My new Elite Stingray filter has just arrived but I opened it up and it has two little carbon/zeolite cartridges in it. It also has plenty of foam. I am sure I have heard you guys say bad things about carbon and zeolite but not sure what. So should I remove them before installing the filter?

I don't use carbon in my filter unless I want to remove medication from water. I don't use zeolite either.

Carbon if not changed roughly every fortnight will just become a breeding ground for contaminanats. If you think about it, it removes chemicals from the water but only has the capacity to remove so much therefore it eventually leeches it back into the tank - so not good. Zeolite removes the ammonia from your water but if you ever add salt, it will release the ammonia back into your tank.

IMHO I'd get some ceramic noodles, lava rock or sintered glass to house good bacteria then you end up with excellent biological and mechanical filtration

I think I am just the kind of person that would salt the tank forgetting about the zeolite. I think I will put the filter in with just the foam for now and then see about getting something else to put in the carbon/zeolite space later. The cartridges take up little space and just kind of clip in so it might be difficult to get something to fit but I'll have a look around.

Is there anything to host bacteria in the filter? Filter is the best place for bacteria. We need to provide a good house for them.

Here is a pic of my filter
filter
The two bean-shaped things either side are carbon and zeolite. Below that is a piece of foam that slots in sideways (it is bigger than it looks there) Below that, in the "tail" of the filter is another piece of foam.
If you scroll down further you can see a pack of the two pieces of foam which shows it more quickly.

I have removed the two carbon/zeolite cartridges and installed the filter with just the foam. I am now looking for something to put in the place of the carbon/zeolite but because of the filter design it may be a little awkward.

I use Zeolite for all my tanks. In my pond i use a large amount of it. Each week I recharge it with a strong concentration got salt. I only use salt in my QT so im safe from the ammonia going back into my tank. Its the best natural resource for removing ammonia and i highly recommend it.

Mango

How big is your tank?

20 gallon, also have a Fluval 2+ running.

Well you need 200 gph for your tank and flubal 2+ gives you 105 gph and you need additional 95 gph. But I can't find gph info for Elite.

I will consider HOB filter which give more space in the tank.

the elitw stingray I have says it is 330lph which equates to around 80gph. That leaves me just a little short with 185gph.

I am planning to get a tropical tank in a couple of months and was thinking of putting the fluval 2+ in there and getting a fluval 3+ for the goldie tank which would tank gph up to a total of 220 gph. That's not totally decided yet though.