Marineland Filter Cartridge

[shaloric7]

I've got one of those filters that has the one-piece cartridge you're supposed to replace every few weeks. If I do this, will I be getting rid of a beneficial bacterial colony? If I don't, will the filter be too dirty to work?

Thanks!

 

[jwh0818]

I've got one of those filters that has the one-piece cartridge you're supposed to replace every few weeks. If I do this, will I be getting rid of a beneficial bacterial colony? If I don't, will the filter be too dirty to work?

Thanks!

No don't replace it. It's a scam to get you to spend money on their products. When you do a water change, add tank water to a bucket and swish it around in there and add it back to your filter and your done. You only need to replace them when they start getting holes in them which takes awhile

 

[Brookster123]

No don't replace it. It's a scam to get you to spend money on their products. When you do a water change, add tank water to a bucket and swish it around in there and add it back to your filter and your done. You only need to replace them when they start getting holes in them which takes awhile

+1 but go easy with them, I found the marineland fall apart easily after a month or so, I got the cut to fit and just rip the the plastic frame off and use with that..

 

[jwh0818]

+1 but go easy with them, I found the marineland fall apart easily after a month or so, I got the cut to fit and just rip the the plastic frame off and use with that..

Haha that's what I did when I had that filter. I'll stick to aquaclear and aqueon from now on

 

[Brookster123]

Haha that's what I did when I had that filter. I'll stick to aquaclear and aqueon from now on

after some tinkering I've gotten it to a point that it does the job, it was way cheap on sale.. I just stuff sponges in the the fiber and it works well...

 

[PerfectDepth]

This is what I did with my Marineland penguin 100:

When the pad on the original cartridge started falling apart, I ripped it away from the plastic frame (as mentioned already), and dumped out all the carbon inside.

Then I used a knife to open up the slits in the plastic frame, since many of them were blocked with excess plastic, and I even removed some of the plastic slats from the grid to improve the flow.

Then to preserve some of the bacteria from the pad, I cut it in half, threw half of it away, and sandwiched the other half between the frame and a new piece of cut-to-fit filter pad attached to the frame with rubber bands. Whenever the cut-to-fit pad needs to be replaced, instead of tossing the whole pad I always keep a portion of it in the filter along with the new pad.

Then a layer of poly-fill filter floss goes on top of the cut-to-fit pad to help polish the water.

I also use one of the coarse aquaclear sponges, I forget which size, that fits perfectly in the open space between the cartridge and the bio-wheel.

 

[tnfinfan]

The biowheel houses more than enough bacteria to sustain a properly stocked tank. I never had a mini cycle changing cartridges. That said, they are overpriced bits of plastic and fiber. If you can fashion your own replacement from loose media and cut to fit bulk fiber, you'll save money. If you aren't inclined to tinker, the other remedy is to 1) clean and reuse until they are truly dead and 2) buy them in bulk on eBay.