Lava rock and active carbón

[martintanks91]

Should i change my lava rock and active carbón from my filter? Its been 1 month and im not sure if i need to put new rock or carbón in

 

[Scottyhorse]

You have lava rock in your filter?

 

[martintanks91]

Ya i have 2 internal filters and in Both i have 2 little Bags, one with active carbón and one with lava rock, these are the filters

 

[Scottyhorse]

What exactly does the lava rock do?

 

[martintanks91]

I really dont know exactly what it does, they recomended it to me at my local aquarium

 

[Scottyhorse]

I've never heard of that. I guess since it's pretty porous you could use it as bio-media..
As for the carbon, yes, you should change it every 3-4 weeks but it usually isn't needed in most tanks.

 

[martintanks91]

Whats the active carbón for? Each filter filters 1200 liters of water an hour. Do u think i should add anything inside the filters instead of the sponges?

 

[Mr Fisher]

The active carbon is pretty much useless after a few weeks. I don't run carbon in any of my tanks. Water is crystal clear and no odors.

The lava rock is good for growing your beneficial bacteria colony. If you do anything with it just rinse it in tank water when you do your water change, and only every other time or so.

 

[ChunkOvPayne]

I only run carbon when I first establish a tank just incase something wasn't rinsed or washed properly and to make sure there is no foreign chemicals kicking about, apart from that it's just useless and pretty pricey to keep replacing every few weeks

 

[martintanks91]

Is there anything else i should add to the filters?

 

[ChunkOvPayne]

Yea I use the filter pads over the filter wool because it stays together it doesn't block up your intake and it's easier to take in and out of the filter

 

[martintanks91]

Can i use the pads in my internal filter?

 

[ChunkOvPayne]

Yea I've done it on all my pumps, it just makes things so much easier, rinse them weekly and change them monthly and it's really good at catching the main debris