change out media?

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sevenoaks

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 7, 2010
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USA
i just called Marine Depot and i was asking tech support about what i could do besides water changes about my out of control nitrate levels (all else is zero)
they told me i should be changing out my media every 6 months (1/4 of it). i use 'supra' which is lava rock and eheim ceramic balls(dont remember the german name) in my eheim canister 2217. also he said i should be replacing the 'noodles' , why would i change them as they only catch the big stuff before it gets to my bacteria colonies correct? im confused and thinking he is trying to sell me things. i am new to this so please set me straight on this. do you change out your media? i rinse it in tank water every time i change the pads.
 
do you ever rinse your media w/ tank h20? Do you ever drain your filters old h20 when pulling out the media? Whats ur substrate? Substrate holds in a lot of waste if not cleaned well. How often and how big are your wc's? Whats your stock?
 
Hi, i have reef substrate(similar to crushed coral) and a brackish tank with a 7 inch turtle in it. i am running two 2217's (eheim) canisters.(80 gals of water) i do a 85% water change every two weeks(i have to take the turtle out to do a water change, so i try to do alot of water less often to limit stress on the animal) i rinse the ceramic balls with tank water (that is where the beneficial bac is) and the rings with tap water. i replace coarse and fine pads. i do this once a month (turtles are messy) nitrite and ammonia are at zero.
i drain filter when cleaning media. i use a gravel vac (python) i dont know what else to do. should i be changing media twice a year? does the media foul ?
 
What exactly is your "out of control nitrates" reading?

Have you tried testing your nitrate level right from the tapwater?

It sounds like you are maintaining your filters properly though I would consider rinsing the blue coarse pads in tank water rather than replacing them. They are reusable for a long, long time.

Also, what kind of turtle do you have in this tank? What are you feeding him/her?
 
You shuold always provide ample mechanical filtration prior to your bio media...

If you follow that rule, then there is no reason to ever change bio media...


If you fail to offer thorough mechanical filtration then you will get physical waste collecting in the bio media. This physical waste will break down unnecessarily increasing your nitrates.
 
nc nutcase. please explain in simple form. i am new to all of this. i have rings and a coarse pad before my bio media.
 
tank size and stock?
 
i need a bigger tank but i am keeping three big one at the moment and it cant be done. the one with the nitrate problem is 80 gals of water (100 gal tank size) and a 7 inch turtle that gets fed out of the tank. no pellets just raw human grade fish and vitamins.
can i rinse the blue coarse pad with tap water. can i rinse my mech media (balls) with tap water.
i do get some gunk in with my bio media. does that mean i need more mech media to catch it first? would that help? i was thinking of a protein skimmer too as i keep brackish
my tap water is 5 ppm of nitrate but i put a tap water DI filter on it from API that helps a bit
 
yeah turtles need a LOT of filtration. they are poop machines. on the flip side they are lot more tollerant to water params than fish are.
hehe
 
My first theory has to do with how bacteria grows on everything in the system and bio media is a bunch of hype...

But if/when you decide to use bio media, my theory in regards to that is to offer thorough mechanical filtration before the bio media...

So in addition to the coarse pad you may also want to add a finer pad and possibily quilt batting / filter fabric. Feel free to rinse, wash or repalce this stuff as needed to keep water flowing through it freely.
 
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