Post by fishfever on Apr 13, 2010 21:05:26 GMT -5
Yesterday my wife commented on how sparkling clean the water was in our 26g after I cleaned it out this weekend. I noticed it myself; normally the water looks great but it seemed super-clean and ultra-polished today like I've never seen. The clarity of the fish was amazing and it looked like they were floating in the air actually. I don't even have the Purigen bag replaced in the filter yet (I soak it a day in bleach water, then soak it a day in tap water and rinse it out several times before putting it back usually 2-3 days after a cleaning). So that wasn't the cause of this. Well I know I didn't do anything different except introduce a second cartridge in my Aqua Via Vitalife 200 HOB to get it seasoned. I took the lava rock bag and hung it inside the tank and put the new filter cartridge in it's place (kept the old one in original position). So essentially I'm double filtering the water. One other thing I noted is that the original filter has a slit down the middle when I removed the carbon last summer to treat something that didn't really need treating as it turned out (yes this cartridge is quite old but really looks fine still other than the slit). But it could be that the original cartridge is letting too much food/waste by since it has the slit and the new one is doing most of the work. Or it could be a combination of the two. In any case, I'll know in a few weeks because I'll be tossing the old filter out and it will only be one filter without the slit.
I guess if it turns out that it was more the double filtration that provided this extra purity/clarity, I'd like to keep doing it. But that means the lava rock bag would have to go or be placed outside the filter housing. I'm not sure it will be effective if it's not in the direct flow path (I might be able to tie it off so the water coming out of the filter hits it but it won't be directly in the flow path as it was when inside the filter housing). I credit it for keeping my nitrates essentially at zero even when it's been a while since the last water change. I'm thinking as long as I keep up with the water changes, my nitrates should still be in the acceptable range. Certainly not 0, but within acceptable limits. Any thoughts on double filtering?
I guess if it turns out that it was more the double filtration that provided this extra purity/clarity, I'd like to keep doing it. But that means the lava rock bag would have to go or be placed outside the filter housing. I'm not sure it will be effective if it's not in the direct flow path (I might be able to tie it off so the water coming out of the filter hits it but it won't be directly in the flow path as it was when inside the filter housing). I credit it for keeping my nitrates essentially at zero even when it's been a while since the last water change. I'm thinking as long as I keep up with the water changes, my nitrates should still be in the acceptable range. Certainly not 0, but within acceptable limits. Any thoughts on double filtering?
