Brita Filters and Pur Filters (was Re: Newbie with a fungus problem)

When you say your "baseline tests were zero for ammonia at first then went up the next day"... was that for your tap water baseline? Did you add dechlor to the tap water immediately before testing or strictly rely on your Britta filter? My first thoughts would be that the Brita filter would catch the chloramine but we know carbon doesn't catch ammonia but is supposed to catch chlorine... so I'm not sure how it treats chloramine (which is a combination chemical made of chlorine and ammonia). But then I would think that Brita and Pur would add something to their little tap water filters that would catch the chloramine since I'm sure their customers expect it.

Here's what Brita says...
http://www.brita.com/us/support/about-impurities/
BritaR water tastes better because BritaR filtration systems reduce chlorine (taste and odor)1. Because BritaR filters remove only small amounts of fluoride over the life of the filter, you don't have to worry about missing out on the benefits of fluoride in your tap water.2

How the BritaR Faucet Filter works
An added layer around the filter traps large particulate matter from the water. Activated powdered carbon acts like a sponge, sucking up Chlorine (taste and odor and Benzene). A zeolite acts like a magnet attracting Lead

Then from the FAQ page...
http://www.brita.com/us/support/faq/faucet-faq/
The BritaR Faucet Filter removes microbiological cryptosporidium and giardia. It also reduces lead, TTHM, VOCs, lindane (pesticide), 2,4-D, alachlor, atrazine (herbicide), chlorine (taste and odor) and sediment1. For more information about the impurities that BritaR Faucet Filters reduce, including any health risks they may help avoid confusion.

NOTICE that it specifically mentions "Chlorine" but doesn't mention Chloramine... and then it says it only "reduces chlorine", not remove it completely.... things that make you go hmmmmm????

To be "Fair and Balanced", here's what I found on the Pur website...
http://www.purwater.com/#/contaminants
http://www.purwater.com/manuals/PUR_Filter_Comparison.pdf
Well.. unfortunately, you'll have to read the Pur website yourself since the Pur website relies on Flash Player and PDF file to display what their filters do but they also do NOT mention anything about removing or reducing chloramine... only REDUCING chlorine.

Unless someone else can find something definitive and in writing from either of these companies, I would strongly suggest that you NOT rely on these faucet filters for removing chlorine or chloramine from your tap water to be used in your fish tanks. You should still use a dechlor product when using these types of filter systems. They might be OK in removing some other nasties that our fish may not like but they do not make the water completely fish ready.

Lenny Vasbinder
Fish Blog - http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/
(Links to any articles referenced in above reply are listed on the right
side, alphabetically under Labels and also under Archives by Year, Month)

-----Original Message-----
From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Menagerie_Manager
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 3:35 PM
To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem?

Lots of stuff to catch up on. I'll post a complete update later
tonight.

- Concerns about chloramines started, I believe, because my Baseline tests
were zero for Ammonia at first and then went up the next day. I'll verify
that before my post tonight.
- Red streaks still pretty much the same - will try for a picture.
- All fish eating and CB much more active, but does still rest more than
the others.
- Bought the dechlor because I wanted to stop using the Brita tap filter.
It didn't cost much, so no big deal if I need to stick with the Prime. For
some reason I thought maybe the chloramines were coming from the filter, but I'll do another Baseline test on just the straight tap water before I do
anything. I'm sticking with the Brita for continuity until the fish don't
need any more meds. I'll check with the water company on Monday.
- Did a big PWC today pre-PraziPro, because it seems to need at least 3
days between treatments. Can I just treat replacement water if I need to do
a PWC before then?

More later.

DebR and the Three Goldfish
(CB, Lucille, and Raven)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com
<mailto:sevenspringss%40wmconnect.com> >
To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> >
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 12:48 PM
Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem?

With the amounts of water you are changing daily, I'm now beginning
to get suspicious of the ammonia and nitrite test results remaining
at their previous levels. If this continues, I'd have to suggest
your looking further at these tests, their reagents or the manner in
which they're being read. If these are found to be A-OK, then I
would suspect that (1) much of you present ammonia is from your water
supply coming to you as chloramine, and/or (2) your filter is far
from being cycled, or by now the ammonia-converting bacteria should
be sufficient to take care of any influx of new ammonia/ammonium,
even though the nitrite-converting bacteria may not yet be expect to
keep up. We'll work on it though.

Noticing Lucille's Septicemia is unchanged. While its not especially
expected that all fish involved, affected by the same parameters
which may have brought this on, should necessarily develop
Septicemia, after time exposed to these same parameters (if they do
still exist) it could be looked forward to seeing some development of
this in the other fish. If its possible, can you get a pic of
Lucille, showing these streaks?

Are all fish still eating? If it does become necessary to treat for
Septicemia, it should be welcomed to note that it is deemed safe to
use Maracyn II (an antibiotic of choice for Septicemia) in conjuction
with PraziPro. Too, PraziPro is seen to be a rather mild medication,
which also should be a welcomed bit of info.

As Lenny mentioned, there's no need to get a dechlor in addition to
Prime, as Prime will do the same thing. Your apparent (by you) need
for a dechlor might suggest to me that you feel you have chlorine in
your tap water which you want to detoxify. Are you quite sure you do
not have chloramine in your tap water, and if you know you do (but
then, why would you want a dechlor?), you should be aware that your
Brita filter on your water supply may not remove chloramine -- or may
be only limited in its effectiveness against chloramine. If you have
chloramine, which I just assumed all along as more and more water
companies are converting to this, not only should you have been using
at least your Amquel+ all along (preferably, Prime), but you should
not consider using a dechlor (which removes chlorine only) in an
effort to save money, as was suggested unless you're sure you only
have chlorine. Otherwise, you should use Prime now, and continue to
use it if your ammonia results indicate your having this waste
product and regardless of your Brita filter, if you know this is in
your water supply. A quick call to your supplier should tell you.
Ray

--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Menagerie_Manager"
Tuesday Night Check in (Day 22 of Salt - Day 6 of reduced)
Tank readings @ 10:30AM: pH: 7.6; Ammonia: slightly
under .25ppm;
Nitrite: .25ppm; Nitrate: 5 -10ppm
5G PWC @ 1PM
6G PWC @ 11:30PM
maintaining salt at 1tsp/G
Added 1tsp of Amquel+ to tank (1/2 dose, because I don't have an
airstone)
Lucille's Septicemia unchanged

I'll be going to the pet store tomorrow and will get the Prime and also some Dechlor so I don't have to use my Brita filter. I keep telling myself to get it and I keep forgetting.

DebR and the Three Goldfish
(CB, Lucille, and Raven)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@...>
To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 12:51 PM
Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem? Q FOR RAY

Again, good to see their size difference is now noticeable. You can grow fish from small and their day to day growth is hardly obvious. Then, all of a sudden you might take note of the difference, when seeing them from a different perspective (and that might not only be from a different viewing angle). Prime would be the better choice to use, and you wouldn't have to worry about any partial oxygen depletion affecting the fish as a result of it.
With your recent PWC's, you tank should be fairly free of leftover medications; this should help in giving the fish some needed stimulation (like a breath of fresh water) before medicating with the PraziPro. No doubt now, as the fish are filling out their 20 gallon tank, that you can see why a much larger tank will be needed. Always nice to see fish thriving, which their growth often indicates. Any improvement in the red streaking of the fins? Am hoping that eliminating the free-ammonia (NH3) by converting it to NH4+ will address that issue, as it was that which brought it on, but if it
becomes necessary Maracyn II (Minocycline) can be used to clear up
bacteria hemorrhagic septicemia, although we'd rather not go that route right now unless absolutely necessary. As per usual, keep us posted. Ray

--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
, "Menagerie_Manager"
menagerie_manager@&gt; wrote:
Well, if I'm going to want an airstone to feel safe using the Amquel+, I might as well price the Prime while I'm there. No connection between the
Amquel+ and the fish growing. That was a side note. I've been so focused
on the health problems that I hadn't noticed the growth until a couple of
days ago, when Lucille cruised past CB and I thought, "Wow! She has got to be three times her size!" That's mass-wise, not length-wise. I think she's
about half an inch or so longer than CB, but all three were about the same
size when they arrived. But then I stood back and looked at all three and
realized that even CB has grown some in the last month. They were in a 10G tank for the last year, so now they're filling out their 20G tank.

DebR and the Three Goldfish
(CB, Lucille, and Raven)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@>
To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 6:51 AM
Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem? Q FOR RAY
Lowering the water level will help increase the aeration as the outflow from your filter will have a further distance to fall, and while helpful, may not necessarily create near as much surface circulation as would an airstone.
I do not understand what you're saying. What does using Amquel+ or its often needed increase in aeration have anything to do with your fish growing? I don't see any connection here except that if you don't use Amquel+ to convert your ammonia (and increase the aeration as needed) you fish may not live long enough to continue to grow.
I also don't understand the sudden awareness that your fish are growing now; since when have you suddenly become aware that they're growing? Since you first started posting their problems, or since you lowered their water level, or since you started your PWC regimen or since you started removing the salt (???); I don't understand how you mean this. Unless stunted, under normal conditions and with proper maintenance, fish continue to slowly grow constantly -- even if imperceptibly.

