[Pogthefish]

i was thinking of putting in an algae sponge with the cartridge because its activated carbon so u hav 2 change it.

 

[sparkyjoe]

Yes, I think that would mess with your cycle. I have a filter with a carbon filter media cartridge and I'm not swapping it out, I just rinse/swish it in old tank water a couple times a month to get rid of excess debris.

 

[Pogthefish]

but thd carbon wont work anymore if u do that

 

[sparkyjoe]

Yeah, but you really only need carbon if you're trying to remove something from the water like a medicine.

Think of those with sponge filters, they don't have a source of carbon yet the tanks are/can be cycled.

You really don't need it to be active in a normal tank and once it's still good as a surface for beneficial bacteria.

 

[jasonh]

but thd carbon wont work anymore if u do that

i dont think activated carbon even works that long.

 

[Pogthefish]

i like to be safe and it also keeps out chlorine, just in case i mess up i wanna be sure about the water i give my fish

 

[MrVampire181]

You DO NOT change the filter media. You only change the cartridge.

 

[kfryman]

Carbon is very porous, so it has a while lot of surface area that you can not really see. So at first carbon will eliminate nutrients for plants, ammonia and any medicine. After about a week carbon is actually no longer useful, besides to house bacteria. Changing it every months is pretty much a giant scam, if you are gonna keep replacing you should replace it **** every week, expensive? Yeah don't replace it unless it is falling apart, and if you do seed it.

 

[Pogthefish]

ok but still, wat about the algae sponge thing to help with the bacteria? if i put it in the filter?

 

[MrVampire181]

Filter moss from PetCo can go in your filter so you change it without worrying about losing the bacteria.

But in all seriousness.... just do regular small water changes and don't even worry about changing the cartridge other than a dip in dechlor water during every water change.

 

[Mankey]

Wait. So it's a waste of money to replace the filter cartridges? Even though they look all green/black and stuff?

 

[Pogthefish]

well i till want to use carbon so....

 

[sparkyjoe]

well i till want to use carbon so....

That is totally your right, just know that you'll likely mess up your cycle if you change the whole filter media cartridge.

 

[Pogthefish]

yes but i was gunna put an alage sopnge in front of the cartridge to gow bacteria too

 

[scootshoot]

Yes. Only time to change filter media is when it's falling apart. Otherwise just rinse the gunk off with aquarium water and insert it back in.

 

[sparkyjoe]

Here's an interesting article about the use of carbon. http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/carbon.htm

I don't know exactly what you mean by an algae sponge.

And what type (brand, model) filter do you have?

 

[MrVampire181]

I think the OP means putting an algae sponge in the filter as media so they can change the cartridge without destroying the cycle.

 

[sparkyjoe]

MrV, is that just a piece of sponge filter media? I promise I Googled "algae sponge" and all I found for freshwater were those used to scrape algae off of tank walls.

I have one internal filter that uses filter/carbon cartridges and I'm going to swap it out for something else as soon as I'm able (I will seed the new filter from the old). I find I prefer more control over what types of media I use and the one I have seems quirky in that it uses cartridges that are very specific and will not easily allow for adding anything else in the filter.

I'm honestly beginning to get the feeling that the OP is going to do what they feel best, so it doesn't really matter.

 

[Pogthefish]

no i mean sponges u buy to grow algae on 4 ur algae eaters. they sell those

 

[Pogthefish]

and if u think carbon is "bad or a waste of money" then where do i buy a filter that does not contain carbon?