Advice on Filter Cartridge replacement?

[NinjaMark48]

Hey all,

I have a 10 gallon Tetra filter with filter cartridge inside it. Whenever I replace a cartridge during water change or later, does the BB which is living there just dies off, considering I have decent amount of bio-media in the tank? What would be a suitable replacement for the cartridges and the carbon inside it in the long run? How often do I have to replace them, since Tetra recommends it once a month?

I do not want to keep replacing them each time(although activated carbon needs replaced). Does a filter sponge work instead of the cartridge? If so, which ones would be a better option? I have read many articles and most of them say I need to place the new cartridge at the back of the old one and let it run for few weeks so that the new cartridge picks up all the BB. I think the place will get cramped if I introduce more stuff in the filter. Any suggestions are really appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Demeter]

Why do you need active carbon? In all my tanks the primary media I use is filter floss (polyester fiber, aka pillow stuffing). In some filters I also have ceramic rings, bio balls, and/or lava rock. I only use active carbon to remove medications.

I stopped using the store bought cartridges long ago, well I do still rinse and reuse one as it also has biomedia inside it. I simply stuff the filter with the filter floss, rinse it as needed and put it back. Once it is all matted and less fluffy I will replace half of it at a time. Cheap, reusable and very effective for removing particles and created a good place for the beneficial bacteria to colonize.

As for sponge filters, they are great! Just be sure to seed a new sponge by letting it run in a bucket of old tank water you just cleaned the dirty filter in. Let it run till the water is clear again and by then the sponge should have collected some of the gunk and good bacteria.

 

[wranglerEd]

Listen to Demeter, you don’t need carbon or back in the day charcoal. Does you filter have a “box” like hang on back filters? Filter floss is excellent, bio rings, balls also. HOB filters usually come with a square piece of sponge, use this, then filter floss, then the bio rings, balls on top, layer them. The cartridge's that come with most new filters are a use once and throw in garbage, there are multiple ways to set up a filter besides using the cartridges. What model filter do you have, then the group can help more. You definitely don’t need the carbon. An old trick is to rip a piece of your seasoned filter material off, place it in with your new media, an old dirty grimey piece that has the good bacteria on it.

Ed

 

[Fishfur]

I modify all filters (if at all possible) so they contain some reticulated filter sponge cut to fit, a mesh bag with some ceramic media and if there is room I put a bit of floss on top.

That way there is never any question about replacing media because ceramic & reticulated filter sponge last a decade or more.

Rinse them out as needed and put back in the filter all ready to go again and never worry about tossing out the cycle with the cartridge.

Floss can be rinsed and reused for quite long periods of time but it does start to fall apart after some months so it will need replacing periodically. Replacing only floss won’t harm the cycle.

 

[wranglerEd]

Fishfur too! The little white mesh bags, ceramic bio rings, sponge for the bigger pieces, the floss filters the very fine particles in the water column, stuff works wonders. I’ve been using this combo since the early 80’s… And I do just rinse the different layers in water from my water changes, but only rinse when needed and output flow is restricted. And that’s not too often after tank is settled and cycled..

 

[NinjaMark48]

I have a Tetra Whisper IQ 10 gallon HOB filter. I think I will heed to y'all advice and probably bring some filter floss and ceramic media. I do have decent amount of bio media(gravel, Tidal Matrix) in the filter and tank, so I was not sure what to do with the carbon that comes with the cartridge and if there is some form of replacement for it, since I thought carbon removes any discoloration and toxins from water and make it crystal clear. I do not want to keep reusing the cartridges each time too and use that can be long lasting
Thank you for the suggestions too.

 

[Fishfur]

I have a Tetra Whisper IQ 10 gallon HOB filter. I think I will heed to y'all advice and probably bring some filter floss and ceramic media. I do have decent amount of bio media(gravel, Tidal Matrix) in the filter and tank, so I was not sure what to do with the carbon that comes with the cartridge and if there is some form of replacement for it, since I thought carbon removes any discoloration and toxins from water and make it crystal clear. I do not want to keep reusing the cartridges each time too and use that can be long lasting
Thank you for the suggestions too.

