this question starts arguments everywhere... lol my answer which ive always done and always been successful with... i follow the flow rate, as i see it start to stagger il swap out the sponge or floss.. now.... part 2 i dont use carbon imo its a waste... i go for biomedia which i almost never change due to the fact it houses all my benificial bacteria so in short
1ditch the carbon
2put in bio media
3swap only pads or foam
4follow flow rate
5good luck
For me, canister cleaning takes place quarterly in most tanks. I have only ever had a couple of tanks that needed more and even then it was more like 60 days. I have never had sponges fully gunk up. The biggest issue I have is usually the fine or polishing pads restricting flow.
I must have less particulate matter than the other posters in this thread.
How old is that book? Modern bio-media has a lot more surface area than most carbon you are likely to run into.My favorite beginners fish book, The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by Boruchowitz, calls carbon one of the best biomedia because it has so much surface area. It suggests keeping it not because it does anything, but because it houses so many of your bacteria.
This is true for me too. Perhaps this is why our results are so difference than the above.Too, I don't have live plants so I don't have plant matter getting sucked up in there. I hear that can be a problem.
I have no experience with canisters, just wanted to throw in a bit that I was reading about carbon ...
My favorite beginners fish book, The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by Boruchowitz, calls carbon one of the best biomedia because it has so much surface area. It suggests keeping it not because it does anything, but because it houses so many of your bacteria.
I've made some mini faux canisters out of small Whisper filters, for 3 and 10 gallon tanks ... I rinse everything once a month by shaking it in some tank water. The pieces I've cut from water polishing pads get replaced often because they don't respond well to shaking but everything else ... Just if it is falling apart.
I never notice a difference in flow after I've done this (even waiting 3 months) or on my Aquaclear HOB that has a media stack that I think is similar to a canister ... it's more that once a month I want a gallon of water with fish gunk to give to my plants outside.
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Neither biomedia nor carbon absorb anything. Biomedia consumes ammonia, and carbon adsorbs things with a high affinity for the carbon. Ammonia is not one of those things.
The whole carbon leeching theory always makes me laugh, because those of us (there are MANY) that don't use carbon leave all that in the water.... So how harmful is the stuff that are said to leech when a significant percentage of keepers don't bother removing it.
Activated Carbon requires an oxygen free environment and temps upwards of 900 degrees C in order to dump what it's adsorbed, conditions not likely to be met in the home aquarium.
dude your 2 for 2 when it comes to provoking an arguement with me.. i didnt say i believed it i said that , studies are saying it... studies also say tv is bad for you but theres 1 in every hospital room... consuming and absorbing are we going to get technical now?
I don't see any provoking going on. I do see a lot of getting very easily provoked.
Lots of other pairs of people here frequently disagree with each other, and do so without all this unpleasant fallout.
Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.
i agree , theres a difference in frequently disagree and going as far as to correct me on absorb or consume...
dude your 2 for 2 when it comes to provoking an arguement with me.. i didnt say i believed it i said that , studies are saying it... studies also say tv is bad for you but theres 1 in every hospital room... consuming and absorbing are we going to get technical now?