Aquarium Biological Media Replacement

Inleiding

When you “keep” pet fish, you are not just keeping the individual fish themselves. Rather you are really keeping the water that those fish live in. Fish produce waste which will make the water they live in toxic, so it is their owner’s responsibility to keep their water clean. An aquarium filter is often used to maintain the livability of the aquarium water. The filter media provides nitrifying bacteria a place to establish a colony. This bacteria takes deadly compounds produced from fish waste, like ammonia, and converts it into less toxic compounds that can be removed with regular water changes. Every aquarium in the world that supports life contains these bacteria. The filter media is where the majority of then nitrifying bacteria in your tank will live.

Often, commercially produced aquarium filters come with cheap sponges which are meant to act as this medium. Unfortunately, these sponges can deteriorate quickly and replacement sponges must be purchased. However instead of purchasing a new sponge medium, one can simply produce their own long lasting and effective media with a little bit of effort. This guide will go over creating, preparing, and using your own aquarium filter media made from PVC pipe.

Never replace more than 25% of your filter media at once.

Wat je nodig hebt

Stap 1 Rub the PVC pipe with Sandpaper

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Rub the PVC pipe with Sandpaper: stap 1, afbeelding 1 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Rub the PVC pipe with Sandpaper: stap 1, afbeelding 2 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Rub the PVC pipe with Sandpaper: stap 1, afbeelding 3 van 3

Get a PVC pipe with a small diameter; less than 5 cm is ideal.
Rub the outer surface of the PVC pipe with 120 grit sandpaper to create a rough surface.
You will want the surface to go from feeling smooth, to feeling grainy. The goal is to create as much surface area as possible for good bacteria to colonize.

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Stap 2 Cut the PVC Pipe into Small Pieces

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Cut the PVC Pipe into Small Pieces: stap 2, afbeelding 1 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Cut the PVC Pipe into Small Pieces: stap 2, afbeelding 2 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Cut the PVC Pipe into Small Pieces: stap 2, afbeelding 3 van 3

Use any cutting tool like utility scissors to safely cut the PVC pipe into several small pieces.
Ideally you will want enough pieces to fill approximately 25% of your aquarium filter's canister.
Put all of the small cut pieces into a container that can hold water.

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Stap 3 Fill the Container with Water

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Fill the Container with Water: stap 3, afbeelding 1 van 1

Thoroughly rinse the pipe pieces to remove any powdered PVC.
Do a final rinse with conditioned tap water, or any chlorine-free water you have available.

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Stap 4 Remove Existing Aquarium Filter Medium

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Remove Existing Aquarium Filter Medium: stap 4, afbeelding 1 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Remove Existing Aquarium Filter Medium: stap 4, afbeelding 2 van 3

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Remove Existing Aquarium Filter Medium: stap 4, afbeelding 3 van 3

Unplug your aquarium filter.
Lift the lid of your aquarium filter's canister.
Carefully remove 10-25% of your biological filter media.

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Stap 5 Insert the New Media into the Filter Canister

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Insert the New Media into the Filter Canister: stap 5, afbeelding 1 van 2

Aquarium Biological Media Replacement, Insert the New Media into the Filter Canister: stap 5, afbeelding 2 van 2

Slowly replace the existing biological with your new pipe media: 10-25% a week, during water changes, is ideal to avoid ammonia spikes.
Do not replace all the media at once.
You have successfully replaced your biological media with a more robust and effective alternative.