Carbon is useful for removing a number of medications, quite an assortment of DOCs and unpleasant odours or discolouration including natural tannins.

If you want to use it you can and yes, its efficacy only lasts for maybe a month, though depending on the situation it could be only a couple of weeks or several months - it depends entirely on how much there is to adsorb.

Once it is ‘full’, (not exactly an accurate term but you get the idea I trust) it can’t adsorb anymore and is just taking up space. Though it won’t release what it has adsorbed, it is best removed once it’s exhausted. It can be composted, made part of various plant potting mixes or dig into a garden once it has served its purpose in a filter.

It is possible to have crystal clear water without using carbon or anything like it ( synthetic resins like Purigen for example).

Floss in a filter is an excellent water polisher and even with carbon, you might have some fine particulate matter in your water if you don’t use floss.

All my tanks typically have very clear water using relatively coarse reticulated sponge, ceramic and floss in the filters, be they my various homemade air driven versions or a big HOB.

Sponge alone can do a pretty decent job of keeping water clear but it isn’t as good as floss is for clarity.

There aLao isn’t a lot of point to having massive amounts of biomedia for smaller tanks because no matter how much media there is, there are only as many nitrifiers as the bioload can support.

 

[NinjaMark48]

Carbon is useful for removing a number of medications, quite an assortment of DOCs and unpleasant odours or discolouration including natural tannins.

If you want to use it you can and yes, its efficacy only lasts for maybe a month, though depending on the situation it could be only a couple of weeks or several months - it depends entirely on how much there is to adsorb.

Once it is ‘full’, (not exactly an accurate term but you get the idea I trust) it can’t adsorb anymore and is just taking up space. Though it won’t release what it has adsorbed, it is best removed once it’s exhausted. It can be composted, made part of various plant potting mixes or dig into a garden once it has served its purpose in a filter.

It is possible to have crystal clear water without using carbon or anything like it ( synthetic resins like Purigen for example).

Floss in a filter is an excellent water polisher and even with carbon, you might have some fine particulate matter in your water if you don’t use floss.

All my tanks typically have very clear water using relatively coarse reticulated sponge, ceramic and floss in the filters, be they my various homemade air driven versions or a big HOB.

Sponge alone can do a pretty decent job of keeping water clear but it isn’t as good as floss is for clarity.

There aLao isn’t a lot of point to having massive amounts of biomedia for smaller tanks because no matter how much media there is, there are only as many nitrifiers as the bioload can support.

Thank you Fishfur for the suggestions . Yep I get what you are saying regarding carbon. But as you said, there are better options if I combine carbon with them, but not necessarily need to use the carbon. I might probably get a filter floss in place of it if needed to. I am 3 weeks now into fishless cycle, and I have been using carbon filter cartridge, probably it will be time to change that, but before it, I will get a sponge and or floss to let the water flow in it for a week or two before replacing it completely.

 

[HupGupp]

A small cylindrical sponge that fits over your intake is a good addition as well. I just have that along with a big coarse sponge and floss inside my filter. The intake sponge usually needs to be rinsed off once a week and it ends up doing most of the work. The internal sponge gets rinsed out maybe once every 4-6 weeks and the floss replaced. The sponges will last for years.

 

[NinjaMark48]

A small cylindrical sponge that fits over your intake is a good addition as well. I just have that along with a big coarse sponge and floss inside my filter. The intake sponge usually needs to be rinsed off once a week and it ends up doing most of the work. The internal sponge gets rinsed out maybe once every 4-6 weeks and the floss replaced. The sponges will last for years.

Yep, will try those, since I just have a small 10 gallon filter, I might just buy either a sponge or floss for media, since space gets cramped, but will try for both of those, more the merrier. Thank you for the advice.