Help With Cleaning!

I turned my filters off to clean. I cleaned then turned my filters back on and a bunch black specks ended up all over my sand. I thought it was coming from my filters. So I turned them back off and cleaned all the black specks out and then rinsed the filter media in the tank water. Replaced the water in the aquarium and turned the filters back on and they spit out a bunch of black specks again!! What do I need to do? I have an aquaclear 110 that has a sponge media, then carbon media, then ceramic media. And I have a marineland penguin bio wheel 200 that has a sponge and the wheel. What am I not doing right? Please help me!

 

Sounds like little bits of activated carbon to me.

 

I would take the entire filter apart and clean it once a month. It may be carbon. Make sure to replace that every 4-5 weeks

 

Thanks! I had no idea I had to replace the carbon. Can I replace it with something else that doesn’t have to be replaced every month?

 

Thanks! I had no idea I had to replace the carbon. Can I replace it with something else that doesn’t have to be replaced every month?

I replaced mine with filter floss. Another thing, the intake tube can get FULL of nasty crud that can get washed out once it builds up. Try washing those out.

 

Thanks! I had no idea I had to replace the carbon. Can I replace it with something else that doesn’t have to be replaced every month?

I suggest ceramic rings for added biomedia or Purigen for reusable chemical filtration.

 

I personally don't use carbon unless I used medication and need to remove it. I always add another layer of sponge instead.
I have: course sponge, smaller sponge or filter floss, biomedia (bioballs, ceramic rings, lava rock, etc).

 

Thank you everyone!