# Filter media



## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

How often do you guys change your filter media? Most of the bacteria is in the media correct? If so, will changing your media cause a mini-cycle?

Is it even necasary to put a new media in if you do alot of water changes? I was thinking that it would be fine to just rinse the filter out with tank water every few weeks, and do alot of water changes.


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

you could change it 1/4 at a time or less... or just clean it like you've been doing...


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

My solitary tanks been running 13 months with one cleaning for the filters and that was only to jumpstart a cycle in a virgin tank. Higher bioloads will get you variable answers


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

I change my mechanical media around every two months. I don't change all of it but enough to help keep the water chemistry good. If I don't the trapped detritus creates high amounts of nitrAtes, replacing it help keep it at low levels.


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

scrappydoo said:


> How often do you guys change your filter media? Most of the bacteria is in the media correct? If so, will changing your media cause a mini-cycle?
> 
> Is it even necasary to put a new media in if you do alot of water changes? I was thinking that it would be fine to just rinse the filter out with tank water every few weeks, and do alot of water changes.


 correct.. the highest concentration of your Bacteria is located on your filter media.. Changing media is not a good idea for obvious reasons.. Any knowledgable hobbyest would recomend just rinsing the media off in a bucket of tank water.

you are bright. Keep it up and you will succeed.


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## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

Peacock said:


> scrappydoo said:
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 Thank you sir.


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

Peacock said:


> scrappydoo said:
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> > How often do you guys change your filter media? Most of the bacteria is in the media correct? If so, will changing your media cause a mini-cycle?
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Hey Peacock, can you explain these obvious reasons? I don't understand why changing the mechanical media is not a good idea. Detritus build-up in the media creates nitrAtes and cleaning it in old aquarium water does help. Sometimes I have high levels of nitrAtes and the only way to lower it is replacing old mechanical media with new media. I have excess amounts of biological filter media so the nitrifying bacteria can establish within it.


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## shutter13 (Jun 23, 2004)

smithgrind_who said:


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 exactly, thats why i change my foam in my peng. 330 baskets 1/4 at a time....


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

smithgrind_who said:


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 incorrect... Nitrtate are produced by a second form of Nitrifying bacteria. clogged media will/should not produce more Nitrate.. At the most it will take OUT nitrate because of its anaerobic conditions with in the clogged media.

Bacteria grows on every surface in the aquarium... the highest concentration of bacteria is in your filter media (chemical, mechanica, biological).. it does not matter what type of media.. if there is surface area, bacteria will grow..

Try to leave as much media in as possable when changing for new.. only change chemical.


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

Peacock said:


> smithgrind_who said:
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This is my point that detritus, "disintegrated or eroded matter", is broken down into ammonia then nitrItes and finally nitrAtes. Cleaning the mechanical media in aquarium water helps remove the detritus from feeding the nitrifying bacteria. As for anaerobic conditions, can anaerobic bacteria grow in the filter? I understand that it can grow in the substrate since the water there is stagnate and lacks oxygen.


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

smithgrind_who said:


> This is my point that detritus, "disintegrated or eroded matter", is broken down into ammonia then nitrItes and finally nitrAtes. Cleaning the mechanical media in aquarium water helps remove the detritus from feeding the nitrifying bacteria. As for anaerobic conditions, can anaerobic bacteria grow in the filter? I understand that it can grow in the substrate since the water there is stagnate and lacks oxygen.


 typical Detritus is not broken down.


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## shoe997bed263 (Oct 15, 2004)

i just rince off my filter media wiht exiting tank water


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## smithgrind_who (Mar 26, 2004)

Peacock said:


> smithgrind_who said:
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> > This is my point that detritus, "disintegrated or eroded matter", is broken down into ammonia then nitrItes and finally nitrAtes. Cleaning the mechanical media in aquarium water helps remove the detritus from feeding the nitrifying bacteria. As for anaerobic conditions, can anaerobic bacteria grow in the filter? I understand that it can grow in the substrate since the water there is stagnate and lacks oxygen.
> ...


Is it possible to cycle a tank with just food? I read here on Piranha-Fury.com many times that others have cycled their tanks with shrimp. Stating that detritus is not broken down doesn't make sense since it's possible to cycle an aquarium with just food. Can you explaine what typical detritus is?


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2004)

smithgrind_who said:


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 Yes, theoretically it's possible to cycle your fishtank by just adding fishfood. I've never tried it, though. Besides, what fun would that be?


















The main source of ammonia is from the amine group of an amino acid. Proteins are made from chains of amino acids. When the fish metabolizes protein, it will deaminate the amino acid -releasing ammonia (NH3) into the water.

I'm not sure anaerobic bacteria would be desirable in an aquarium unless the fishkeeper really knows what he's doing.


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## alan (Mar 11, 2004)

saved me asking the question................thanks all


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## alan (Mar 11, 2004)

Bullsnake said:


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 eeerrrrrrrrr...............get a life


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

smithgrind_who said:


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 the detritus you are thinking about... the stuff that clogs the filter.. is Disintegrated or eroded matter.. its allready broken been eaten away at and is no longer "fertile".. its "junk" that is not food for the bacteria.


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## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

Peacock said:


> the detritus you are thinking about... the stuff that clogs the filter.. is Disintegrated or eroded matter.. its allready broken been eaten away at and is no longer "fertile".. its "junk" that is not food for the bacteria.


 So this stuff is is taken care of by the filter mechanically and whatever's left you gravel-vac right?

Does detritus cause any chemical problems in the water that aren't taken care of by mechanical filtration and gravel-vacs?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

scrappydoo said:


> Peacock said:
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> > the detritus you are thinking about... the stuff that clogs the filter.. is Disintegrated or eroded matter.. its allready broken been eaten away at and is no longer "fertile".. its "junk" that is not food for the bacteria.
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 I don't think it does: it forms a layer of organic waste material like you'd find on the bottom of slow-moving rivers, ponds and lakes. Once all the ammonia has been broken down (and after that the nitrItes and nitrAtes formed during the process), all that stays behind is, well... stuff (depending on your fish it contains plant-matter, wood, small undigestible parts, etc.), which starts to mix with the substrate.
I've seen quite a number of tanks with a thick layer of "crap" on the bottom: every time a fish moved a bit too fast, a huge cloud was whirled up. And the fish looked spotless.
I'm not sure wheter it affects the chemical make-up of the water, however: decaying plant matter lowers the pH, but I'm not sure if detritus does the same.

Wheter you like it or not is a personal matter - I don't, but some (bottom-dwelling) fish thrive in it.
More importantly however, there's an increased risk your filter will clog up in no-time (which can cause the bacteria that colonized the media to die off in large quantities, as the flow rate in the filter decreases in such a way that it no longer provides enough nutrients and oxygen) - for this reason, regular gravel vacs are very important.


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

Judazzz said:


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 very good!


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## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

Judazzz said:


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 Thanks for the info. I had a 29g that I never gravel vaced and I cleaned it out a while ago. That explains the "mud" I found layered on the bottom of the tank.


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