Fluval C carbon problems!

[Ian086]

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If you do a Google search some youtube "expert" said ....... delete the bio media from the front in the drip tray. I knew that was wrong when I heard it. Thanks for the confirmation. I really appreciate all the great advice I am getting to this filter.

So I assume the thing to do is only wash the bio media at the top in used aquarium water ......... and maybe replace it like every few years ??????

Exactly!!. There's a lot of 'experts' on youtube that haven't a clue what they are talking about...lol. Stick to a great forum that does, ours..lol. Also have a read up on Seachem Matrix(bio-media). Another great Seachem product. Excellent product for this filter.....

 

[Paul1792]

Exactly!!. There's a lot of 'experts' on youtube that haven't a clue what they are talking about...lol. Stick to a great forum that does, ours..lol. Also have a read up on Seachem Matrix(bio-media). Another great Seachem product. Excellent product for this filter.....

Great idea. I didn't even know seachem existed until yesterday !!

And, now I think I am going to try and make the Aqua-Tech 30-60 HOB on my 38 gallon into an "ultra filter" by adding a 100ml bag of Purigen plus a bio bag of some sort filled with Matrix into the 1" thick x 6" tall x 13" wide area where the water dumps into before entering the filter media. I hope it doesn't restrict the water flow !!

 

[Ian086]

Great idea. I didn't even know seachem existed until yesterday !!

And, now I think I am going to try and make the Aqua-Tech 30-60 HOB on my 38 gallon into an "ultra filter" by adding a 100ml bag of Purigen plus a bio bag of some sort filled with Matrix into the 1" thick x 6" tall x 13" wide area where the water dumps into before entering the filter media. I hope it doesn't restrict the water flow !!

Yeah that's the beauty of HOB's and Canisters. Most are so versatile and can be customized very easily. Also add a bit of Filter floss(100% polyfill) and you will have crystal clear water. Some people rinse and reuse the polyfil but because it's so cheap and you should be relying on any BB on it, I just dump it and add new floss every few weeks. With the Matrix, you don't necessarily need a bag but putting it in a mesh bag will make it easier to remove to rinse. Matrix looks basically like small stones but there are all different sizes in the bottle, so you can pick out the sizes that suit the bag you get. The floss as with ALL media will slow the flow some what but not too much. You can play around with the set-up until you are happy.

 

[Ian086]

Yeah that's the beauty of HOB's and Canisters. Most are so versatile and can be customized very easily. Also add a bit of Filter floss(100% polyfill) and you will have crystal clear water. Some people rinse and reuse the polyfil but because it's so cheap and you should be relying on any BB on it, I just dump it and add new floss every few weeks. With the Matrix, you don't necessarily need a bag but putting it in a mesh bag will make it easier to remove to rinse. Matrix looks basically like small stones but there are all different sizes in the bottle, so you can pick out the sizes that suit the bag you get. The floss as with ALL media will slow the flow some what but not too much. You can play around with the set-up until you are happy.

**Some people rinse and reuse the polyfil but because it's so cheap and you should NOT be relying on any BB on it, I just dump it and add new floss every few weeks**

 

[Fishfur]

Since my income is limited, I prefer not to toss filter floss until it is pretty much falling apart. I squeeze and rinse it much as I do sponges, and though it turns greyish, it can be reused many,many times and still function just as it should.

It actually does hold a fair population of BB, and I often use a chunk of it to seed new filters, which I have found works quite well. One big bag of floss will last me years this way. Every penny saved helps.

Every filter I have is used, some came with used sponges that are still in good shape.. it's really silly that manufacturers tell us to replace them so often. I haven't yet had one get to the point where it's disintegrating, so have never replaced a sponge. I do keep a second sponge in at least one filter, for emergency startups if I need them.

 

[Paul1792]

Carbon came in fine on my Fluval C3 for my 20 gallon.

You got a bad batch, obviously. Title is wrong due to typo. Mine rinsed out fine within seconds on my new C3 for the 29 gallon tank.

Of course, not realizing I did not need to do regular carbon replacements, I went ahead and ordered a box of FluvalC3 carbon replacement packs in biobags with the original order for the filter. After a short rinse where the water turned clear, I stuffed one into the Aqua-Tech 30-60 GPH on my 38 gallon tank.

One good thing about the Aqua-Clear 30-60 300GPH filter .... is that you can load it with so much "good media" ......... like Purigen and all that ........ it turns out to be a great filter ...... even when bought at WalMart.

 

[GIZMOSPAZZ]

I just got two AC 70s about a week ago. Both of them took about 20 minutes to rinse clear. Good to know it wasn't just mine.