My first choice would have been SeaChem's Prime for use as a Chloramine neutralizer, but with your already having Amquel+ I couldn't in good conscious send you out to specifically just get Prime. Prime has never been seen to cause a problem (as far as I've ever become aware of) in the way of deceased fish as a result of using it, regardless of any manner of aeration.

On the other hand, while the original formula Amquel (note -- no +) which has been discontinued never created a problem, this newer formula of Amquel+ has been reported to lead to many fish deaths when even slightly overdosed -- and there's no way of knowing exactly how much is needed when the water company may increase or decrease their usual level of chloramine at any time. After learning how this new formula works, it has been recommended to increase the aeration when using Amquel+ as a precaution, even though it may not normally be needed. There have been far fewer fish death reports as a result of this; and I would not rely solely on the relatively smaller benefit of lowering the water level for this increase in aeration. Ray

In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com&gt; , "Menagerie_Manager"
menagerie_manager@&gt; wrote:

I totally understand. I think it was after I first mentioned having used the Amquel+ a couple of times that Lenny suggested I lower the water
levels to get better aeration. I'll use it, but only as a last resort, since the goldfish are growing, now.

DebR and the Three Goldfish
(CB, Lucille, and Raven)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@>
To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 1:10 AM
Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem? Q FOR
RAY
Yes, Amquel+ is quite safe to use with PraziPro. Its strictly a
chloramine neutralizer which breaks the chlorine -- ammonia bond
and converts the ammonia to ammonium. Increased amounts are best
used with the benefit of added aeration which aids in the safety of process of this conversion, whether or not its used in concert with anything else. I mention this as, with just the use of Amquel+ alone in normal usage for chloramine neutralizing, there have been reports at times of fish dying from the use of this product, when the oxygen balance hasn't been maintained during its use. The ammonia -- ammonium converting process uses oxygen. Unless the chloramine added to your water is excessive and you need to use more Amquel+ than one normally might, it should be totally safe, but I mention using an airstone only to play it safe to cover any possibility and to ensure adequate O2 levels (I like safeguards -- even if not needed).
Ray
--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com&gt; , "Menagerie_Manager"
menagerie_manager@&gt; wrote:

That link I sent for you to see my salt levels is just a link to the AquaticLife Files Page's "Water Chemistry" folder. None of the other files on that page are mine. I don't know enough about fish to be writing info sheets. lol!
I do have Amquel+ on hand. I'll use it if 2 PWCs a day doesn't do the
job. Is it safe to use along with the PraziPro? (which should have arrived
by today, but I guess Christmas has the mail slowed down)

OMG! I cannot believe how HUGE Lucille is getting! She's almost twice
as long as CB, now, and absolutely gorgeous. Gotta get that big tank as
soon as possible.

DebR and the Three Goldfish
(CB, Lucille, and Raven)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@>
To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 12:13 AM
Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem? Q FOR
RAY
Good to see that the white spot on Raven has cleared up; one less thing to have to worry about. Goldfish should have no osmotic problems at 1 tsp/G salt, and there's no need to add any more if the septicemia gets worse. One tsp/G is not much more than the token recommended level of 0.6 tsp/G when we say to use 1 Tbs/5 Gallons when treating Ich -- for even the most salt-intolerant fish, like Cory's and Tetra's. With nitrogenous waste still present in your water column, I would not reduce your salt level much lower.

When opening the link for your files to check out your Excel Sheet for salt levels, I noticed one of your other files with a heading, "Should I Change The Water During The Initial Nitrogen Cycle," to which the opening statement was, "Not if you can avoid it." This of course is quite true, as the more water you change (and the less ammonia and nitrite are available for the nitrifying bacteria), the longer it will take to cycle the tank. But there comes a time, if these consistent levels affect the health of your fish, that changing out water can no longer be avoided. This is primarily why we advocate fish-less cycling -- it can otherwise rough on your fish.

There is a helpful point I left out from my lost post only as I had forgotten to include it again (and just another reason why I hate losing a post), which should be useful to you. To at least address the toxic issues of your ammonia poisoning, this waste product being the more toxic of the two (ammonia and nitrite), by using Prime (SeaChem) or Amquel +, this ammonia will convert to harmless ammonium which will still be used by your nitrifying bacteria. This should help if you feel you need to reduce the salt level somewhat to avoid osmotic problems, as well as not going too ballistic in changing out water -- while increased PWC's are encouraged to further reduce your nitrite, this is not quite as toxic as ammonia -- besides,
your cycle should be near complete.

In looking over your salt reduction chart, it's now more understandable when you say you added salt while at the same time reducing the total salt level. Had you not added back the 1 tsp/G of salt while doing the PWC at the 2.29 tsp/G level, it would have dropped to 1.91 - 1.92 tsp/G instead of 2.08 tsp/G. I know you've since done more PWC's, but I can see by this exactly where the salt went each time. Ray

