aquaclear filter advice ???

[oldfishead]

hi all ; whata a great site !!!!
i was wondering if someone could advise me
when i'm doin my filter maintaence [aquaclear 70 ] should i rinse my foam in salt water or fresh water ??? does fresh water get rid of nitrates ???? or should i just replace w/ new foam !!

THANKS - oldfishead .. out !!!

 

[lando]

At water change time go ahead and rinse the filter in the SW you have taken from your tank. This will help remove and detritus while preserving the benefical bacteria.

 

[Finatic]

If you get a few more pounds of LR, you can get rid of the sponge all together. Mine was an NO3 factory, and I got rid of it. You can keep the filter box on there for flow and water turnover, but make sure you clean it out about every other PWC to keep it from picking up a bunch of gunk and degrading into nitrates.

 

[oldfishead]

currently have about 45lbs. l.r.
my NO3 runs about 20-30 everything else is good !!

thanks for the info.

 

[Finatic]

Oh 45 lbs. I saw 32lbs in the profile, you should be able to get rid of the filter sponge if you want with 45lbs of LR.

I had 2 sponges and got rid of 1 at a time, I am sure someone can give advice on how to get rid of 1 sponge without shocking the system.

 

[oldfishead]

just use thefilter as sort of a powerhead ???

 

[Finatic]

Yup, Just to add some extra flow and water turnover to keep pH stable and oxegynation in the water. Not a necessity, but if you have the space on the back of your tank, every bit of water flow helps.

Also, comes in handy if you need to run some carbon later on. I would just make sure to take the box off every couple of PWC's and clean it out under the garden hose or or something.

 

[oldfishead]

good sugestion !!!


thanks alot !!!!