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This is my first instructable and is intended to compliment pixelinabitmap's "Cheap Filtration For A Small Aquarium instructable. This is not intended as a replacement, as his instructable gives a much more thorough explanation of the processes at work. However my instructable adds photos of the process and a couple of minor modifications I made to his original description.
The idea here is to purchase a cheap disposable filter (around $3 or $4) and reuse it by recharging the carbon and zeolite yourself. This is much cheaper then buying a new disposable filter each time you need a new one. Note that these filters are recommended for small aquariums or fish bowls, so you won't want to use this on your big 55 gallon tank.
Things you'll need:
The idea here is to purchase a cheap disposable filter (around $3 or $4) and reuse it by recharging the carbon and zeolite yourself. This is much cheaper then buying a new disposable filter each time you need a new one. Note that these filters are recommended for small aquariums or fish bowls, so you won't want to use this on your big 55 gallon tank.
Things you'll need:
- Disposable filter (at most pet stores for around $3)
- Air pump, the smaller the better. Mine was only about $5 at the pet shop
- Air stones - these make the thing way quiter. I think it was $1.99 for a two pack and these will have to be replaced every so often.
- Activated carbon, this is about $3 or $4 for a big container of it at the pet store.
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Signing UpStep 1The Discard-A-Filter
I recommend doing this modification before using the filter (as opposed to using the filter for a few weeks and then disassembling it when you're ready to replace the contents). I bought a two-pack of these and the first one I modded without a hitch, but the second one I had been using in the bowl and it made the plastic too fragile so it started breaking in places I didn't want it to (and not breaking in places I did want it to).
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Here's a great article on activated carbon you need to read: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/carbon.htm
And the floss works as a filter by a) trapping particles and b) using good bacteria to convert the extremely poisonous fish piss into nitrates, which can then be rid of with partial water changes. This is 90% of the solution in keeping things clean. Thereore, ALWAYS ONLY RINSE YOUR FILTER FLOSS IN USED AQUARIUM WATER, NEVER in tap water!!! Don't add fresh untreated tap water into the tank either.
Speaking from experience, after setting up your tank, there is 1 very important but simple basic rule on keeping your fish healthy:
HANDS OFF! Don't rock the boat! Never do anything lots or fast. Don't fiddle! The ecological balance, like a see-saw, can be disturbed very easily, and when it falls over, it can fall fast, and you will lose a lot of fish.
Specifically,
1a) DON'T CHANGE TOO MUCH WATER. Except for emergencies (where you KNOW what you are doing!!!), don't change more than 30% of the water at a time. Don't change any amount of water more often than twice a week, or less often than once a month. Use the same source of water every time.
20-25% once a week is probably around the ideal. This takes out the nitrates, which otherwise will build up.
1b) DON'T FEED WHENEVER THEY LOOK HUNGRY. Don't feed a lot or often, even if they ask you, until you have had them for at least a month and also know what you are doing. Feed just a little. A hungry fish will be a litle thinner than normal and has something to do: look for foood. A WELL-FED FISH WILL DIE OF FUNGUS. If you know what you are doing, feed just a tiny bit morning and evening, otherwise, just mornings is probably safer. If things have gone wrong, once a week. The fish will handle this just fine for a few weeks. Feed food that does not disintegrate fine particles that fall into the gravel and decompose, adding microscopic fungus to the water. If they eat it all up in a minute, you are underfeeding. If there is some left after 5 minutes, you may be overfeeding. Let them be hungry enough to search for food, it;s all they have to live for. Don't let them get bored being overfed. They will die, I promise you.
1c) DON'T ADD LOTS OF FISH. Just a couple a week, so that the filter bacteria cvan grow up to handle their waste. (And check beforehand which kind of fish can go together! And some fish are unhappy and stressed out if not kept in a school of 5 or 6 [so add 3 at a time, or 5 small ones]. And some need space not friends, like Paradise or Siamese.) And understock your tank - this will pay off. You can rather get to know your fish which you do have, as friends. They do learn to relate, you know.
1d) Keep soaps and soap-washed things (incl hands) and anything else you can think of including fresh untreated tap water away from them, and away from the filter!
1e) Don't spring clean your tank or filter media. When you must clean, pick one thing at a time, or half your filter media, and clean it in used aquarium water, to keep the good bacteria on. (BTW these good guys cover themselves with a slimy film you can feel but not see - this is not a bad thing, it is a good thing.) Use a gravel washer to clean a different part of your gravel at a time. This changes the aeration of the gravel, which can release sulfides if the gravel is deep enough. Don't go deeper than 4 cm.
1f) If fish do get sick, don't panic and add all kinds of medicines or change everything. First off, i) Get skilled advice. Diagnose very carefully. and ii) Stop feeding till you have diagnosed accurately, and possibly longer. and iii) Change 20% of the water.
Just watch the fishies! :-)
Another cool plant that can survive in the water (so long as the head of the stalks remain above it) is the Umbrella Palm (cyperus alternifolius). Its root system can overtake your soil if left unchecked, though. :)
http://theaquariumwiki.com/Activated_Carbon
These days carbon is no longer required in most peoples aquariums.
It's often just a filter manufacturers plan to get you to buy more from them every month.
It's a hang-over from the 1970s.
AC needs to be changed every 3 days. Not every 2-3 weeks. ;-)
Manufacturers don't like telling you that...