Ive had this tank running for a year now and that charcoal filter block is getting clogged. Just wondering if the sponges would house enough bacteria to keep everything in order if i was to remove that. I want to put a bag of those ceramic filter stones in that section instead of the charcoal filter
Posted by Optimal-Bread858
3 Comments
theres bacteria colonies in the substrate and the roots of the floating plants too, maybe add a little bit of turbo start or some kind of bacteria culture if you are worried, you could also lets the ceramics soak in your tank for a few days before you switch out the charcoal so there is already some stuff grown on them
Rinse it out in your fishtank. Lets your filter media and substrate soak up the good bacteria
DON’T replace the foam with ceramics. Foam of any kind is a MUCH more effective biofiltration medium than ceramics, which are basically a scam.
To be clear the charcoal *in* the foam doesn’t matter, it’s the foam that’s important. If the foam is getting clogged, gently squeeze it out in a bucket. Not too many squeezes. The brown gunk that comes out isn’t poop, it’s your filter bacteria.
Actually, hang on..
It’s hard to tell from the pics, is the charcoal block you’re talking about some kind of cartridge? If so, yes, by all means remove it, it won’t make a difference to your cycle as long as you keep the foam. Don’t replace it with ceramics, though, replace it with more foam (20ppi).