Little Ammonia

[Mebbid]

Anecdotal/"general knowledge", no scientific evidence to present on that. So I will definitely repeal that claim if you are certain otherwise.

I do claim otherwise personally, but that isnt backed up by any research.

 

[threnjen]

I do claim otherwise personally, but that isnt backed up by any research.

Sounds like we need to hit the books

 

[Mebbid]

Sounds like we need to hit the books [emoji38]

Hah yes, yes we do

 

[Jerky]

I never heard about having carbon in your tank all the time is bad. That does not sound right to me, especially if every filter I see has some type of carbon in it. My understanding is carbon can clarify the water, remove odors, and removes some minor toxins. But carbon does not touch the big 3 toxins.

 

[Jerky]

Ohh by the way, yesterday evening I was at a solid .25ppm on ammonia, maybe a touch less. So it's going down.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

The problem I see with carbon is that after 30ish days it loses effectiveness leaving you with a floss full of great BB but absent of any useful filling. This is remedied by slicing the old cartridge in a way that can be closed and filling it with new carbon monthly. Purigen is an easy alternative to this as it lasts much longer.

 

[Jerky]

Ohh yeah I agree. Carbon does not last and needs to be changed. I will be altering my filter. I am thinking of building a DIY canister filter with a dual stage whole home water filter. One canister will be mechanical only, the other will be a little carbon and bioballs. I am doing this because I am going to start injecting CO2, and its a lot easier to inject into the water filter line.

It may be a bit overboard for a 20 gallon but what the heck.

 

[Jerky]

I think I am going to go with something like this, small and compact.

Do one canister for mechincal only, then load second one with carbon and bio, and the third bio only. I may be getting way off topic, but ohh well.


http://www.amazon.com/Whole-House-f...s=whole+home+water+filtration+systems+2+stage

 

[Jerky]

Actually nevermind. I think I will go with this.

Pet Supplies : TMS® 3 Stage 265 GPH External Fish Marine Coral Canister Filter Pump for Aquarium Pond Pump Fish Fresh/salt Water Tank : Amazon.com

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Look into purigen, factoring in the need to change carbon monthly makes it pretty cost efficient and currently it is unparalleled as a chemical filtration.

 

[Jerky]

Update. Ammonia is now 0. Nitrites are between 1 and 2 ppm. Really hard to tell with the API testing kit. Looks like everything is on the mend.

I will probably start adding some more fish this coming weekend.

 

[sinibotia]

So did anyone ever find anything about carbon? If not then I might just go peruse Web of Science for some details on carbon as a filter media.

 

[threnjen]

So did anyone ever find anything about carbon? If not then I might just go peruse Web of Science for some details on carbon as a filter media.

Oh, I did do some casual hunting around. I do stand somewhat corrected as a lot of people really do love carbon. And there seems to be little evidence that it is actually bad as I had heard/believed.
However I also came to the conclusion that Purigen is better anyway, and I have Purigen all over the place, so I never really returned to the convo

Here are some of the articles I read:
References - A Method for Using Activated Carbon
Activated Carbon | DrTim's Aquatics
Aquarium Carbon
Activated Carbon by Greenfield and Straughan

 

[sinibotia]

I'll be honest, I don't know what the heck purigen is, but I keep hearing about it here. I'm a strong believer that biofiltration is king and everything else is just a convenience, so I just stick with filter pads, filter floss and sponge filters. One of these days I'll stop being too lazy to type "purigen" into google.

 

[threnjen]

I'll be honest, I don't know what the heck purigen is, but I keep hearing about it here. I'm a strong believer that biofiltration is king and everything else is just a convenience, so I just stick with filter pads, filter floss and sponge filters. One of these days I'll stop being too lazy to type "purigen" into google.

Tsk I am surprised at you

 

[sinibotia]

Tsk I am surprised at you

Web of Science has nothing on purigen, so it obviously must not be important enough to google search

 

[threnjen]

Web of Science has nothing on purigen, so it obviously must not be important enough to google search

Someone needs to write a scientific paper on purigen for publication!
aka you

 

[coralbandit]

Purigen rules!
Not even comparable to carbon IMO!
http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Purigen.html

 

[trennamw]

Try buying a piece of foam or blue floss that's biger than your filter and cut a piece, put it in the filter instead. Then wring it out in dirty tank water instead of replacing.

Many cartridges can also be shaken off in a bucket of dirty tank water. Don't rinse in chlorinated water. Methinks the carbon debate would be a non issue as the carbon would be "full" at that point and hosting bacteria instead (citing a Boruchowitz book there, sorta).

Worst case ... I've done this before successfully ... If the "fabric" of the cartridge is getting torn, you do need a new one. But cut the old one apart and stick a huge piece of the old fabric with the new one. Rubber bands help it stay together and fit in the slot.

Most filters can be "hacked" somehow to put in alternate media and avoid constant replacement.

The guppies and friends may have seemed ok but until they've lived a good five years without illness it's not necessarily safe to proclaim they've been fine living in a tank that is cycled, then isn't.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[Jerky]

Tank is perfect now. Ammonia is now 0. Nitrites did spike out of measurable range, i just did 50% WC everyday for about a week. Now I have 0 Nitrite. And I have 0-5 Nitrate.

Looks like I am in good shape now! Lesson learned about the filter media. I will cut it up next time to ensure I still have the BB