when i clean my marineland 350 cannister pump . . .

[goodogcarl]

am i supposed to change out the charcoal each time?

 

[phin]

I guess it depends on how often you are cleaning out your filter. Regular activated carbon generally works for 2-4 weeks.

I don't run carbon in my planted tank, carbon is going to remove trace minerals & elements your plants need, including iron. You don't really need to run carbon in your planted tanks regularly. In fact, the only time I've run carbon in my planted tank was last week when I did a 80% water change and replaced my substrate. I ran carbon for a day to help clear the water before I added supplements.

 

[goodogcarl]

thanks for the response.

i think i'm only cleaning my pump maybe once a month.

if you don't use charcoal, what do you put in the cylinder currently containing charcoal.

 

[phin]

The canister for my planted tank has 4 trays stacked on eachother and flows from bottom (1) to top (4).

1. coarse foam pads,
2. peat moss,
3. crushed lava rock (<1.5" diameter),
4. ceramic rings under a blue filter pad.

 

[mom2reds]

Phin why the Peat Moss?

 

[phin]

Phin why the Peat Moss?

I use it to help lower the pH of my water. Used alone though, it only lowered my pH by 0.2. However I've dropped my KH with some acid buffer and now I'm seeing results.

I use my tap water which is hard (14 dGH), alkaline (11 dKH), and high pH (7.8).

I want softer, more acidic water for my planted tank. I've added Seachem's acid buffer daily, which removes KH. My dKH is now 4. The peat will add to an acidic environment, which, now with less alkalinity buffering capacity in my tank has dropped my pH to 6.9. I'm hoping to drop my pH to 6.5-6.6, but keep my KH at 3 or 4.