> > > > --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> , "Menagerie_Manager"
> > > > <menagerie_manager@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > OK, I'll be maintaining salt at 1tsp/G unless CB has
> > trouble
> > > > with
> > > > > osmotic problems or Lucille's septicemia gets worse. I
guess
> if
> > > > they both
> > > > > get worse I'll have to separate one out.
> > > > >
> > > > > The white spot on Raven has gone away, so I'll wait on
> the
> > > > Acriflavin.
> > > > >
> > > > > Rather than try and explain verbally where I am with
the
> > salt
> > > > level and
> > > > > how I got there, I've updated my Excel sheet:
> > > > > http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%
<http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%>
> > > > 20Chemistry/
> > > > > scroll down to "DebRs Salt levels.xls".
> > > > >
> > > > > I'll start doing 5G PWCs twice a day and see if that
gets
> > the
> > > > ammonia
> > > > > and nitrate down.
> > > > >
> > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > (I really do want my mommy, now)
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > -------------message inserted for continuity-------------
> > > > >
> > > > > Monday Afternoon Check in (Day 21 of Salt - Day 6 of
reducing
> > it)
> > > > >
> > > > > Oh snap! I just came to check my email *after* doing
the
> > > > PWC. The
> > > > > salt is now down to 1tsp/G. I really think I needed to
lower
> it
> > > > yesterday
> > > > > just to keep CB alive. She's eating, now, and no longer
> sitting
> > > on
> > > > the
> > > > > bottom of the tank looking like death warmed over. Lucille
is
> > the
> > > > stronger
> > > > > and larger of the three fish, so, unless the septicemia get
> > worse,
> > > > I'll
> > > > > leave it at 1tsp/G and just try to get the ammonia and
nitrite
> > > > lower. Will
> > > > > the zeolite help with this level of salt in the tank?
> > > > >
> > > > > - Tank readings @ noon: pH:7.6 (anything I can do to lower
> > > this?);
> > > > > Ammonia: slightly under .25; Nitrite: .25 (if my baseline
> > hadn't
> > > > been zero,
> > > > > I'd think the test wasn't working right); Nitrate: 10
> > > > > - 3G PWC @ 1pm
> > > > >
> > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > >
> > > > > -------------End of message inserted for continuity---------
--
> --
> > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > From: "Raymond Wetzel" <sevenspringss@>
> > > > > To: <AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> >
> > > > > Sent: Monday, December 22, 2008 2:15 PM
> > > > > Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem? Q
FOR
> > RAY
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Hello Deb, As mentioned in my previous post, I intended on
> > doing
> > > a
> > > > > follow-up, but wanted to get that info to you ASAP. I did
> want
> > to
> > > > > address this post of yours from late (11:20PM) Saturday
night,
> > > which
> > > > > I saw yesterday/Sunday morning. I have not replied to any
of
> > your
> > > > > more recent messages between when I posted to you last,
around
> > > noon
> > > > > on Friday, and this message of yours directed at me as you
> were
> > > > > directing your messages elsewhere and being assisted
> accordingly
> > > (I
> > > > > don't like to meddle). When I did see your message, I wrote
> > you a
> > > > > long detailed reply to all matters of it, and I was about 2
> > > seconds
> > > > > away from sending it when my power went out -- the storm
here
> > was
> > > > > pretty intense. Always my luck though when attempting to
send
> > > > > something I spent a lot of time on, but this time I can't
> blame
> > my
> > > > > lousy 'putor (which any other time is the usual cause).
> > > > >
> > > > > I doubt I'll remember all I wanted to advise you of, as
that's
> > > > > normally what happens in these instances (nothing new to
me!),
> > but
> > > > > I'll try. For starters, I wanted to mention that it never
> hurts
> > > to
> > > > > feed pea meat, as you've been doing, in hopes that might
> correct
> > > any
> > > > > constipation issues (and hopefully might be the root cause
of
> > the
> > > > > problem), even though that's doesn't appear to be the
problem
> > > here.
> > > > >
> > > > > It's encouraging to note that CB is acting a bit better,
which
> > > > > indicates he still has reserve strength (always a good
sign).
> > On
> > > > the
> > > > > salt issue, I noticed on 12/18 (Thursday) that the salt
> content
> > > was
> > > > > at 2.75 tsp per Gallon, and after you did the PWC around
Noon
> > that
> > > > > day, it was at 2.29 tsp/G. At that time you stated you
> intended
> > > on
> > > > > holding the salt at around 2 tsp/G. I hadn't seen anything
on
> > any
> > > > > PWC you may have done on 12/19 (nothing posted on any PWC's
> that
> > > > > day).
> > > > >
> > > > > Your next post seems somewhat conflicting and a bit
confusing
> > when
> > > > > your mention of a PWC on Saturday 12/20 stated that you
> > REPLACED 1
> > > > > tsp of salt per Gallon, yet the salt level DECREASED to 2.08
> > > > > Tsp/Gallon. Looks like you were adding salt, but then the
> > > > > measurement comes out to be less -- I have to assume you
> decided
> > > not
> > > > > to add any salt. You did state you intended to hold the
salt
> a
> > 2
> > > > > tsp/G., which I was about to suggest, but I see you made
> another
> > > PWC
> > > > > since then, dropping the salt content to 1.73 tsp/G at 11:00
> PM
> > > > > Saturday night. I would have told you not to reduce it any
> less
> > > > than
> > > > > that (maybe even get it back up to 2 tsp/G), but I had no
> power
> > > > > here. I see since then, you did another PWC yesterday,
> reducing
> > > the
> > > > > salt even further, to 1.2 tsp/G; I hope you have not taken
out
> > any
> > > > > more salt than this.
> > > > >
> > > > > For any slight fungus issues that might remain, you can use
> the
> > > > > Acriflavin (API's Fungus Cure) I recommended, which is
> extremely
> > > > mild
> > > > > and will not add any stress of being "over-medicated." I
hope
> > all
> > > > > fungal issues are cleared up at this time though. On the
post
> > of
> > > > > mine on salt (message # 34503 -- 12/17/08 1:20PM) which you
> were
> > > > > unsure of, you might want to refer back to that, especially
as
> > it
> > > > > contained other info. I did say that -- if you still see
some
> > > > > fungus, you could give them another treatment of Fungus
Clear
> if
> > > it
> > > > > looked threatening, while you waited for the PraziPro (which
> > might
> > > > > get to you today or tomorrow). At this same time though, I
> said
> > > the
> > > > > salt can be reduced. Adding to this, the fish would enjoy a
> day
> > > of
> > > > > clean water (the salt can remain at its present level, but
the
> > > > > previous meds should be eliminated) before treating with the
> > > > PraziPro.
> > > > >
> > > > > The last thing I wanted to mention was that there is no
other
> > > > > medication you could use in place of the PraziPro -- at
least
> > > > nothing
> > > > > near as good that would help with their type of internal
> > parasite
> > > > > issue. Even if there were (which there isn't), it wouldn't
> pay
> > to
> > > > > start messing with all kinds of other meds and then still
use
> > > > > PraziPro on top of it all. that's about all for now. You
> will
> > > have
> > > > > to now definitely do larger PWC's to reduce your ammonia and
> > > nitrite
> > > > > (while keeping up your salt content), as you can't have
these
> > > levels
> > > > > remaining the same, at around 0.25 ppm. The longer these
> > > > nitrogenous
> > > > > wastes stay at this level, the more toxic they will become
to
> > your
> > > > > fish -- which is why they're starting to get septicemia
> (right,
> > > you
> > > > > can't use an ammonia absorbing zeolite if you have salt in
the
> > > > > tank). Do several PWC's per day if necessary to get these
> > levels
> > > > > down. Ray
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> , "Menagerie_Manager"
> > > > > <menagerie_manager@> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Actually, I don't have a specific LFS, other than
> > PetSmart
> > > > and
> > > > > I don't ask them for any advice on anything except for where
> to
> > > find
> > > > > stuff in the store. There was a good one not too far away,
> but
> > it
> > > > > went under last summer sometime. I know of another one
> nearby,
> > > but
> > > > > it's a dirty little place and I doubt they have a website.
I
> > was
> > > > > just wondering if there was anything that most fish stores
> carry
> > > > that
> > > > > would help, as the PraziPro didn't arrive today.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I've given the pea meat at least three times in the
last
> > two
> > > > > weeks. I was just thinking about trying it again. CB
> actually
> > > came
> > > > > to the top for flakes tonight, instead of just sitting there
> and
> > > > > maybe picking at whatever happened to fall nearby.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > As far as the salt, I can't find the post, but I
> thought
> > > that
> > > > > Ray had said it was ok to give other treatments along with
> salt.
> > > I
> > > > > just had to make sure the malachite green was gone before
> giving
> > > the
> > > > > Fungus Clear and that the Fungus Clear is gone before I do
the
> > > > > PraziPro. I was only lowering the salt to counter the
osmotic
> > > > stress
> > > > > that I was seeing. I don't want the fungus to get a
foothold
> > > again
> > > > > before I can get rid of the parasites. SHOULD I CONTINUE TO
> > LOWER
> > > > > THE SALT, RAY??? I haven't done my PWC, yet, for today.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 4:08 PM
> > > > > > Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > What's available at your LFS? It's hard to suggest
> anything
> > > > else
> > > > > without
> > > > > > knowing what's available. Do they have a website?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Have you tried feeding the green pea "meat"? Besides
the
> > > > > potential for
> > > > > > internal parasites, there's also the chance of
> > constipation...
> > > > > and it's also
> > > > > > a good thing to feed fancy goldfish green pea "meat"
once
> a
> > > week
> > > > > or so just
> > > > > > to keep them "regular" since they are prone to digestive
> > > system
> > > > > disorders..
> > > > > > which often leads to swim bladder disorders.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Going from memory, you started off with Malachite Green
> for
> > a
> > > > few
> > > > > days which
> > > > > > wasn't working. Then the salt and didn't you also do
the
> > > > Maracyn
> > > > > 2? And
> > > > > > then the Jungle Fungus Clear... right? Why did you add
> salt
> > > to
> > > > > this last
> > > > > > PWC? I thought we were phasing the salt out with each
> PWC?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Before starting the PraziPro, you need to get rid of the
> > rest
> > > of
> > > > > the meds.
> > > > > > I'm concerned the fish are going to get overly stressed
> with
> > > too
> > > > > much meds.
> > > > > > When I've had sick fish to treat, I usually give them a
> day
> > of
> > > > > just fresh
> > > > > > water between treatments to give their kidneys a chance
to
> > > rest
> > > > > between
> > > > > > treatments... kind of like, there's nothing like good
> clean
> > > > fresh
> > > > > air for
> > > > > > us.. same goes for the fish with good clean fresh water.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > You can run fresh carbon in your filter to filter out
any
> > meds
> > > > > that are
> > > > > > missed by PWC's but carbon will not filter out salt so
> only
> > > the
> > > > > PWC's will
> > > > > > slowly reduce the salt.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lenny Vasbinder
> > > > > > Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com
<http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com>
> > > > > > (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are
> listed
> > on
> > > > > the right
> > > > > > side, alphabetically under Labels and also under
Archives
> by
> > > > > Year, Month)
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
> > > > > > Behalf Of Menagerie_Manager
> > > > > > Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 1:31 PM
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Saturday Afternoon Check in (Day 19 of Salt)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > - 3G PWC last night @ 11PM (replaced 1T salt - level is
> now
> > > > > 2.08tsp/G)
> > > > > > - Tank Readings @ noon today: pH: 7.6; Ammonia:
> > under .25ppm;
> > > > > Nitrite:
> > > > > > .25ppm; Nitrate: 10 to 15
> > > > > > - CB has pretty much stopped eating. I'm still offering
> > Tetra
> > > > > flakes,
> > > > > > because when she does eat, that's what she goes for.
Maybe
> > the
> > > > > carbs will
> > > > > > keep her going until the PraziPro arrives and gets a
> chance
> > to
> > > > > work. If it
> > > > > > doesn't arrive today, Is there something I can get at a
> LFS
> > > that
> > > > > might help
> > > > > > until Monday?
> > > > > > - Raven is looking stronger and her appetite is very
good.
