bio media / air stone

[klc9100]

i have a 75gal. cichlid tank. i run 2 emperor 400 filters. i've decided not to use carbon anymore and was wondering if filling the media containers with little bio balls or bio noodles or something like that would be beneficial.

this may be totally stupid, but i was also wondering if it would be beneficial to the good bacteria growing on the bio wheels &/or the bio media in the media containers, if i put air stones down in the bottom of the filters. i figure it will oxygenate the water better, if nothing else. i don't like the look of bubbles in my tank. that's why i wondered about putting them down in the filters.

the only media i have in the filters now is a BUNCH of poly-fil. it keeps the water VERY clean and clear, but i think the more bio, the better, right?

 

[jsoong]

Carbon is actually quite good as biomedia. It is pretty much inert after a few weeks of use, and the high surface area of the carbon is a good place to grow your bio-media. I have a mesh bag full of the carbon with the bio-balls & I don't change it out.

I don't think air-stones will work terribly well in your filter. The airstones don't add air to the system, they agitate the water surface (with the bubbles) & promote gas exchange of the water at the surface. With the limited surface area of the filter, this is not going to work. ..... If you have a biowheel, you have plenty of air exchange ... the biowheel is out of the water 1/2 the time & picks up O2 from the air ....

 

[klc9100]

Carbon is actually quite good as biomedia. It is pretty much inert after a few weeks of use, and the high surface area of the carbon is a good place to grow your bio-media. I have a mesh bag full of the carbon with the bio-balls & I don't change it out.

I don't think air-stones will work terribly well in your filter. The airstones don't add air to the system, they agitate the water surface (with the bubbles) & promote gas exchange of the water at the surface. With the limited surface area of the filter, this is not going to work. ..... If you have a biowheel, you have plenty of air exchange ... the biowheel is out of the water 1/2 the time & picks up O2 from the air ....

thanks for your reply. i was told that if you leave "expired" carbon in there, it releases the imputities it absorbed back out into the water. i plan to pack it pretty full of fish eventually, so i want to have as much good bacterie as i can.

 

[jsoong]

Yes, it is true that carbon can leech stuff back out. So it is not good to reuse carbon that had been used to pull meds out. However, if you have no toxins in the tank to begin with, it is fine to use new carbon as the biomedia. <There is no toxin to be absorbed or released!>