# Aqua clear 50 & 70



## aimbdd (Feb 14, 2012)

I have am aqua clear 50 on my 25 gallon and the 70 on my 36 gallon tank. I rinse out the filter sponge and charcoal with tank water every other week, but how often should they be replaced?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the sponge should last you for years..mine have...
i don't use the charcoal...i set it aside for when i want to remove meds or staining from driftwood...if you have had the filters running with the charcoal in them for more than 2 weeks then the charcoal is already shot..take it out before it starts causing problems..


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## aimbdd (Feb 14, 2012)

lohachata said:


> the sponge should last you for years..mine have...
> i don't use the charcoal...i set it aside for when i want to remove meds or staining from driftwood...if you have had the filters running with the charcoal in them for more than 2 weeks then the charcoal is already shot..take it out before it starts causing problems..


Should i replace it with something else? I figured the bio max never really needs to be changed?


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

aimbdd said:


> Should i replace it with something else? I figured the bio max never really needs to be changed?


The only thing that needs to be replaced in there is the carbon. With that I would use it for a month, give it a good rinse then use it for another month. Then after that it needs to be replaced. Now wether you still want to use it or not is up to you, in most of my AquaClears and Fluval Cs I still use carbon. It really is a good medium, its not necessary, but I prefer to use it for numerous reasons. On the ones I dont use carbon in I use something like SeaChem Purigen. Chemical media is not needed but really helps a tank "shine" or flourish, if you know what I mean.


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