Media containers?

[RYknow]

Hey guys. I was just wondering what I should be running in my media containers? Up to this point I haven't been running anything. I'll be honest, I didn't find out till recently that I could put media into those containers. I'm a noob, and a typical guy (saw instructions...tossed them aside, and started figuring out how to put the filter together with just the pieces...haha!).

Anyway...I'm going to go back to the LFS tomorrow to pick up some new filter cartridges, and figured I would pick up some form of media to put in those containers. I'm also planning a 1/4 water change.

RYknow

[Bifferwine]

Most people run carbon in them, but you don't need to run carbon 24/7. One day a week or every other week is usually sufficient. The rest of the time, it's helpful to run some sort of phosphate removal media like Phosguard or Phosban. This will help prevent algae.

[RYknow]

Fortunetly, I don't have any issues with algae. The only thing that I have problems with water quality wise is my nitrates are a little high. Not high enough to be an issue, but I know that if they are up at all, there is room for improvement.

Is there anything I can put in there to help lower the nitrates? Is there any tell tale signs of phosphates, and if there are issues caused by phosphates? When we first started the tank, I was using phoslock. When I stopped using it, I noticed no change whatsoever. After noticing no difference, I never bothered to use it again.

RYknow

[cgoodman381]

You could throw in come chemi-pure or something similar. An all around aquarium buffer.

[Bifferwine]

Phosphate test kits aren't accurate, and in my opinion pretty much worthless. The tell tale sign of a phosphate problem is algae. Often times, the algae uses up the phosphate in the water so quickly that a test kit will read 0 anyways.