HOB filter media set up help

[Arthropoddi]

What media can I put in my filter to catch the larger particles, that won't crash my cycle when I need to swap it out?

For example, would bacteria establish on filter floss/carbon pads? And if it does, would having to eventually swap it out mean crashing my cycle, even if I have other media in there for my bio growth like sponges that wouldn't be switched out?

 

[FWFishTanks]

I would put a more coarse foam on the bottom, bio media, in the middle, and finer floss on top where the water ejects to the tank. The carbon does not due much, so just double up on bio media. And no, you can replace floss and foam and keep your cycle, the bio media will hold plenty of bacteria. also, The more porous the bio media is, the better.

 

[BBradbury]

Filter Media

What media can I put in my filter to catch the larger particles, that won't crash my cycle when I need to swap it out?

For example, would bacteria establish on filter floss/carbon pads? And if it does, would having to eventually swap it out mean crashing my cycle, even if I have other media in there for my bio growth like sponges that wouldn't be switched out?

Hello Arth...

If you have oxygen and an ammonia source, good bacteria grows on any surface inside the tank. Acurel has a good poly fiber, cut to fit pad that will filter out the particles in the water. The ammonia brand is especially good. I use it in my HOB filters. It's long lasting. I clean it every two weeks by removing it and squeezing out the contents and rinsing it in some of the old tank water. Then, put it all back into the filter. I use several pieces and change out one at a time, so there's no significant bacteria loss.

B

 

[venymae]

I have a cheapo HOB filter with a small bio media...thing, and a poly/carbon pad. When my pad starts falling apart I squeeze as much as I can into the tank and leave the old pad just sitting on the bottom for a few days. A ton of bacteria is still in the bio pad, but I get as much out of the old poly/carbon pad as I can so as to not have a mini-cycle. So far so good.

 

[Arthropoddi]

What I did in the end was put a small block of filter floss right behind the intake where the particles would go in to catch them, then I dumped a small box of ceramic rings into the back part where the water builds up and topped them off with sponges. All that in addition to my filters "bio holster" should do the trick, especially since I've already seen some tiny buildup on the floss, so I think it's working, lol