SupersoNick95 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Aquaclears are my favorite filters for small tanks. I have a 20-long and use an AC30 and so far it has been running great. I would like more room in the basket for floss and purigen. I know Cory and many others advocate for the use of sponge filters because they have immense surface area for beneficial bacteria. I assume the same would apply to the sponge inside the Aquaclear. Would removing my existing ceramic media cause a crash? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supermassive Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I would say it depends on how long the tank has been setup and how heavy the bioload is. I have a couple tanks with ACs and they're less than a year old. One has a betta and a nerite and I doubt it would be a problem to remove the ceramic media. The other tank has goldfish and I think it could end badly if I removed it all at once. I also kind of want to exchange the ceramic media so I have more room for floss and sponges. I've thought about temporarily putting some of the ceramic media in the small section with the inlet pipe if I was going to swap for something else in the basket. Then removing it after a month or so once the new material is established with bacteria. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 It depends on how long your aquarium has been cycling for. If it has been set up awhile, bio will coat all hard surfaces. If you have hardscape like lava rock in there, bio will be honeycombed everywhere in there. I guess there's always risks with unknowns . . . but I'd totally do whatever you want with your HOB. BTW, I like AquaClear filters a lot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Do you want to replace the ceramic media with sponge? That is fine. However, I wouldn't do it right away. Add the sponge to the existing HOB, wait a month and then remove the ceramic media. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupersoNick95 Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 3:41 PM, Galabar said: Do you want to replace the ceramic media with sponge? That is fine. However, I wouldn't do it right away. Add the sponge to the existing HOB, wait a month and then remove the ceramic media. I already have the stock sponge inside that has been running for several months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 12:42 PM, SupersoNick95 said: I already have the stock sponge inside that has been running for several months. I'm guessing that (sponge only) should be fine for a 20 long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 1/11/2024 at 11:31 AM, SupersoNick95 said: Would removing my existing ceramic media cause a crash? It should not. That being said I basically won't ever run a filter without some form of ceramic or rock media just for stability sake. Some sponge filters can just really struggle to hold a cycle more than others. Not all sponge (or pot scrubber) is created equal. ....the same applies to biomedia. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 On 1/12/2024 at 3:08 AM, nabokovfan87 said: It should not. That being said I basically won't ever run a filter without some form of ceramic or rock media just for stability sake. Some sponge filters can just really struggle to hold a cycle more than others. Not all sponge (or pot scrubber) is created equal. ....the same applies to biomedia. I'm almost positive that I already know the answer, but I have to ask: What is a pot scrubber as used here? Are we talking the various grades of "ScotchBite' pads , or stainless steel scrubbing sponges, or something else? I have been using the white polishing pads for cleaning the glass, but have been hesitant to use the coarser pads as filter media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galabar Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 (edited) Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Scouring-Plastic-Non-Scratch-Scrubbers-Assorted/dp/B07ZRMPM7F Edited January 12 by Galabar 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 On 1/12/2024 at 8:11 AM, Tanked said: I'm almost positive that I already know the answer, but I have to ask: What is a pot scrubber as used here? Are we talking the various grades of "ScotchBite' pads , or stainless steel scrubbing sponges, or something else? I think it's all plastic. Basically it's similar material to what you see onions and potatoes shipped in sometimes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I have those in one tray of my wet/dry filter and my aquarium functions well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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