> > > > > There's a tiny
> > > > > > white area on her dorsal fin that I'll keep an eye on.
> > Adding
> > > > > anything to
> > > > > > the tank before I treat the parasites will probably
finish
> > CB
> > > > off.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Menagerie_Manager
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 9:59 AM
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The goldfish spent about a year in a 10G tank before
> coming
> > > here
> > > > > to the 20G.
> > > > > > There was a 4th goldfish until sometime over the summer
> when
> > > the
> > > > > previous
> > > > > > owner's grandson poured hot candle wax into the tank.
> Since
> > > > these
> > > > > three
> > > > > > weren't affected, I think the other one probably ate
some
> of
> > > the
> > > > > wax.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lucille is definitely longer than the other two, but she
> may
> > > be
> > > > a
> > > > > bit
> > > > > > swollen, too. Whether that's from the salt or the
> parasites,
> > > > > remains to be
> > > > > > seen.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Last night (ok, 2:00 this morning), I did one final
check
> on
> > > the
> > > > > fish before
> > > > > > going to bed. they were at the front of the tank,
looking
> at
> > > the
> > > > > Christmas
> > > > > > tree lights. They must be feeling a little bit better to
> > even
> > > > > care about
> > > > > > that.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 3:00 AM
> > > > > > Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > As far as Lucille being larger. It could be from water
> > > retention
> > > > > due to
> > > > > > osmoregulatory problems... hopefully not... or if it is,
> > > > > hopefully she'll
> > > > > > start to expel the water as the meds are reduced.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > It could also be that Lucille was not as affected by
> > stunting
> > > so
> > > > > it wasn't
> > > > > > permanent for her... so now that they are in a larger
tank
> > (or
> > > > > same size
> > > > > > with frequent PWC's, which simulates a larger body of
> > water),
> > > > she
> > > > > is growing
> > > > > > and just happens to be growing faster than the other
two.
> > > > > Hopefully, they
> > > > > > all recover from the earlier likely stunting issues.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I just peeked at your first message and the answers
wasn't
> > > there
> > > > > and I don't
> > > > > > recall the issue coming up since but how long were the
> three
> > > > > goldfish in the
> > > > > > previous owners care? (Trying to determine an
approximate
> > age)
> > > > > What size
> > > > > > tank were they in? Is the current 20G the same tank they
> > have
> > > > > been in from
> > > > > > the beginning?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lenny Vasbinder
> > > > > > Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com
<http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com>
> > > > > <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com> >
> > > > > > (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are
> listed
> > on
> > > > > the right
> > > > > > side, alphabetically under Labels and also under
Archives
> by
> > > > > Year, Month)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com> ]
> > > > > > On
> > > > > > Behalf Of Menagerie_Manager
> > > > > > Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:52 PM
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thursday Night Check in (Day 17 of Salt - Day 2 of under
> > > 3tsp/G)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > - 3G PWC @ 3pm (salt now at 2.29tsp/G)
> > > > > > - Tank readings @ 11pm: pH: 7.6; Ammonia: bet .25
> > and .50ppm;
> > > > > Nitrite:
> > > > > > .25ppm; Nitrate: about 15ppm
> > > > > > - The fish are acting a bit more energetic today, esp.
> since
> > > the
> > > > > last PWC.
> > > > > > I'm thinking of holding the salt at 2tsp/G to keep any
> > fungus
> > > at
> > > > > bay until I
> > > > > > can treat with the PraziPro.
> > > > > > - CB still breathing heavy and doing the
spitting/choking
> > > thing
> > > > > occasionally
> > > > > > - These guys/gals were more or less the same size when
> they
> > > > > arrived about 3
> > > > > > weeks ago. Lucille now looks quite large next to Raven
and
> > CB.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Menagerie_Manager
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 12:03 PM
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > That's good to hear about the cycling.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'm fairly sure the salt is at 2.75 tsp/G right now, and
> > will
> > > go
> > > > > down to
> > > > > > 2.29tsp/G with today's 3G PWC. See my Excel file, "DebRs
> > Salt
> > > > > Levels" for
> > > > > > how I'm figuring the concentration of salt in the water,
> > since
> > > > > there isn't
> > > > > > really 20G in the tank right now.
> > > > > >
> http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%
<http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%>
> > > > > 20Chemistry/
> > > > > >
> <http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%
<http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%>
> > > > > 20Chemistry/>
> > > > > >
> <http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%
<http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%>
> > > > > 20Chemistry/
> > > > > >
> <http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%
<http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AquaticLife/files/Water%>
> > > > > 20Chemistry/> >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I'm seeing the slow gulping with CB, not all the time,
but
> > > after
> > > > > exertion
> > > > > > (eating, etc). But what I'm guessing is choking is a
> shaking
> > > of
> > > > > the head,
> > > > > > backing up and spitting action, kind of like when a fish
> is
> > > > > eating and
> > > > > > breaks the food up by spitting it out repeatedly, only
> she's
> > > not
> > > > > eating at
> > > > > > the time.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 7:27 AM
> > > > > > Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The climbing nitrate level is just the result of your
> > nitrogen
> > > > > cycle nearly
> > > > > > completing. Before, you were having to do PWC's to keep
> the
> > > > > ammonia/nitrite
> > > > > > levels low, apparently, you may now have nearly enough
> > > > nitrifying
> > > > > bacteria
> > > > > > growing in your filter, etc., to handle the
> ammonia/nitrite
> > so
> > > > > you should
> > > > > > soon see both of them staying at 0.0ppm and you'll do
> PWC's
> > to
> > > > > keep nitrates
> > > > > > in check and also to replace/dilute the dirty water.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > OK. Presuming you were pretty close to 0.3% (3 teaspoons
> per
> > > > > gallon) of
> > > > > > salt, changing out 3G (or 15% of the 20G tank) would
bring
> > it
> > > > > down to
> > > > > > 0.285%. So, each time you do a 3G PWC with clear water,
> > you'll
> > > > > bring the
> > > > > > current number down by 15%, so the next 3G will bring
the
> > > 0.285%
> > > > > down to
> > > > > > 0.242% (multiply the current number by .85 to get the
new
> > > > > number). You will
> > > > > > see a diminishing return with each PWC but after about 5
> of
> > > the
> > > > > 3G PWC's,
> > > > > > you could increase the PWC amount to 25% (5G). After
> about 5
> > > of
> > > > > those, you
> > > > > > will have negligible levels (less than 0.05%) which
would
> no
> > > > > longer be
> > > > > > providing any kind of therapeutic benefits or causing
any
> > > kinds
> > > > of
> > > > > > osmoregulatory issues.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The "choking thing"... does it look more like yawning?
Or
> a
> > > slow
> > > > > gulping
> > > > > > motion?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lenny Vasbinder
> > > > > > Fish Blog - http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com
<http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com>
> > > > > <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com> >
> > > > > > <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com>
> > > <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com> > >
> > > > > > (Links to any articles referenced in above reply are
> listed
> > on
> > > > > the right
> > > > > > side, alphabetically under Labels and also under
Archives
> by
> > > > > Year, Month)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ]
> > > > > > On
> > > > > > Behalf Of Menagerie_Manager
> > > > > > Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 12:23 AM
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus
> problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Wednesday Night Check in (Day 16 of Salt)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > - 3G PWC @ about noon (did not treat replacement water
> with
> > > > salt)
> > > > > > - Salt now approx 2.75 tsp/G
> > > > > > - 11pm Tank Readings: pH: I'm going to say 7.6, and
that's
> > > > > probably what
> > > > > > it's been all along; Ammonia: .25ppm; Nitrite: slightly
> > > > > over .25ppm;
> > > > > > Nitrate: 15 - 20 (kind of a surprise after yesterday's
> level
> > > and
> > > > > today's
> > > > > > PWC)
> > > > > > - Not seeing any fungus right now. Only extreme
exhaustion
> > and
> > > > > that choking
> > > > > > thing that CB does. I saw Lucille do it once this
> afternoon.
> > > > > > - The PraziPro should arrive any day.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > > > From: Raymond Wetzel
> > > > > > To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 1:20 PM
> > > > > > Subject: [AquaticLife] Re: Newbie with a fungus problem?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > With your removal of the Fungus Clear, and your lowering
> the
> > > > salt
> > > > > > level, I trust most or all of the fungus has been
> > eliminated.
> > > > > When
> > > > > > are you expecting the PraziPro? If not for a while, and
> > > > > especially
> > > > > > if you still see some fungus, I'd give them another
> > treatment
> > > of
> > > > > > Fungus Clear if it looks threatening, but the salt can
be
> > > > > reduced.
> > > > > > The fungus should be gone right now though; if there's
> just
> > a
> > > > bit
> > > > > > remaining, you can add some acriflavin to the water (in
> the
> > > form
> > > > > of
> > > > > > API's liquid Fungus Cure) which is very mild.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > If the fungus is gone, just wait for the PraziPro to
start
> > > > > treating
> > > > > > them for the internal issues. CB may be having trouble
> > > adjusting
> > > > > > from flakes to pellets, if this food is new but often,
> fish
> > > will
> > > > > > reject any kind of food as their internal infections
> worsen
> > > and
> > > > > will
> > > > > > act in the manner you're describing.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I see your nitrite is up, unless that figure is a result
> of
> > > your
> > > > > not
> > > > > > being able to determine the color chart match. I also
> > noticed
> > > > > your
> > > > > > two pH readings -- the results received from both test
> kits
> > > > (high
> > > > > > range pH and low range pH). In any case, it looks like
> more
> > > > > frequent
> > > > > > PWC's are in order; I would not do larger ones as you
> don't
> > > want
> > > > > to
> > > > > > reduce the salt too fast at any one time. Ray
> > > > > >
> > > > > > --- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%
> > > > > 40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
> > > > > > <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ,
> > > > > > "Menagerie_Manager"
> > > > > > <menagerie_manager@> wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Tuesday Night Check in (Day 15 of Salt) (Removing
> > remainder
> > > of
> > > > > > Fungus Clear with carbon filter)
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > - Ph: 7.5 or almost 7.8 (see my post on lighting and
> test
> > > > > > results); Ammonia: .25ppm; Nitrite: .25ppm; Nitrate:
10 -
> > > 15ppm
> > > > > > (depending on lighting)
> > > > > > > - Lucille is sitting most of the time at the bottom.
CB
> > and
> > > > > > Raven, also, although they're a bit more active than
they
> > have
> > > > > been.
> > > > > > > - CB still breaths a bit heavy and sometimes acts
likes
> > > she's
> > > > > > trying to spit something out (backing up and shaking
> head).
> > I
> > > > did
> > > > > > see her spit out a piece of food one time that she was
> doing
> > > > > this.
> > > > > > Could she be having trouble adjusting to the Omega One
> > pellets
> > > > > from
> > > > > > the Tetra flakes?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > I think it may be time to lower the salt level some.
> What
> > > I'm
> > > > > > seeing now, other than the stringy white and clear poop,
> > > pretty
> > > > > much
> > > > > > fits the descriptions I've read of osmotic stress, and
I'm
> > not
> > > > > sure
> > > > > > how much more CB can take.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > DebR and the Three Goldfish
> > > > > > > (CB, Lucille, and Raven)
> > > > > > >

