# filter media change and maintenance



## JPZ28 (Aug 10, 2004)

Hey guys, I have a 75 Gallon tank(still cycling) and was wondering how often I should change the filter media and what parts of it to change since this is where alot of the bacteria is stored. I have an AquaClear 110. How often should I change the foam,carbon, and ceramic rings? should I always leave in the ceramic rings since they contain most of the bacteria? should I change the carbon once a month and rinse the sponge every 6 months or so? Thanks in advance.

Here is a link to it: 
http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Aquaclear_English.pdf


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## Elongatus cockus (May 28, 2005)

The rings should never be changed

Id change the carbon once every 3 months and rinse out the sponge with tank water every month. IMO, mechanical is more important than chemical filtration


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

Elongatus cockus said:


> The rings should never be changed
> 
> Id change the carbon once every 3 months and rinse out the sponge with tank water every month. IMO, mechanical is more important than chemical filtration
> [snapback]1116104[/snapback]​


yep, thats what i do


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## JPZ28 (Aug 10, 2004)

cool, thanks guys for helping out a newb!


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

biological filtration is one of the most important aspects of your tank. make sure that you put those little ceramic rings in there, cause they will provide ample space for the bacteria to live.


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## Guest (Jul 17, 2005)

All good advice.

It's essential to keep those nitrifying bacteria alive, -there the ones that detoxify the fish's waste. That's why people clean off their sponge and ceramic rings in a bucket of fishtank water.

Predatory fish make create copious amounts of waste. Depending on what you stock the tank with, you may find the Aquaclear 110 too small for a 75 gallon filled with predatory fish.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I havent changed the sponges in my Ac's in years...not sure why you would unless it starts to break down.


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

Grosse Gurke said:


> I havent changed the sponges in my Ac's in years...not sure why you would unless it starts to break down.
> [snapback]1116597[/snapback]​


I replaced a sponge in an ac 500 after about 7 years.The sponge had shrunk and lost about 25% of its original size........


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## JPZ28 (Aug 10, 2004)

when you guys say to clean off the sponge and ceramic rings in a bucket of fishtank water, I assume that you don't add that water back to the tank do you? 
Or are you referring to water treated as if it were going to be put in the tank (dechlorinated,etc.)?


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

JPZ28 said:


> when you guys say to clean off the sponge and ceramic rings in a bucket of fishtank water, I assume that you don't add that water back to the tank do you?
> Or are you referring to water treated as if it were going to be put in the tank (dechlorinated,etc.)?
> [snapback]1116630[/snapback]​


When you do a water change....just fill a 5 gallong bucket with tank water (that is being removed during the change). Then remove the sponge and rinse it out in the water. I wouldnt rinse the sponge and rings during the same water change because you will give up too much good bacteria...so just rinse one or the other once a month or so.


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## JPZ28 (Aug 10, 2004)

ok, thanks!


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## DonD (Mar 11, 2004)

You dont have to rinse the rings unless they get really gunky and choke out the bacteria.
As far as the sponges go, rinse them with every water change. The longer you leave them unrinsed, the more waste they accumulate and the more dissolved solids are pumped into the tank. You dont have to use tank water to rinse the sponges as the rings are your primary bio platform. But it certainly isnt a bad thing to do so.
The carbon...in most cases, it is exhausted in a week at most. It can get right expensive to keep changing out properly and really is not a necessity as long as you do regular water changes.


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## Azeral (Dec 28, 2004)

I'd change the carbon every few months. Sponge- When doing a water change I take my sponge out and just shake it in the removed tank water to remove debris. The rings I would never clean unless there is severe blockage then I would clean them in tank water 1 tray per month.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Azeral said:


> I'd change the carbon every few months.[snapback]1120490[/snapback]​


If you use carbon for the purpose its intended for, it should be replaced more frequently - carbon looses it's adsobrtive characeristics in 3-5 weeks time. After that, it binds no more impurities, and may even start releasing them again.
But carbon isn't necessary unless you want to get rid of odors, water coloring due to tanins, or when you want to remove medicine traces after having medicated fish. It's not necessary to use it all the time (in fact, it only takes up space that could be used by biomedia).

I clean my internal filters once every 4-6 weeks (rincing the media), and my canisters twice a year (then I clean/rince all the media with tank water, and during the process I make sure the biomedia is always submerged, so it won't die because of lack of oxygen).


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