How often shoud i change my filter matter

[Kenny]

I have a 55 gallon tank Mix cichlid tank. !6 Cichlids, sizes range from 2.5 to 4 inches long with 6 Algae eater snails. I have a Aqua Clear 110 power filter on the tank. How often should i change the carbon and ammonia clear pouches in the filter???

 

[Andrewtfw]

There is no need to use the ammonia pouch at all unless your tank has ammonia. As for the carbon pouch, if you're using it as intended, every 3-4 weeks it should be changed. If you're using it as another source for bacteria to colonize, you could go longer. Monitor the flow to make sure the filter media isn't clogged.
In my 110 all I use is a sponge and a bag of ceramic rings. They get rinsed but never replaced.

Sent from my DROIDX

 

[Kenny]

There is no need to use the ammonia pouch at all unless your tank has ammonia. As for the carbon pouch, if you're using it as intended, every 3-4 weeks it should be changed. If you're using it as another source for bacteria to colonize, you could go longer. Monitor the flow to make sure the filter media isn't clogged.
In my 110 all I use is a sponge and a bag of ceramic rings. They get rinsed but never replaced.

Sent from my DROIDX

i just got the filter brand new i might of miss read but doesn't the filter come with the ammonia clear pouch??? or is that the ceramic rings your talking about

 

[jonclark96]

Typically they don't come with the ammonia clear, but with bio-media (ceramic rings). I don't use the carbon on a regular basis. Just like Andrew, I use sponges and bio media, and rinse every other water change.

 

[bschuhart]

Only rinse the media in treated water or a bucket of tank water, not raw tap water. The later will kill all the bacteria.

I typically will keep a bucket of water from a water change to rinse the sponges out. I only do this every few months. I have 2 sponges in my AC110 and only rinse one sponge one month and the other on alternate months. I do not use carbon on a regular basis, but have some handy just in case something gets in the water, like when my wfe put a spraying air freshoner near the tank.

Water changes are your best friend to keep heathly water. I do 25% every week or 50% twice a month.

 

[ezrk]

Only rinse the media in treated water or a bucket of tank water, not raw tap water. The later will kill all the bacteria.

This is probably a best practice, but there is at least some thought that this isn't really the case.

There is a great thread on cichlid-forum on biofilms and Dr. Tim chimed in with this:

You always want to be careful with chlorinated water but the biofilm does provide a good layer of protection for the nitrifying bacteria. This is actually a major problem for water distribution companies because they have found that they have to add even more chlorine/chloramine to the water to disinfect it because the biofilm of nitrifiers on the inside of the pipes are quite resistant to the 'normal' chlorine levels.

A quick wash/rinse will not hurt the nitrifiers. If you add add the chlorinated water directly to the tank with fish in the tank I would be more worried about the fish than the bacteria.

Also notable is that Dr Tim (based on a paper he references) thinks keeping bio filtration material clean is pretty important. The bacteria have a pretty small area they can operate in and if covered up in detritus they can't do their thing.

 

[Tony]

I used to take great care in only rinsing sponges and sponge filters in dechlorinated water/dirty tank water. In the last year, I've been convinced (by a microbiologist) that it is ok to use straight (temperature-matched) tap water. Saves a lot of time, does a better job cleaning out gunk and I've had no issues in 25+ tanks (many of which only run on only sponge filters).