[Pogthefish]

I thought I would give you a list of my favorite products and brand names.
(besides things you NEED like water conditioner and food)

My absoulute CANNOT go without is Aquarium pharmeseuticals, Quick start. It is great because i will do big water changes on some aquaruims, and i like to conserve the nitrogen cycle. It helps when i haven't done a water change in awhile, and i have my fishsitters use it while i'm on vacation. It is kind of expensive though, so I conserve as much as possible.

#2 ANYTHING aquarium pharmeseuticals, i love how simple their products are, and they have the same dosage for everything, 2 drops/gallon. I wish they made fish food! I would buy it! I use their freshwater salt, tap water conditioner, ph products, algae produts, and accu-clear.

#3 activated carbon :-D


I don't use aqueon chemical products, with one exception, their betta bowl plus. I havent noticed a difference in my bettas, but its worth a shot giving them extra nutrition.

i do like their tanks and mechanical products like filters and heaters.

I will note that their tanks are very well constructed, but i did buy one the other day that wasnt sealed properly, and i couldnt get my money back
-_-

leave ur comments on my products plzz!

 

[MadameDesu]

It's interesting that you mention activated carbon because a lot of people on this site have told me that it's kind of a scam ... I'm kind of at a loss because I'm not sure of what to do with my carbon, hahaha.

 

[ao]

The carbon is useful if you intend not to do as much water changes and have a non cycled tank. it gets rid of all the nasties (as well as medication and tannins). I guess it apl depends. Down side is that you need to change it all the time.

 

[Bombalurina]

It works well as mechanical filtration, and as Aokashi says, gets rid of any last traces of medication in the water, but I don't use it in any of my tanks. I didn't notice a benefit when I had it in in either water quality or clarity, and haven't seen a difference since removing it. My water is still crystal clear. I also don't use it because I can't be bothered to keep replacing it, and because it sucks my plant fertilisers out of the water before they have a chance to do their job.

My must haves:
- Prime
That's pretty much it.

 

[MadameDesu]

It works well as mechanical filtration, and as Aokashi says, gets rid of any last traces of medication in the water, but I don't use it in any of my tanks. I didn't notice a benefit when I had it in in either water quality or clarity, and haven't seen a difference since removing it. My water is still crystal clear. I also don't use it because I can't be bothered to keep replacing it, and because it sucks my plant fertilisers out of the water before they have a chance to do their job.

My must haves:
- Prime
That's pretty much it.

Would it hurt to just leave a cartridge in and rinse it out occasionally, or MUST it be changed on a regular basis?
What do you use for filtration now?
Annnnnnd what is Prime?

 

[Bombalurina]

Unless you replace the carbon it ceases to work in its chemical filtration capacity. It will still be a breeding ground for good bacteria, so it will work as biological filtration, but it won't suck the other chemicals out of the water anymore. So, if you want it to be effective as carbon, yes, it must be changed. If you don't need it to be, no, you don't have to change it (but if that is the case, I would replace it with a more effective form of biological filtration like sponge (higher surface area = more good bacteria)).

In my Fluval U2 I have the sponge components and the ceramic rings, having removed the carbon pads. In my U1, it's just the sponge (that's all it ever had). In my 5 gallon, which has a built-in filter, I have heaps of sponge, lots of ceramic rings and some plastic bio-balls.

Prime is a super-good conditioner by Seachem - gets rid of or detoxifies chlorine, chloramine, heavy metals, ammonia, nitrites, the whole lot.

 

[MrVampire181]

Does carbon really take out tannins? Because I have two corner filters going in one of my grow out tanks and the water is dark from IAL...

My must haves:

IAL
Stress Coat
Aqueon Water Changer (for big tanks, such a life saver)
ZooMed mirror for flaring my bettas
Atison Pro, Food, and Starter
and easy live plants.

 

[MadameDesu]

Ahhh, ok. I guess there's no harm in changing mine, since my tank is too small to cycle.
Prime sounds like a really good idea for me because my tap water has ammonia it -__-
As for my products, I must say that my fish is really enjoying her leaf hammock It's set up in the corner closest to me, so she likes to relax on it and watch me.

 

[Pogthefish]

activated carbon XD

Would it hurt to just leave a cartridge in and rinse it out occasionally, or MUST it be changed on a regular basis?
What do you use for filtration now?
Annnnnnd what is Prime?

i use at as a chlorine back up mostly, i dont notice alot of idfference, and i use it to get rid of meds in the water


u dont HAVE to change ut, but it becomes useless after awhile.

rinsing in chlorinated water fills it more and dechlorinated water is useless. most filter cartridges comw with it already and im not big on bacteria, i ahve enough stuff for it go grow on and i change the filter too often for the bacteria to clolonize. i mite put an algae sponge int here. anyone no if the bacteria will grow in a comcamparable manner to a filter?

 

[Bombalurina]

What really causes the bacteria to colonise a filter if the water movement. I have other filter media hidden throughout my tank, which does have bacteria on it, but not nearly as much as grows in my filter.

I would advise against changing your filter so often if your tank is more than 5 gallons. I'd also learn to be big on bacteria, as that is what converts ammonia (bad) into nitrate (much less bad). Any fishkeeper should love beneficial bacteria.

 

[Pogthefish]

how to you know that the bacteria is growing?

 

[MadameDesu]

how to you know that the bacteria is growing?

You'll know that there's bacteria if your ammonia and nitrites go down and nitrates go up.

Bacteria is indeed good, but since my tank is only 3 gallons, I don't worry about it much anymore.

 

[Pogthefish]

how do you know WHERE it is growing? And even if most of it is in my filter, shouldnt there be enough in the water to regrow on my filter once a month?? And will squeezing the contents of the old cartridge onto the new one help?

 

[MadameDesu]

Generally, bacteria will stick to any surface in the tank, some more than others. It's usually just found in the filter and substrate.
As for the squeezing question, I'm not too sure if that would work. Bacteria live ON THE MEDIA, so some may get squeezed out, but the remainder will probably stay in the old media.

 

[Pogthefish]

hmm :/ Well i have alot of stuff besides the filter for it to sitck to so i think im gud! lol

 

[MrVampire181]

Does your filter have a sponge of some sort? Generally you have a sponge type thing then a cartridge. If not buy some filter media from like PetCo so you can change the cartridge without killing your bacteria.

 

[inareverie85]

Prime. Prime. Prime.

... Did I mention Prime?

 

[MadameDesu]

I've been thinking about getting some prime because my source water has ammonia an nitrates. How much Prime is used for a gallon of water?

 

[Bombalurina]

I use 0.1ml per gallon.

Pog: although it may be to some extent on the decorations and substrate, the vast majority (90%) of it is in the filter. So, even if your cycle doesn't restart totally when you change the media, it jumps back a long way.

 

[MadameDesu]

.1ml?!??!?
How on earth do you measure that out?