I have an Aqueon HOB filter. what filter media should i put in it? right now i just have the carbon and floss (or whatever it is that comes in the majority of the filter cartridges for HOB filters). What should I put in it though as far as filter media goes?

They will run fine as they are, you just have to make sure that you are changing the filter pads ONE side every other week... The other option would be to "Build your own".

That would be using an old stocking and putting biomax in it, and using just the filter floss that comes in sheets to filter the small stuff...

I have the same filter on a tank that had Jags in it, so I just used the carbon. But the stocking gives you another option.

hmmm im more so curious to compare how the simple carbon thing works compared to other things. not something i have to do but something i would like to try...what do you mean by changing the filter pads one side every other week? like just flip them?

Carbon has a VERY short use life compared to other media. You will want to use a BRAND NEW filter pad every two weeks. So you change the left one one week, two weeks later you change the right one, then two weeks later you change the left one again. SO neither pad is left for more than a month...

ohsnapitscharity wrote:


Im not really sure about the size of the space for extra media in the aqueon (I've never used one) but you can pretty much put whatever you like in there I would think. Extra mechanical, or biological etc. If you go the biological route you can buy mesh bags in any pet store for them or do like Nicki said and use a stocking (I use the mesh with a bunch of small fluval ceramic rings, as much as I can cram in there without interrupting water flow or making it uneven). Also when Nicki was talking about 'staggering' your pad changes that also really helps with making sure you don't remove too much bacteria all at once.

As for the pads I would just try and get ones w/o carbon so you can use them longer, or remove it. For my emperor 400, the 'name brand' pads all contain carbon sealed in there, so I just buy generic ones of the same size that don't, since 'cutting' the wool to remove it kinda degrades the wool and can make it 'sag' in spots.

If you really are set on some carbon you could try that 'Boyd's chemi-pure' stuff and put that in one of the media sockets--that can be used generally for about 2 months or so as opposed to a week or 2. It's says 5-6 months but that's crap IMO. I don't really care for the hassle of carbon myself, especially in regards to the frequency of changes like Nicki stressed.

alright thanks for the replies so far. is it possible to mix a little bit of carbon in with other media? and when it goes bad just let it stay in the bag until the other media goes bad?

ohsnapitscharity wrote:



Some people leave the carbon in even after it has lost it's 'effectiveness' but really you dont want to do that b/c it can then leech impurities back into the water...and it loses its effectiveness QUICK. MUCH, MUCH quicker than the pad.
So its best and most cost effective to get a cartridge with wool that you can open and close, so you can replace the carbon but keep the pad. Or rig one up yourself like I did since marineland doesnt make carbon free pads....Tetra whisper makes pads like that, and they come with separate carbon you can add or remove. I dont know if you could fit one of those sizes into your filter, but you might want to go to the store and size them up with your pads to see as they do come in different sizes. I think alot of the companies seal the carbon in the pads because they want you knowing that the carbon loses its effectiveness quickly, thus ensuring you pay top price for replacements very, very often.

www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753024

Carbon you need to keep separated, either within the mechanical media (the wool etc), or in its own casing it came with...packets and such. You dont want granules of carbon or the carbon dust mixing in or floating freely around.

You also want to make sure within that media it is evenly dispersed and not simply sitting at the bottom like in a mesh bag. Thats why alot of carbon included bads have spearate compartments/ridges inside them to keep the carbon even and not sinking to the bottom. When I used the chemi-pure before I laid the bag flat and even inside an empty plastic replacement cartridge that fit my filter and could be used for any type of extra media, and snapped it together. That way it would get even water flow through it .

hmmm interesting. i guess i need to research mechanical, biological, and chemical filteration....hmmm i am interested in trying different stuff out indeed.can i put other media in the back of the filter just floating around or does all of it have to be in a media bag? most HO?B filters have space behind the area where the ridges are that you slip carbon in and thats where im talking about

ohsnapitscharity wrote:


Well, most filters have extra spaces behind the wool pads where you can put extra pads in for more mechanical filtration which would be just fine (although biological filtration is the most critical) , or you can use that space to put in biological filtration, which is essentially just objects which have a ton of surface area i.e. the ceramic rings and 'bio-balls' or the 'star thingys'.

You want to keep them in mesh bags and such--you dont want them escaping into the tank and it would be kind of a pain collecting them all when you inevitably have to take the filter apart to clean it. You can essentially buy the bags (or stocking) and fill em up with those things and cram em in behind the wool. The more the better, b/c that means you have more surface area, and, thus more bacteria. Just make sure like I said before you dont actually block water flow too much, b/c then the water could just head back into the tank from overflow guard without being filtered, or, if the media is not generally evenly dispersed from bottom to top, the water will simply flow around it rather than through it.

You want to keep them behind the pads, right before the water goes out back into the tank.

BTW, maybe if PAUL sees this thread he'll show you his setup...He's the master of filtration.

alright cool. going to petsmart and walmart tomorrow to check stuff out and get some needed stuff for my ten gallon.

ohsnapitscharity wrote:


Yeah, you know, run with it, make it YOUR unique filter, add some personal touch to it. That way you can say 'hey, this is MY filter, there are many LIKE it but THIS one is MINE...let me show you why..."