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Different filter media for Whisper 3i?

268 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by  givemethatfish, 
Rimbaum
When I bought Ahti's 1.5 gallon tank, it came with a Whisper 3i filter. I honestly have no complaints about it (after cushioning the air pump to dampen the noise, anyways), but I'm curious. Since I'm going to be getting a planted tank soon, and will likely want to dose with fertilizers, I've read that I'll want to get rid of charcoal to help the ferts work better. Naturally, the filter cartridges have charcoal in them.

So my question is, does anyone have suggestions for replacements of the cartridges? Would a piece of aquarium sponge work? If so, will I have to re-cycle my tank, for all that a 1.5 gallon tank can be cycled?
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givemethatfish
Charcoal in a filter really is only effective for 2-4 weeks. After that, it stops doing the things the carbon does, and it just becomes another place for bacteria to grow.

You can either just leave the charcoal in since after a while it won't do anything charcoaly anyways or you can add in a piece of aquarium sponge along with it and then wait a few weeks then remove the charcoal cartridge. Bacteria are always interested in living in the most favorable place with the least competition for food, so enough bacteria will spread out migrate to the sponge that you should be safe removing the other cartridge after a while.
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