Changing media in Aquaclear filter

[trennamw]

First time I've changed filter media and I'm nervous. I also am concerned the filter box is too full.

I bought an Aquaclear 50 when my Marineland 200 bit the dust, 3 months ago. I cut the old media to fit in the Aquaclear, using just the new ceramic media, to preserve the BB. And I always cut some water polishing pad for my filters.

The floss and polishing pad were falling apart so I went ahead and put in the sponge that comes with the Aquaclear, to populate it since it'll hold up for ages.

But that is a lot thicker, and now the ceramic media sitting on top is up so high it's brushing the lid.

I hear you should only put in 1/3 new media at a time. But is the ceramic biomedia doing any good sitting out of the water? It's wet but ...




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[JRT83]

No, there's no reason to have anything above the water line in the aquaclear filters as it won't really serve any purpose. In all my aquaclear110s i go with the sponge on the bottom, then a layer of filter floss, then stuff them full of bags of biomax... nothing sticking out of the water. U got the right idea, just make sure the biological media is all the way in the water and you'll be good to go.

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[trennamw]

In order to get the biomedia under the water I have to either take out the new sponge, or the floss that's well populated but falling apart ...

If i take out the floss, only 1/3 of the media is old (the ceramic rings). If I take out the sponge, I don't get it populated for ongoing use.

Could I put the ceramic rings on the bottom and let the top of the sponge stick out of the water? Then the bottom side of the sponge gets seeded at least, and the fully populated media is all under water.

I'd still have mechanical filtration at the bottom, with the old floss.


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[RadMax8]

You should be ok removing the old floss. If you've had the new filter up and running for three months you should have a bacteria colony in the biomedia. Just check the water for ammonia for a few days after you remove the old filter floss. As long as you aren't grossly over-stocked you will be fine.


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[aqua_holic]

The only medias that you should be changing are chemical and polishing pads/floss stuff.

 

[trennamw]

The only medias that you should be changing are chemical and polishing pads/floss stuff.

I realize that's ideal but the mechanical filtration (pieces cut from blue filter floss pads) is falling apart. That's why I want to get the sponge in there.


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[aqua_holic]

Oh, yeah that stuff does fall apart. I'm not a fan. Don't you have the AC sponge?

 

[trennamw]

Oh, yeah that stuff does fall apart. I'm not a fan. Don't you have the AC sponge?

Exactly.

I have the sponge but hadn't been using it. Now I want to use it, but it's too shiny and clean

In August when the old filter broke, I filled the Aquaclear box 2/3 with stuff from the old filter and 1/3 with the shiny clean new ceramic bio media.

Now I want to get that sponge in there. Problem is, it's thicker than what I want to take out.

For now I have it assembled in the wrong order ... Old filter floss on the bottom, then the water polishing pad, then the ceramic media, then the sponge ... I figure worst case, stuff isn't dieing in the ceramic media. Best case the sponge having lots of air while being wet gets stuff growing faster.

I'm skeptical that order matters in these, I really don't think the water goes down then up ... To me it looks like the stuff on top catches the large particles and things settle downward. I'm tempted to just place the water polishing pad vertically at the front so the water truly goes through it.


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[PNWaquarist]

Keep the sponge on the bottom and make sure that the ceramic media is mostly under water. Keep the ceramic media near the top, where the water is most highly oxygenated (the BB will grow need oxygen to grow). The carbon that comes with the filter is optional.

I'd recommend gently squeezing out the sponge piece in spent tank water every two months or so. It gets nasty pretty quickly. If you need to cycle another tank, you can take out about 1/3 of the ceramic pieces, place them in a filter bag, and hang them around the filter return of the new tank.

 

[trennamw]

I tend to squeeze everything out every 2 weeks or so, in a gallon of tank water. My terrestrial plants LOVE that nasty fish filter stuff.

The trouble is ... In order to put the sponge on the bottom and keep the ceramic media under water, I have to remove the old filter floss that's got the bacteria in it too ...

I don't have any charcoal in there.


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[PNWaquarist]

Do you have any extra filter bags? You could put the old floss media in one of those, tie the bag strings around the outside of your AquaClear, and position the media so that it's in the water just below the filter output.

It's good to be cautious, but if your tank is at least a couple months old, you'll likely have BB all over the surface of your substrate, on the bogwood/decorations, etc. Unless you're way overstocked, an ammonia spike is unlikely. If you can keep the floss media in your tank while your new media is seeding, I imagine that your BB population will be back near full strength in a few weeks.

 

[RadMax8]

You say you've had the AC set up now for three months. That should be enough time for your biomedia to have developed a bacteria colony. You should be ok removing the old, broken down material and replacing with the sponge.

What's your stock look like? To give you an example, when I switched over to my new AC filter, I put the biomedia in my old filter for about three weeks. Then, I replaced the old filter with the AquaClear. I kept track of my ammonia and I didn't notice any elevated levels. I had no deaths in the month or so after my filter change, no poor fish behavior like gasping at the surface. My tank is rather heavily stocked with quite a few tetras and rasboras.

If I were you I'd pull the old stuff out and do an ammonia test every day. If you see any, do a 50% water change.


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[trennamw]

Do you have any extra filter bags? You could put the old floss media in one of those, tie the bag strings around the outside of your AquaClear, and position the media so that it's in the water just below the filter output.

It's good to be cautious, but if your tank is at least a couple months old, you'll likely have BB all over the surface of your substrate, on the bogwood/decorations, etc. Unless you're way overstocked, an ammonia spike is unlikely. If you can keep the floss media in your tank while your new media is seeding, I imagine that your BB population will be back near full strength in a few weeks.

That sounds like a great idea! I don't mind temporarily ugly if it's effective.

I am having a tiny ammonia spike. Tiny tiny tiny. I expect all will be well soon.


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