Equipment Review and Discussion :: Filter question

[sagoy]

First timer in the aquarium business. I have a RIO filter. Do filters clean up feces from feeder fish? Is it good to put activated carbon in the filter as well?

[papoopeepoo]

First timer in the aquarium business. I have a RIO filter. Do filters clean up feces from feeder fish? Is it good to put activated carbon in the filter as well?

Yes, filters should suck up everything solid in the water besides the inhabitants. Activated carbon is generally considered old school. You need to replace it very often, it's purpose is only needed sometimes (removing medications, strange colors, and some smells), and it's more trouble than it is help.

For turtle tanks the most important parts of the filter are mechanical (sponged, foam, filter floss, etc.), and biological (ceramic rings, bioballs, cut straws, etc.)

[sagoy]

Suck up everything? Some fish poo is left at the base of the tank and just sits there. Does this mean the filter doesn't work?

[papoopeepoo]

No, not necessarily. How many gallons per hour is your filter pumping, and how large is your tank?

You typically want a filter that will cycle the aquarium water through the media 5x per hour. This minimum is usually enough to agitate the water and move most anything off of the bottom of the tank. Otherwise, you will want to siphon the bigger chunks out as you do your water changes.