kennya

I have the Aquaclear 110 and the Bio Max that you put on top barley is in any water. Should it be covered? Literally, only the bottom 1/4th of the bag is touching any water.

harpua2002

It will be fine. The other media in the Aquaclear also provides a ton of surface area for bacteria to grow.

AlyeskaGirl

what else do you have in the filter? I have the same filter and I only put the sponge and biomax in. The sponge is huge...I had to cut it so I was able to fit the carbon insert when I needed it and the biomax. I always make sure the media is submerged....

kennya

I have the foam, carbon and biomax. Didnt really hit me that it stuck out so far until a few minutes ago when I was thinking about the cycle.

You cut the sponge how? In half length wise so that everything is in the filter / submerged?

harpua2002

I don't use the carbon... if you remove it, the Biomax will fit. But like I said, there is plenty of surface area for bacteria to grow regardless. I wouldn't worry too much.

kennya

Is there advantages / disadvantages to the carbon?

aquarist48

http://www.fishlore.com/fishdictionary/a.htm
Above is a link to activated carbon. I use it religiously and you're going to get different opinions on this. I highly recommend it and to change it every 3 weeks.

harpua2002

It's totally up to you on the carbon, it's just not something we use in our tanks. There's nothing wrong with using it though, and it is very helpful if you need to remove meds from the water, remove tannins from driftwood, etc.

AlyeskaGirl

I cut enough off so it wasn't so thick and that I could insert the biomax and carbon filter when needed. You really don't need the carbon except for filtering out meds, but then you use a q-tine tank to treat sick fish with meds. Most of the bacteria grows on the filter media, so I would make sure the biomax is submerged so you have lots of surface for the bacteria colonies to grow IMO.

People use carbon to help filter out meds, remove odors, discoloration and other impurities. But the down side is that you have to replace once a month or so...depends on how stocked the tank is or it will dump all the nasty back into the tank.

ccb04

That's odd. Prehaps it's something with the 110? I have an AquaClear 50 and have 3/4" thick blue bonded filter pad on the very bottom of the filter media basket, followed by the sponge on top of that, and then 2 biomax to top things off. Even the 2nd biomax is completely under water ... though it's near the surface.

kennya

I was looking at the biomax bag and I think it was my fault that it sticks out of the water so much. I didnt make a long enough bag when I put it in the mesh.

So, I need to change the carbon media and it brought up a couple questions. Does any of the bacteria grow on the carbon media? How do I keep the bacteria if it does? Secondly, how often do you change the biomax? Again, if the bacteria grows on it, how do you keep it? Lastly, can I throw a carbon bag in the filter every other 3 weeks or so? If I take it out, do I need to put something in the filter in it's place?

aquarist48

Hello. Carbon should be changed every 3 weeks. There is a possibility it could leak all the impurities it has collected after this period back into the tank.
The bio max should never be changed. Only rinsed once a month in siphoned tank water. Never tap water that has been chlorinated. Same with the sponge.
If you decide not to use carbon then you can add extra bio max or other filter media. Stuff the filter full of other media in addition to what came with it.

(I use batting material from WalMart craft shop for my filter floss. I add it to the very bottom, then the sponge, then the carbon, bio max and I added a small sponge from a Whisper V on top. I also stuffed a few bio max tubes in a mesh bag to the area with the intake tube and another sponge)

kennya

I understand the carbon needs to be changed every 3 weeks, I was wondering if I could have carbon in it for 3 weeks, remove it for 3 weeks and then add a new bag of carbon for 3 weeks. I hope that made sense! LOL! So, meaning just using carbon every other 3 weeks.

I have heard the batting deal several times and may switch to that.

Thanks for the info!!!!

AlyeskaGirl

Yes, you can use carbon and change out every three weeks and wait to add again later....its up to you.

aquarist48

Yes, I agree with AlyeskaGirl. You can use it when you feel it's necessary, if your tank begins to smell badly add some immediately, it will also remove most medications but not all. It also helps to keep the water clear and pristine. As mentioned previously, some people use it and some don't. I personally think it's a necessity.

Fishies-for-me

If you buy the batting from the walmart craft section read the label and make sure it is not the anti mildew stuff. The plain stuff is fantastic....and cheap.

aquarist48

I like the HIGH LOFT batting material. It's thicker than the low loft. Good point Fishies! I didn't know that existed with the anti mildew stuff. I've never seen it at my local Walmart with that addition.
By adding it to the very bottom it helps to keep the sponge and other media on top of it cleaner.

Fishies-for-me

It also gives you seeded filter media for a new tank

f1ea

You can put the Bio Max in the middle and the Carbon on top. I have it like this and the carbon insert is about 75% submersed.

Also, read the instructions on the inserts... i think the order is: Bottom = physical, Mid = Bio, Top = chemical.