Filter Profile - Marineland Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel

The following article shows the breakdown, cleaning and reassembly of my Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel 200 filter system... one of my many filter systems.

Manufacturer's description:
http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfiltersnew.asp

NEW PERFORMANCE FEATURES
Noise-Reducing Vented Cover For quieter operation

Two-Piece Filter Hood For flip-top filter cartridge access

Adjustable Mid-Level Intake attaches to the Intake Extension Tube to provide increased water circulation.Extra Media Slots (Penguin 200 and 350) for an additional Rite-Size Filter Cartridge or Penguin Refillable Media Cartridge for enhanced chemical filtration.Plus...
Leak Proof, Easy-Care Design.

One-piece tank and motor assembly means no O-rings to fail.

Single moving part removes easily for cleaning.

No oiling or motor maintenance required.

Automatic Self-Starting Feature Restarts automatically.

No messy siphons or valves.

Worry-Free, Safety Engineering.

UL listed; cUL or CSA listed.

Epoxy-sealed, moisture-proof motor ensures safe operation.
Penguin 100 - 100gph (up to 20G tropical or as additional filter on goldfish tank)

Penguin 150 - 150gph (up to 30G tropical or as additional filter on goldfish tank)

Penguin 200 - 200gph (up to 50G tropical or as additional filter on goldfish tank)

Penguin 350 - 350gph (up to 75G tropical or 35G goldfish tank)

The following photos will also show the filter cartridge modifaction that I made to remove the carbon and also how I add extra polypad filter media for increased filtration between the bi-weekly cleanings. The reservoir on this filter is not very large so it does not have a lot of room for very much media but it could hold a small media bag full of some type of bio-media. I just prefer to use extra polypad media which provides both mechanical and biological filtration.

Here is the filter on the tank with the two covers in place. There is a top slotted-cover over the filter reservoir and a separate front cover over the Bio-Wheel, so as it spins, the spray drips back down into the waterfall and tank.



Here is the filter with the two covers removed.

Since this cleaning was going to take longer because of the photographs, I removed the Bio-Wheel and had it floating in the tank, so that it would not dry out and kill the nitrifying bacteria. Usually, I set it in the removed front cover while I'm cleaning the filter. Anytime the fliter is turned off for any length of time (e.g. during transport or a power outtage), the Bio-Wheel should be floated in the tank to keep it from drying out, keep the nitrifying bacteria alive and to help continue "cycling" the ammonia in your tank.

Here is the filter sitting next to the sink, ready to be cleaned.

I first removed the intake tube and impellor assembly. I run water through the tube to flush out any large debris and occasionally I clean it with a bottle brush and clean the impellor housing as well.

Here is the filter cartridge and the extra polypad filter media. I use bulk polypad filter media comprised of blue (coarse) and white (fine) polypad material and cut the large sheet into the sizes I need for my various filter systems. A package of this polypad media is inexpensive.

This shows a top view of the filter and reservoir. I use the "dirty"
extra polypad to clean off the buildup on the waterfall outlet and any other buildup, before I clean the polypad material. If needed, I clean the Bio-Wheel holders with a toothpick to remove any buildup that might slow down the spinning of the Bio-Wheel.

Here are the filter cartridge and extra polypad filter after cleaning under dechlored tap water from my PUR faucet filter. This keeps some of the N-Bacteria alive. I have two filters for this tank and clean one every other week to minimize disruption of the biological filter. If I only have one filter system on a tank, then I only squeeze/swoosh the filter media in removed tank water so I do not kill off any of the good nitrifying bacteria.

Here is the other side of the filter cartridge and polypad filter media.
The blue and white polypad material is a combination coarse/fine mechanical filter media, which also provides additional surface area for growing good nitrifying bacteria.

This shows how I used a razor knife to slice open the black slotted plastic on the back of the filter cartridge so I could dump out the carbon and re-use the filter cartridge over and over and over. Basically, I cut an "H" along the sides and across the middle but a "U" or inverted "U"
could also be done. I thought the "H" would leave the frame structure intact. I do frequent 25% PWC's (partial water changes) so I do not run carbon in all of my filters. I do keep bulk carbon on hand for when I need it and use filter media bags to hold the carbon. This is still the original filter cartridge that came with the system two years ago.

Here is another picture showing the "surgery" I did to the filter cartridge to remove the old carbon, yet allow me to reuse the filter cartridge.

Here is the filter Cartridge and extra polypad media replaced in the reservoir. Note how I have the extra polypad sticking up about an inch above the filter cartridge. I then fold this over the top of the cartridge so that when the filters start to get dirty and the water fills up more in the reservoir, it will eventually overflow the polypads but still get partially filtered by this extra inch of polypad.

This shows the extra inch folded over the top of the filter cartridge.

Here is the filter sytem cleaned and back on the tank. That white buildup is the calcium/mineral buildup from the evaporated hard tap water that I have. I would normally just use a little white vinegar on a paper towel to easily wipe that off.

BTW... that 1/2 filled 10G tank in the background is an H-tank where I have one of my goldfish right now. He's not feeling well and has a fin-tear/rot issue so I have him in the H-tank with a bubble filter so he doesn't have to deal with the over-filtration in the main tank. I'm treating him with MelaFix/PimaFix cocktail and anti-bacterial food for the past three days. He's doing much better but will stay in the H-tank till he's back to his perky self!

Lenny Vasbinder aka GoldLenny in forums

Chlorine - Chloramine Information

I was recently reading the Water Quality Report and Tables for my area, Jefferson Parish (J.P. - Parish is the same as County in the rest of the U.S.), Louisiana, USA, and they had a reading for Chlorine but not for Chloramine. Since I had always understood that my public utility used chloramine as a disinfectant treatment, I wondered why the report listed only chlorine and not chloramine so I fired off a short email to the water department. Here is a reprint of the series of emails.

----------------------------------------------------------

9/24/2006

In the 2005 Water Quality Report and Water Quality Table, there is mention of chlorine but not chloramine. Which chemical does J.P. use to disinfect the water? I have several aquariums and I was told several years ago that J.P. uses chloramines but now I am unsure since reading over the above reports.

Thank you in advance for your reply.

Lenny V.

Mozy.com - FREE, secure, encrypted and automatic online backup of your documents and files. Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy backup system. It will back up your most important files, photos and folders... or your entire hard drive, every day/night (you set the schedule) while you aren't using your computer... and did I mention... it's FREE. I have been using this product/service since it was in Beta Testing and have been 100% satisfied with the final product!!!

-----------------------------------------------------------

9/25/2006

Hi Lenny

Jefferson has always used chloramines in the drinking water distribution system. The Water Quality Report lists total chlorine, which includes both free chlorine and combined chlorine (chloramines), because the EPA regulation and the maximum contaminant level are based on total chlorine. Basically the sum of both free chlorine and chloramines should not exceed 4 mg/L on an annual average. Sorry about the confusion, but we have to use the federal regulatory language, even though at times it may be somewhat confusing to the general public. If you have any additional questions, let me know.

Wayne K.Water
Quality Scientist IV
Jefferson Parish Water Dept.

------------------------------------------------------------

9/25/2006

Thank you for your quick reply.

