AC 300 media question.

[cnoel08]

I have an AC 300 and i have a sponge on the intake that i clean every week or two. But the real question is how often do i need to change the filter media. It has a sponge on bottom, then carbon, and then an ammonia remover insert. I was told at first to just take the carbon out and add an extra sponge b/c the charcoal doesnt really do a whole lot. Is that true?

So i guess the ?s are.
1) How often do i need to rinse the media? it is an AC300 (up to 100gal tanks) on a 29.
2) Should i chunk the carbon and add an extra sponge.
3) Should i get rid of the ammonia remover insert and add another sponge too?

Thanks for the help

 

[davidtcb1]

The carbon will quit working after a fairly short amount of time, so yes, I'd either add another sponge or some type of mechanical media (floss, etc.) or maybe a media bag of bio media like small ceramic cylinders, etc. for extra biological filtration.

As far as the sponge, I would rinse it once a month or when the water flow slows down significantly.