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hello all, was just wondering what the difference was between the carbon, zeo-carb, and the amino-rid. why cant they just make one type of chemical media/insert. also just wanted to see what the aquaclear filter users on FP are using, media.

Carbon is just carbon.
Ammorid and zeo-carb were designed to absorb ammonia.

In an established tank ammonia shouldn't need to be absorbed since that's what our carefully established biofilter does .

I only run foam for the biofilter in my tanks. Only if it's necessary (meds removal for instance) do I run carbon. If my tanks werent' planted I might run carbon more frequently as it does do a good job of making that water sparkle.

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I only use sponge elements (run doubled up) in my numerous Aquaclear filters. In my AC300s I sometimes run a media bag of ceramic noodles ontop of the second sponge.

I can see the logic of using an ammo filter insert if starting a new tank up from scratch and if there are no established filters/tanks to grab good bacteria from. In practice, I just move one cycled sponge filter insert over onto a new tank and put a new one as the second one in the old tank so each filter would end up with one new and one cycled sponge element.

I would only use a carbon insert if trying to pull trace amounts of meds from the water. For controlling tannins and other pollutants, I find regular water changes a better bet than running continuous carbon.

Different folks like to do things differently. Providing all the filter element options is good marketing, I guess.

The bio-max ceramic rings are an excellent addition to the top of the filter. A really good addition.

All three replies are very good. The products that you mention are used to treat specific water chemistry problems that you might encounter.

In general, your AC will function wonderfully with two foam inserts. The foam functions as both a mechanical and as a biological filter. You will notice that the filter works better (clearer water) when the foam is dirty.

Carbon should be used primarily to remove impurities or meds from a tank. If you like to use carbon to polish your water, recognize that it has a life of about 14 days. After that time the carbon should be replaced or removed as it will begin to release the organic and inorganic compounds that have attached to its surface.

The renamed and re-packaged AC fuilters are now packaged with "bio-media". The porous ceramic rings can host a tremendous amount of beneficial bacteria. They are a great addition to any HOB or cannister filter.

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I also run my aquaclears with two sponges. One sponge can easily be transfered to a new filter for instant cycling At times I also add one of the carbon bags to the top of the filter to clear out tannins.

Run all my ACs on a combo of sponges and bio-media only.

alrite thx everyone for your replys, im currently using an ac 200 foam block (1x)and filter fibre, looks like cotton but is made out of different material. probally gonna get another foam block and the rings.

You will notice that the filter works better (clearer water) when the foam is dirty.

I didny know that, every week when i do my water changes i take my filters and clean them (whole thing). i notice at one of local fish stores that there AC Filter foam or media is like covered in sludge or watever. is it suspose to look like that. my foam blocks usually are dirty but are not black like the ones from the lfs.

how often do you take your sponges out and squeeze them? N how often do you guys clean your filters.

Last edited by haRg0wbOi at 23-Nov-2004 18:05

Depends on the tank how often I squeeze them out...I have some tanks that have a heavier bioload and need more rinsing, others only get a quick swish every now and then to helpe keep them running clear.

If the foam is full of "sludge" then the water is unable to pass thru, not exactly very efficient as a filter.

^_^
[link=H2g2]http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/upgrade.html" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] 2005 Don't Leave Home Without it[/font]

I should learn to qualify my adjectives. "Dirty" is not "sludge".

Your foam should be cleaned every other week at a minimum. Thoroughly rinse and squeeze your foam in waste aquarium water until you no longer can see any dirt leaving the filter. I clean my foam by siphoning water from the aquarium into a five gallon bucket. The foam is rinsed and squeezed under the flow from the siphon. Using this method you are less likely to destroy the bio-load of the foam.

With two foams in a filter, I do one piece each week and rotate the other unit down in the basket of the AC.

Last edited by Bob Wesolowski at 24-Nov-2004 10:50

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

well thx again, when i said sludge, i was talking about 1 of my local fish stores, i notice that even tho the ac media are covered with sludge, the tank still looks clear. he must have another filter in there. bob, im going to try your method of rinsing out the foam blocks.