Since you show the combined level of free chlorine and chloramine added together at 4mg/l, I was wondering if you could tell me the level of chloramine added and what percentage of the chloramine is ammonia. I keep a couple of fish tanks and whenever I test my tap, I normally get a reading of around 0.5ppm (mg/l) of ammonia. Is that figure consistent with the chloramine you all are adding? Other than after Katrina, would there ever be a reason for higher chloramine dosing by JP? When you do a pipe repair, do you treat the affected area with chlorine or chloramine? And at what percentage increase over the "normal" level of dosing?

I'm just trying to get an idea since my tap water conditioner uses different dosages for chlorine and chloramine... with chloramine requiring a dose about four times higher.... but it does not say on the bottle about what level of chloramines that it treats. Is there a national standard for dosing chloramine by public utilities? As you probably know, chloramine does not break down as easily as chlorine but as long as we fishkeepers are able to break the chlorine/ammonia bond with our "chemicals", our fish do OK since the nitrogen cycle in the tank will break down the ammonia and the tap water treatment will neutralize the chlorine.

Lenny V.

-------------------------------------------------

9/26/2006

Monochloramine is the form of chloramine used by many water treatment systems in their distribution systems. Monochloramine is formed by mixing chlorine and ammonia in a ratio of 4 parts chlorine to 1 part ammonia by weight. At this ratio an excess of ammonia remains unreacted at a level of about 0.5 ppm, which you have measured. Water leaves the treatment plant with a chloramine residual no greater than 3 ppm and a free ammonia level of 0.5 ppm. There would never be any reason to raisethis level. It was not raised after Katrina.

Extensive waterlineflushing with the normal chloramine residual level was quite adequate to remove any contamination that may have been present. As this water travels through the distribution system, both chloramines and ammonia are gradually reduced; however since free ammonia is released when chloramine breaks down, the free ammonia level across the distribution system remains about the same at about 0.5 ppm. We use free chlorine to disinfect waterlines after a repair at a very high level which is undrinkable. Therefore all of this water is flushed out of the repaired section before it is put back into service, so you will never see freechlorine in the distribution system.

Wayne K.Water
Quality Scientist IV
Jefferson Parish Water Dept.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I hope this helps some people understand the difference between Chloramine and Chlorine and how the public utility companies utilize both chemicals in their water treatment process and repairs.

It did give me additional information about their post-Katrina water treatment. I was originally told they had raised the Chloramine level by three times but this gentleman says they did not and that they flushed out leaking areas with high levels of chlorine but it never got into the actual water supply so I'm not sure why my two Golden Mystery Snails ended up dying after I finally did my first 25% PWC around four weeks after the hurricane. I thought it might have been because the chemicals were still too high for them but now I have to wonder. Maybe it was because they were not getting enough food for those three to four weeks that I had cut back the feeding so much to keep the water from deteriorating.

Goldlenny

-----------------------------------------

Hailey's Reply:

Thanks for sharing this...it was very interesting and informative.As for your snails, I bet it was lack of food. Snails are incredibly tolerant of anything wrong with the water. They can live through massive extremes of temperature, ammonia (as my snail in the fishless cycling tank proved), nitrite, nitrate, and even chlorine. I have heard stories of live snails showing up on plants that were just bleached! The one thing they are very sensitive to is starvation. I killed off all of the pond snails that were taking over my tank more than a year ago by starving them (I fed the fish just enough for them, and had no shrimp at the time, so no food was allowed to stay in the tank after the fish were through eating). Within weeks, I had no snails at all. I added malaysian trumpet snails later, and those are the only snails I have seen in my tank since. Of course, I think I had help because my gouramis seemed to have learned to hunt pond snails.

¯`·.¸. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>¸.·´¯`·.,..·´¯`·..
><((((º>·´¯`·.,..·´¯`·..><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>

To learn more about the water quality for your area, in the USA, check here:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

Hope this helps.

GoldLenny

Mozy.com - FREE, secure, encrypted and automatic online backup of your documents and files. Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy backup system. It will back up your most important files, photos and folders... or your entire hard drive, every day/night (you set the schedule) while you aren't using your computer... and did I mention... it's FREE. I have been using this product/service since it was in Beta Testing and have been 100% satisfied with the final product!!!

Filter Maintenance And Cleaning Recommendations

http://tinyurl.com/Filter-Maintenance

PREFACE - This article is most important to new fish-keepers and for tanks that are less than six months old. It is during these early stages that proper filter maintenance is most critical since you are still growing a proper sized Nitrifying Bacteria (N-Bacteria) colony in your filter media and substrate. This article is also very important and applicable for tanks over six months old that have limited filtration or overstocking issues or if you are having water quality issues, algae problems, sick fish, etc.... (Edit added 11/14/2008 - ...and most importantly because of a recent funny post in the Ponds-Koi Yahoo Group by Bill Dowden, owner of http://www.coastalpond.com/ so the following few paragraphs are about a Pond Filter but it's still applicable to ALL filters):

FILTRATION:

HAVING TO CLEAN A FILTER CAN BE GOOD.

First of all, if a filter does not collect junk and clog, it isn't doing its job and working to get the junk out of the water.

Since IT'S ALL ABOUT WATER QUALITY, the filter is supposed to take organics out of the water to IMPROVE water quality. (Inorganics = rocks = really aren't a problem.)

If a filter catches organics and the filter is not clogged (yet) but also not cleaned - then the organics can dissolve and go back into the water in solution = LOWERING THE WATER QUALITY.

SO, the object of a good pond keeper is to IMPROVE water quality = clean the organics from ANY filter BEFORE they dissolve = every other day, every third day.......

Sorry for bringing reality into your lives....

I know everyone wants a filter that doesn't EVER need to be cleaned.

Imagine that the filter catches poop. So it is the fishes' toilet.

How often do you clean (flush) your toilet? Why? Why not the fishes' also.

:-)

Bill
----------------


Here is a good article about "The Nitrogen Cycle" to help you understand this entire "article" further if you do not know about the nitrogen cycle. http://fish.orbust.net/cycling.html

You should also have a Master Test Kit capable of testing ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. Having GH and KH test kits are also encouraged in determining some basic water chemistry/quality issues. There are many other things going on in our tanks that we can not easily test for.
And now... onto the actual article...
WHY ARE MY FISH GASPING, ACTING LETHARGIC OR DYING???
If your new tank has a small HOB (hang on back filter system) and you were told to buy and replace your filter cartridge once a month... or every other week, then that may be what is causing you so many problems. You are potentially putting your tank into a new mini-cycle everytime you "clean" the filters or change them out for a new one. NEVER clean the filters in the normal sense of the word "clean". If you cleaned the filter media by running the filter under tap water, the chlorine/chloramine in the water could have killed your GOOD nitrifying bacteria in the filter and you will have to "cycle" your filter media again. This will probably put your tank into a new mini-cycle which means testing for ammonia and nitrites and doing PWC's to keep them at safe levels. This could take around two weeks but there is usually enough N-bacteria on other surface areas and in the gravel to keep major spikes in the ammonia or nitrites but most of the N-Bacteria live in the filter sponges, pads, etc. so cleaning/maintaining them should be done carefully.

All you should do is once a week or every other week, when you do your 25% PWC (partial water change), take some of the tank water in a bucket and then you can take your filter cartridge or media out of the holder and swoosh it around in the tank water and squeeze it out to remove the big stuff off of it. Then put it back in the holder and back in your filter system. If it's really clogged up with detritus, you could also squeez it several times in the removed tank water bucket. This will possibly squeeze out some of the good N-Bacteria but will usually leave enough to keep your tank safe. The N-Bacteria are capable of doubling their colony size every 24 hours so as long as you leave enough, the colony will grow back shortly. This "swooshing or squeezing in removed tank water" method keeps the GOOD bacteria alive on the filter so you do not cause your tank to "cycle" again.

I know the filter companies and some pet store employees tell you to replace it once a month but they are just trying to sell filters. That is one of the leading cause of problems... messing with the filters because the "instructions" say to do it.

It is important to clean your filters regularly so you do not have excess detritus building up in them. Detritus in your filter media, when it starts breaking down, becomes a nitrate factory which goes into your water column as the tank water is filtered through it. Nitrates and phosphates feed algae blooms. Just like vacuuming your gravel to remove excess detritus before it breaks down, cleaning the filters often will also keep the nitrates much lower. I guess if you do frequent PWC's, that would substitute for keeping the filters cleaner but if you cleaned your filters before they become completely clogged, it would make the water quality even better between PWC's. Further, the bacteria that is consuming and breaking down the detritus use up a lot of O2 and KH and put out a lot of CO2. The higher CO2 further feeds algae growth and lowers your pH. The loss of KH can cause your pH to crash putting your fish into pH shock.

Here are two of my "Filter Profile" articles so you can see exactly how I clean and maintain two of my six filter systems.

