Daniel's Fish Care Tips

305 Fluval Filter

how do i take apart a fluval 305 external filter?

ok so my black neons have gotten ich again so i need to treat them, well i need to take the carbon out of my filter. i cant rememeber how you take it apart. the last time i took it apart i had a near disaster and nearly flooded the backroom. and since then ive been too scared to touch it incase it happens again
ive had the filter for 2 months. its just that it says i need to remove the carbon from the filter

It’s actually very easy to take apart a Fluval 305.
The hoses that connect at the top of the filter have a valve that closes them so water won’t run out (it’s a lever you lift up). Do this before you take anything apart.
Put the unit in a dishpan or flat tup or the like before you take it apart, to contain the small amount of water that will spill out.
The filter media, such as carbon, are in baskets that just lift out.
Do all the same things in reverse to put the filter together again.

If you’ve had the carbon in there more than a month or so, you actually don’t need to remove it before medicating the tank, because after a few weeks the absoptive capacity of the carbon has been exhausted. At that point, the carbon is serving mainly as a biological filter medium (beneficial bacteria grow on its surface).

Fluval 305 and Aqueon filter review

Betta Fish Fungus Care

Why do my bettas keep dying?

I have always had 3 bettas, one in a 1 gallon bowl, another in a 2 gallon with a cheap filter, and another one in a 3 gallon eclipse tank with filter, biowheel, and heater. The first two i dont give great care, i clean them once a month, feed them every few days, and they have lived for 2 years just fine, active and healthy. As for the last eclipse tank i had a super delta betta and the tank was imaculate, water was balanced, heat was betweeh 75 and 80, fed him hikari pellets and blood worms, he had live plants, and i did 1/4 water changes once a month and use stress coat and aquarisol drop, but after 7 months with him he died of a fungus. So i got another one and i change the whole water and thoroughly cleaned the tank then put the new fish in it and he was absol;utely fine and active until one morning he got a white bump on his head and that afternoon died. So why do my bettas in the eclipse tank (who i take the best care of) keep dying and the other two live just fine for years?

You sound like you are over cleaning the tank (not water changes but rinsing and scrubbing). Water changes are good but not “thoroughly cleaned the tank”. You do not want to like rinse the gravel or go crazy on cleaning, just water changes to dilute the nitrates.

Also, your temperature does not sound stable. A 5 degree change in a day can be very harmful.

Why are you constantly using aquarisol? That is likely part of the problem as well. Only medicate if needed! Stress coat is OK for a tap water conditioner, but do not overdo it either. A lot of those slime coat products are fine to promote healing but not great on regular use. A non-slime coat tap water conditions is safer.

Your water changes might not have been frequent enough either. Try weekly partial water changes rather than monthly water changes. Did you test your water? Why did you pick that schedule and how did you know if your parameters were OK? What were your nitrate and ammonia levels before and after a water change? After 7 months, nitrate is the prime suspect.

A betta should live at least 5 years in even minimal care, and above 10 years if provided ample care.

Your problem sounds like Columnaris which is usually linked to high nitrates and poor water quality. It isn’t a fungus and is not ich, but can often be confused with the two – often starts out as a white or shiny spot on the face, lateral line, head or mouth, then turns a bright white and eventually gets fuzzy looking.

Hydor Inline

Planted Aquarium Glosso HD