Micro Pieces Of Ceramic From Fluval Biomax?!

After reading a bunch this morning about filters and filter media order....I decided it may be a good idea to flip the sponge in my Spec V. so I did. I just had read multiple places that the biological media should hit the water from the intake first. made sense...okay...against the little voice that told me not to mess with the aquarium anymore....I flipped it. and yes, I know carbon is not necessary in a healthy aquarium.

so I left. came home just now and there's micro particles of ceramic floating on the surface! I had developed a biofilm which to my surprise started to break up by this morning....these super tiny white flecks were stuck to the biofilm and floating around. I honestly thought it was just a broken up biofilm circling around with the current.

I sucked a bit up with a dropper, and I am so glad I did, it's hard. like ummm, ceramic! and the only thing in my tank it could come from was the biological media! i'm SCARED - I think my fish may of tried to eat one. is this normal?! I rinsed the biomax very very well when I set up the tank weeks ago.

I have flipped the fliter back to the way Fluval suggests. and I feel really stupid.

 

Well, first of all, I use carbon and find it to be useful. I know you can do without it, but to my thinking it must be doing something since it needs to be replaced every 4 weeks du to being saturated.

I'm surprised you have ceramic granules floating on the surface. Are you sure that's what it is? Beings you rinsed it real well when you set it up, I wouldn't expect it to be ceramic.

Fish seem to know what they can eat and what they can't eat, so I wouldn't be too worried about them eating it. I would maybe be a little more concerned that it may have scratched up their gills if they "breathed" it in.

 

it's definitely pieces of ceramic media. i've gotten it out of the tank, most of it. with a WC. thanks for telling me fish know what food is. I agree. i'm pretty surprised as well. it's also fallen below the filter sponge on the tank side. when I shine a flash light below it I can see the pieces there as well. i'm worried.

 

A couple of things come to mind; It's inert so it's not going to be toxic or anything like that and fish live in water with dissolved particles of all types, minerals, rocks, you name it, it's in the water. They'll be fine.

 

thank you for the response. I feel better now. it's just this is my first tank and I really am like laser focused on doing it properly, providing the best environment possible for my fishy friends.