Filter Profile - Marineland Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel

Filter Profile - Rena Filstar xP1 Canister

Here are some articles that I contributed to or did photo-documentation on at TheGAB.org forums, which has some more information on various filter systems including some photos from me and others.

http://thegab.org/Articles/Filtration.html

http://thegab.org/Articles/FilterProfilePenguin200.html


HOB's (Hang On Back Filter Systems - Power Filters and Bio-Wheel Systems) -
If you have a HOB filter system, you should really only clean the filter cartridge if the flow rate slows down or it's backing up back into the tank via the overflow outlet. But do NOT go more than a month between doing maintenance on any of your filters as they will build up a lot of detritus which will start to decay and possibly cause your nitrates to start climbing quickly. I just do the swoosh and/or squeeze method once a week with my 25% PWC and never have the problem. Don't worry.. most of us learned the hard way in the beginning.

Another thing if you have an HOB... is after you swoosh/squeeze the filter media/cartridge and have it ready to put back in the holder, dump the water out of the HOB reservoir as it will have some "big stuff" in there as well. Then put your filter back in the HOB, dip a few cups of water out of your tank to fill the HOB reservoir and then plug it back in.

If your HOB also has a Bio-Wheel, then you could technically change out the cartridge instead of using the swoosh/squeeze method since the actual Bio-Wheel would house sufficient numbers of N-Bacteria so that you would not cause a mini-cycle. The inventors of this system created it for that reason... so they could sell you lots of filter cartridges and encourage you to change them without causing harm to your fish. I still don't think it's necessary but if you find it simpler to change the cartridge every few weeks and don't mind the expense, then that is a choice that is available to you.

One last tip... if your "biobag" filters or filter cartridges have carbon in them, you can dump the carbon out after a few weeks since it has lost its effectiveness by then. This will also improve the flow rate through the "empty" biobag/cartridge as well. Some companies try to prevent you from emptying the carbon by sealing it inside of the plastic housing of the cartridge frame. I have been successful with doing "surgery" on the section holding the old carbon to open it up and dump the carbon while keeping the frame and floss/poly pad for reuse. The floss/poly pad or sponge material in the biobag/cartridge should last over a year but in the event you do decide you want to change your biobag/cartridge, put the new one in the reservoir for 2 weeks so it builds up a good bacteria colony. Then on your next PWC, you can trash the old one, swoosh the new one and then put in in the holder. It's not really necessary to change them very often... at least not until they look like they are about to fall apart. I have the same filter cartridges on my HOB's and they are all over a year old. (More about carbon below)

CANISTER FILTER SYSTEMS -
As far as a canister filter, I have four different phases of mixed mechanical/biological filtration in my canister filter system. I have a large sponge block with large pores, then a smaller sponge block with smaller pores, then even a smaller pore sponge and then a filter floss pad. I do maintenance on my canister twice a month or if I notice the flow rate slowing down. At the beginning of the month, I leave the sponges alone and clean the floss pad real good.. even running it under hot faucet water until it's white again. In the middle of the month, I squeeze the sponges to clean them and get the big stuff out of them but I don't run them under hot faucet water. This keeps a big portion of the nitrifying bacteria alive with each filter "cleaning" so I never have a problem with a mini-cycle. I also have two filters running on each of my tanks so I alternate the maintenance on them from week to week so I have at least one fully cycled filter running at all times. If you have a large enough canister filter, you can also add a more permanent biological filtration media. With this type of product, you would have it as one of the last phases of filtration and you would not do anything to this media other than a simple rinse in removed tank water to get any buildup off of it. There are many products sold that are excellent biological filtration but if you are not overstocked, your regular sponges and polypads will be sufficient surface area for the N-bacteria colonies. I do not have the "extra" biological filter media in any of my filters.

SPONGE FILTERS -

Sponge filter cleaning should be treated similar to cleaning the sponges in canister filters but obviously on a much smaller scale. The safest thing to do would be to squeeze the sponge in some removed tank water to remove the detritus from the sponge but keeping the majority of the N-Bacteria alive on the cell walls of the sponge. Then replace it and you are good to go!

MULTIPLE FILTER SYSTEMS ON A TANK -
If you have more than one filter system on your tank, then you could do alternating filter cleaning or changing and more thoroughly cleaning the filters since the other one will still be fully cycled. I do this on my Goldfish/Pleco tank since they are such big waste producers. I alternate between the two filter systems and clean 1/2 the filter media every two weeks. This means that I am only doing a good cleaning on 1/4th of my overall filter media volume and one of the filter systems does not even get touched every other week.

UGF's (Under Gravel Filters) -
These systems are not as common any more but some forum polls show up to 40% of fish keepers still use UGF's on some of their tanks.

There is also a reverse flow UGF that is making a comeback in the industry. I am thinking about trying this system if I ever have to breakdown my Goldfish/Pleco tank. The purpose of the reverse flow UGF is to push water up through the gravel which raises the detritus into the water column to be sucked into the intake and filtered out of the water before the "clean" water is returned to the tank through the gravel. This could save time in gravel vacuuming since it would not have to be done very often with this type of system but it does not work for planted tanks where the plants with a normal substrate. It would work if the plants are containerized plants.

The main thing with a regular UGF, that sucks the water down through the gravel (so it's not as good for a planted tank either), is to properly maintain them by vacuuming the gravel really good with the vacuum tube pushed down through the gravel to the UGF plate and make sure you suck up all of the detritus/mulm that gets caught between the gravel/plate/bottom.

Many of the older UGF filters on smaller tanks were under-powered with only an airline bubbler to power the up-tube siphon and these did not create enough suction which allowed excess mulm to build up under the gravel and UGF plates. Modern UGF's are powered by power heads, canister filters or HOB power filters which help eliminate the danger of mulm buildup but the gravel should still be vacuumed well all the way down to the UGF plate to make sure the excess mulm and detritus are removed.

If I was to use a UGF, I would also modify it in a couple of ways. I would make the holes in the UGF plate larger at the furthest points from the uplift tube so they get more water circulating from those furthest points to help eliminate the likelihood of mulm buildup. I would also add a box trickle filter of some sort so the returning water would flow through that trickle filter before returning to the water column.

Here's a forum thread about what happened to someone when they tried to "clean" or replace their UGF... http://thegab.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5895&highlight and some "scientific" info about what is in the mulm... http://thegab.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2349

Here are several sites on UGF maintenance & cleaning:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-under-gravel-filter-or-ugf.htm

http://www.bestfish.com/ug.html (page one of two)

http://www.bestfish.com/ug2.html (page two of two)

http://archimedes.galilei.com/raiar/lifttube.html (no longer working)

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/care/filter.php (no longer working)

CARBON -

As you may have noticed, I do not mention keeping carbon in my filter systems. Most experience freshwater fish keepers aren't keeping activated carbon in their filters anymore and rely on more frequent PWC's to keep the water quality in good condition. It's just another thing that the filter people are trying to sell you to keep revenue pouring in... pardon the pun. I haven't had any activated carbon in any of my four filter systems on two tanks for over two years and all of my fish are fine. I do keep some around in case of an emergency or if I need to filter some medicine out of one of my tanks but other than that, it sits in the closet. Of course, I am vigilant about doing weekly 25% PWC's so I am removing any organic buildup that some people may rely on carbon to remove. Also, most carbon products available to consumers will leach phosphates into your tank, which can cause algae problems... and some carbon products have been reported to actually leach the chemicals they had previously absorbed which can cause other health problems.

If your filter cartridges have the activated carbon sealed up inside of a plastic housing, it might take some minor "surgery" to open the plastic housing up so you can dump out the carbon. I have done this to several different manufacturers cartridges so I think it's possible with any of them. This way, you still have the plastic frame and floss/sponge material that can be re-used many, many times using the swooshing method above. It's better for your fish and your wallet.

If you have juvenile fish in your tank(s), then running carbon or Purigen is encourage to help remove the hormone buildup which can lead to stunting and health issues. Remember carbon should probably be changed every two weeks. I am now using Purigen in my tanks since it is better than carbon and is rechargeable so it costs less.

EDIT ADDED ABOUT "CARBON" ON 03/14/2007 -
I've been reading more and more about a product from Seachem, called Purigen, which is a rechargeable granular additive that can be used in filter systems and from what I've been reading on forum threads, it does work as advertised. It's not like zeolite which can starve your N-bacteria colonies. This product is more like activated carbon but is advertised to work 500% better than activated carbon. Since it is rechargeable and actually filters organic compounds better and LASTS LONGER than carbon, I'm not opposed to using a product like this and may actually try it soon.

Here is the manufacturer's webpage and information: http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Purigen.html

Purigen™ is a premium synthetic adsorbent that is unlike any other filtration product. It is not a mixture of ion exchangers or adsorbents, but a unique macro-porous synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at a rate and capacity that exceeds all others by over 500%. Purigen™ controls ammonia, nitrites and nitrates by removing nitrogenous organic waste that would otherwise release these harmful compounds. Purigen’s™ impact on trace elements is minimal. It significantly raises redox. It polishes water to unparalleled clarity. Purigen™ darkens progressively as it exhausts, and is easily renewed by treating with bleach. Purigen™ is designed for both marine and freshwater use. This product is sold by volume. Cited weight is minimal weight.

