

You get the outflow you prefer when the water evaporates on the AQUACLEAR or the Aqueon? On my AquaClear, I happen to prefer the water level HIGHER so the "wave drop" isn't so steep, as you put it; when the water level is higher in my tank, the AquaClear tends to deliver a nice, fast ripple wave across the surface that's pleasant to look at...

On the topic, I never really understood these YouTube videos you see, or any other kind of images depicting someone's setup, in which people keep their tanks so low that the filters look like open waterfall cascades pouring into the aquarium; really, really odd to me...