Good Filter Media??
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This might be an old, re-run topic, but I haven’t seen it on this forum as of late. Anyway, I’m looking for suggestions or success stories on what folks have kept in their larger canister filters over the years. When I first got into Turtles, my dad told me how great activated carbon was (he has a large FISH tank), so I bought a big ole carton full of this stuff. Of course, I found out the hard way that carbon is just too small of a filter media to work any length of time with our dirty little turtles (clogs too easily)……too much maintenance for me! The best thing that I have found so far is the media that comes with the Eheim filters. I think that it is called Substrat Pro or something like that. It is a large media, so it doesn’t clog easily, and it is re-usable (rinse it in between filter changes – 3 months). The only problem is my nitrates and phosphates are still a little higher than I would like and I am having to deal with some of that dreaded black beard algae……really nasty stuff! So I’m in the market for some newer, improved filter media that might be able to help??? Anybody have any ideas or what have you guys had luck with? The “Matrix” product put out by Seachems looks interesting. Anybody ever used it with their turtle tanks? Thanks for your input and help, Jimbo
Hi Jimbo, Well the thing about activated carbon versus the other media type you referred to is that they are different methods of filtration. Activated carbon is a chemical or adsorptive filter designed to remove odors and tannins (brown discoloration). It is not a mechanical or biological filter so it is not designed to filter out solid waste. It also needs to be changed on a monthly basis or it will leach back into the water everything it adsorbed. There should be some other type of filter media that forms the first line of defense to mechanically filter out solid waste, usually some type of floss. The Substrat Pro you mentioned is actually a biological filter and not a very good mechanical filter. It will colonize aerobic bacteria which break down ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates. If you do rinse it, DO NOT rinse with TAP water, the chlorine will kill all the beneficial bacteria. Instead, rinse with old tank water or dechlorinated water. Now it sounds like you have an excess of nitrates in your tank which acts as a fertilizer for algae. The only way to effectively remove nitrates and phosphates is by regular water changes, 25-50% weekly. Seachem’s Matrix is a good activated carbon, but in order to utilize it effectively, you should first have some sort of mechanical filter like Ehfi Fix (Eheim) and biological filter like Substrat Pro. -Stephen C — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “jimbo_craig”
OK, the carbon is not going to do the trick, what I’m looking for it suggestions from a whole lot of turtlers on types of filter media that has worked for them in their large canister filters over the years for them. Everybody out there in Turtleland, what do you lady’s and gentlemen use in your filters? Are you really happy with your results? I have a basic understanding of filtration systems, have set them up properly using both mechanical and biological filtration media (either using Eheim or Seachems’ products). I have 2 filters (Eheim 2028 & the Magnum Pro with the two Bio-wheels) running in a 90 gallon tank, but I really only have 65 gallons in there, so filtration should be sufficient for two 5 inch turtles and some fish. Yet my Phosphates are always at 2.0 and my Nitrates are usually at 40 to 80 (hard to tell what it is with these stupid color charts sometimes??). Ammonia and Nitrites are always at zero. I am doing weekly 18 to 23% water changes weekly. Anyway, I wouldn’t care much about these levels if I wasn’t having the problem with the ugly black beard algae! So I’m hoping a different/better kind of filter media will help out with my problem??? Stephen, the Seachems Matrix product I was talking about might be new on the market or something…..I hadn’t seen it before. It is simply called “Matrix” and it is not the Matrix Carbon. I saw it on Seachem’s web site and at PetsMart also. I’m not sure if it would be any better of a biological media than the Eheim Substrat Pro or not??? Thanks again for all your help, Jimbo —- Stephen Chew
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