Directions: Rinse before use. Use in a fine mesh filter bag. Each 1 L treats up to 4,000 L (1,000 gallons*) for up to six months. Exhaustion is indicated by a pronounced discoloration of the beads to dark brown or black.

Regeneration: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuard™, Prime™, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. For freshwater use, soak for 4 hours with a solution containing 1 tablespoon of buffer per cup of water (Discus Buffer™, Neutral Regulator™, or Acid Buffer™). Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen™ is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen™ and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit.

Purigen FAQ's - http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Purigen_faq.html
Purigen MSDS (Manufacturer's Safety Data Sheet)(pdf) - http://www.seachem.com/support/MSDS/Purigen.doc.pdf

GoldLenny replies:
I like how it changes color (darkens) as it gets dirty so you can tell when it's time to regenerate/recharge, or replace if you don't mind the extra expense. This is something carbon has lacked and what led to so many fish keepers not using it. The Purigen "regeneration" process isn't easy and since it uses Bleach, it must be done properly and carefully... including RINSING IT WELL, then the 8 hour soak in the dechlor solution and 4 hour soak in a "buffer" (for FW users) . From what I've been reading in forums, it's best to have two mesh bags working so that you can exchange them and then properly regenerate and rinse the "dirty" Purigen and then put the "cleaned" Purigen on the side for the next change. A 100ml package should be enough Purigen to make two mesh bags for a 50G aquarium.

Yahoo Shopping Search -prices for Purigen... lowest price (on this date) was DrsFosterSmith.com $5.89 for 100ml package (treats 100G for up to 6 months) - http://shopping.yahoo.com/search?p=purigen&cop=mss

PetsMart.com has Purigen for $6.29 for the 100ml package or $12.59 for the 250ml package and their retail stores will match the online price if you bring the printed page. The 100ml package comes in a media bag already where the 250ml package is in bulk form so you would have to purchase media bags also. Here is the PetsMart.com Purigen page as a TinyURL link... http://preview.tinyurl.com/3aakqj

ZEOLITE -
Zeolite is a white granular product that many consumers are often sold as a solution to ammonia issues in their tanks. While it does absorb ammonia, it gives you a false sense of security as it will "fill up" and then quit absorbing ammonia causing ammonia spikes in your tanks. If you did not use zeolite, you would have built up a proper sized N-Bacteria colony in your filter media which would have taken care of any potential ammonia issues. Further, when people get ammonia spikes, they are shortly followed by nitrite spikes. Then they are told to add salt to the tank to keep the fish from getting nitrite poisoning. The problem with this is that salt will cause zeolite to release ALL of the absorbed ammonia causing the ammonia level to spike even higher. Once again, it's a product that I keep on hand in case of emergencies... like when I went 15 days with no power after Hurricane Katrina, but it's not something I run in my filters on a normal basis.
HORMONES AND STUNTING, STRESS AND HEALTH ISSUES -
I've been learning a lot more about hormone issues that happen in overstocked or undersized tanks. In various fishery related studies, it has been reported that your fish release a hormone into the water column and when this hormone level reaches a certain point, the fish begin to get stressed and stunting issues start to develop. Stress leads to immune system issues and fish start to get sick. The best way to solve this problem is to NOT overstock your tank or have fish that are supposed to get BIG in a small tank. If you are stuck with this problem, then doing frequent PWC's (sometimes daily, depending on your situation), will reduce these hormone levels. It is also reported that products like carbon and more advanced chemical filtration products like Purigen, will remove some or all of these hormones but this needs further research. The best and simplest solution to removing these hormone levels is through frequent PWC's.
In conclusion:
There's a saying... "Dilution is the solution to pollution"... which certainly holds true in the fish keeping hobby. Fresh, clean and frequent PWC's (partial water changes) will do more to keeping your fish healthy than anything else out there.

I hope this helps save a few fish!

GoldLenny

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SELECT COMMENTS -

Mahstah posted:

"If your filter cartridges have the activated carbon sealed up inside of a plastic housing, it might take some minor "surgery" to open the plastic housing up so you can dump out the carbon. I have done this to several different manufacturers cartridges so I think it's possible with any of them. This way, you still have the plastic frame and floss/sponge material that can be re-used many, many times using the swooshing method above. It's better for your fish and your wallet."

Hi goldlenny-

Do you suggest NOT using carbon filters unless one wants to remove chemicals (malachite green or algae killer)? Is the carbon filter not needed because the good bacteria can fully take care of the ammonia?

-Mahstah

Hailey's Reply:

Carbon does not remove ammonia at all (or at least if it does, it is an immeasurable amount). I don't believe there is any reason to run carbon on an aquarium unless trying to remove a chemical like medication. It takes trace elements out of the water that fish need, it stops working fast, and worse yet, after it stops working it may leech the chemicals back into the water.

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BadSaturn3 posted:

I am a little new to Aquariums. I was wondering about filter care on a Bio-Wheel. Thank You very much.

GoldLenny's reply:

I need to update that article to include Bio-Wheels since they are gaining favor.

Basically, you would NEVER do anything to the Bio-Wheel, itself. If you are going to have the power off for very long, take it off and float it in your tank or in some removed tank water, to keep it wet so the N-bacteria in the actual wheel do not die off.

Marineland, also the inventors of Bio-Spira, came up with the Bio-Wheel idea... mainly as a way of selling filter cartridges since "now" you can change out their skimpy filter cartridges every two to four weeks without killing off your N-bacteria colony.... since they live mostly in the Bio-Wheel.

I have a Bio-Wheel 200, as the secondary filter system on my 65G Goldfish and Pleco tank and all I did after the first two weeks, is I used a razor knife to cut three sides of the black plastic slotted section and dumped the charcoal out. I added a piece of poly pad filter material into that square and put the cartridge back in the holder. Then I just do the filter maintenance as described in the article as needed. It's the same filter cartridge that came with the system many months ago. I also rolled up a 2" piece of poly pad, like a cigar, and put it in the little semi-circle overflow cut-out next to the intake tube. This forces the water through the filter, or over the top of the filter cartridge, when it starts to get clogged... but at least it keeps the Bio-Wheel spinning. I've found that if the water starts to back-up out of the overflow cut-out, then not much water goes through the filter and the bio-wheel does not spin properly, which could cause it to dry out and you would lose much of your N-Bacteria colony.

Thanks for asking about the Bio-Wheel systems.

GoldLenny

By rbishop on 05-05-2007, 06:40 PM ( This comment was added to my published article on AquariaCentral.com )
Well, it is probably semantics, but..UGFs...I think they are more popular than most folks think. Most any site I go to that has a poll, 40% of the respondents are still using them.
I still see folks claiming (repeating) that they clog up. I have never seen this to be the case in my experience, but feel those who fail to properly maintain them, could have an issue.
I believe RUGF are a great step forward in filtration, pushing the debri into the water column for removal by other power filters. This is extremely useful in high bioload tanks.In either case, there is no beating utilizing the entire surface area of the substrate as a bio filter. A lot of people and filter manufacturers talk about all the surface area their external filters create, but never acknowledge that your bacteria is only equal to your bio-load. I can run my UGF/RUGfs, and completely bust out any other filter to ground zero without any spikes or many cycles. That tells me the substrate alone holds enough surface area to maintain my tank.
Canisters..Kind of like above, the ability to put in multiple forms of media is vastly over rated. So many of us push letting your fish adjust to your normal parameters and then recommend filters that have the ability for 15 dozen medias. If you have a solid water problem and need to buffer, fine; or to create some conditions for spawning with peat or other products, they are nice. But to spend big bucks on some of the canisters out there is a waste, when a simple Mag 350 will suffice, by 10 fold. Or put the bucks into a small wet/dry. When run in parallel with a RUFG, there is no need for the fancy, high dollar canisters.
Carbon...This is a tricky one. To start, let me say, I run carbon in all my filters. Shock! $$$$ But I have clarity that is unachievable any other way.
The general theory is that a water change will do you just as well. I tend to disagree. If your water has impurities and discoloration, adding more of the same water doesn't make things better.
Also, carbon removes impurities we can not see and we can not test for. The nitrate test are an easy and conveinient method, but don't reflect other TDS DOCs we need to remove. Much as we have carbon filters on our drinking water systems. We can't see the difference, we don't test for it, but lab results show different. It is true that most cartridges have a poor quality and lack ample volume to be effective, but that shouldn't dissuade use of it.
Fish produce the growth inhibiting hormone for their full life span. Carbon should be used the full time for ultimate growth. The removal of impurities is a chemical/ionic bond. You can not release back into the water unless you heat to about 2400 degrees F.
Just my thoughts and experiences. I think we need to look at pros and cons, but not rule out a filtration method directly. Individual applications create the need for flexibility.
GoldLenny replies:
Thanks for your comments.
GoldLenny

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Last edited on November 14, 2008