aquaclear filter...replace carbon with foam or biomax?? which is better?

[yankeeslover]

aquaclear 70...29 gallon tank.. im gonna take out the carbon insert tonight... im not sure what to replace it with..gonna be either another foam or bio max media...which is more beneficial... i may also add im gonna purchase one of those prefilters that go over the filter intake to help keep some of the gunk off the foam.... not sure if this makes a difference on if i add an extra foam or bio max...also, if i do the extra foam, how do i load it? does it go, foam,bio,foam, or foam,foam,bio...any info is great.

[BBradbury]

Originally Posted by yankeeslover

aquaclear 70...29 gallon tank.. im gonna take out the carbon insert tonight... im not sure what to replace it with..gonna be either another foam or bio max media...which is more beneficial... i may also add im gonna purchase one of those prefilters that go over the filter intake to help keep some of the gunk off the foam.... not sure if this makes a difference on if i add an extra foam or bio max...also, if i do the extra foam, how do i load it? does it go, foam,bio,foam, or foam,foam,bio...any info is great.

Hello yank...

Whoa. That's some pretty heavy filtration for such a small tank. I keep no more than an AC 50 in my 30 G tanks and that's plenty if you change out half the tank water every week.

You know, a lot of tank keepers over filter their tanks. I never do because I remove and replace at least half the tank water every week. So, there no time for pollutants to build up before the next large change and the filters are just filtering water that's already pure.

The same water change routine means you don't need to use chemical filtration (carbon), because changing out so much water does a lot more for the stability of the tank than carbon does.

Do your large, weekly water changes and you don't need to over filter, use carbon media or even test the tank water, because you'll know the water conditions for your fish and plants is always stable.

B

[alex07]

His filter is fine, no need to do a big water change unless your parameters are off for whatever reason.

I never use carbon. I always had 2 foams and the biomax

[Coleallensmom]

^I agree completely. The filter is fine and what you replace the carbon with is completely up to you IMO. I also use 2 foams and a biomax, but I know other who prefer to use 2 biomax, 1 foam.

[yankeeslover]

if i also use the foam prefilter?

[GodFan]

You are not overfiltered unless the flow is bugging fish. I would add some biomax dude. Love that stuff. The prefilter definitely negates the need of 2 foam pieces.

[Cichlid Kid]

I agree. If you add a prefilter sponge then you only need 1 foam filter inside. I'd go with the biomax in place of the carbon.