The blue filter pad for my undergravel filtering system needs to be changed, how do I do that without upsetting the biological filtration that is established?

hi.

well, i dont want to make this all complicated. its just that i dont understand exactly what you mean by blue filter pad. most undergravel set-ups only have the plate, gravel, the uptube and an airpump or powerhead. so, that all depends on how you have your undergravel system set up. could you describe the tank in detail?

do you have gravel over the plate? how deep?

is there a blue filter pad under the plate?

powerhead or airpump?

how many gallons and how many fish (how big)?

anyway, assuming youve got at least an inch of gravel, the blue floss is under the plate and your tank isnt too heavily stocked, you should be able to just remove the gravel, remove the plate, replace the floss, and then reverse the process. dont let the gravel dry out and replace it promptly and you should be able to retain most or all of its original viability. if youve got it set-up in some other way, we might need the extra info.

i hope this helps! post back soon.

paul

It is a micron filter pad that is on top of the plastic plate with about 2-3 inches of gravel on top of that. Susposedly it helps to trap the waste by a straining process. I'm not sure how to remove and replace this pad without putting all that it's trapped back into the aquairum. Do I remove the fish to another tank and then put them back after I've finished? I can't see trying to remove the filter pad while fish are still in there but I don't want to cause undue stress or harm to them either. I've had a recent bout with fin rot on one of my goldfish and I'm worried I will create a similar situation and loose fish.

My other concern and why I am attempting to change this filtering pad is I have brown algae blossomning at an alarming rate. From what I've read this is a cause of concern and partial water changes does not seem to be having any effect. I test regularly (daily until I ran out of strips - will have another supply in the next day or two) and I do a partial water change when the Nitrate reaches 80. The pad has been there almost a year (recommended by local pet store owner) and I'm afraid it has become clogged thus putting waste back into the aquarium.

At this point I am wondering about the necessity of the pad altogether. My tank is 55 gal and I have a power head at each end drawing water from under the plastic plate. I also run an Emperior 440(?).

I have 3 medium sized fish, 1 small, and 3 somewhere in between small and medium. Any information you provide Paul will be greatly appreciated.

I have seen some pads that are for phosphate removal which doesn't seem to be the case in your setup. If you are concerned about nitrate and brown algae, removing or replacing the pad will not solve your problem. If you remove/replace the pad, nitrate levels will increase.

To reduce nitrate and algae growth you must do one or all of the following:

1. Increase volume and frequency of water changes
2. Add live plants
3. Feed only once a day, if already doing that reduce amount of food (are you overstocked?)