Are Penn Plax Pro-V Waste adsorbing crystals useful? It says that they absorb ammonia. Are they actually helpful in this respect or are they a waste of money? Anyone got any experience with this?
2007-03-06 08:00:42 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
A good filter and proper maintance will do what the crystals do. Unless you notice an ammonia spike AFTER a tank has been fully cycled, then you should be able to drop one in for a "quick fix" with a 20% water change.
Really though, if you have the proper bacteria growing in your filter, then the stones would be next to useless.
Me personally, I wouldn't bother. I rince my filter media once a month with water that's the same temp as the tank water, and do a 30% water change every 2 weeks.
I increased the number of fish in my tank, and just doing a larger water change keeps the ammonia levels under control.
2007-03-06 08:08:33 · answer #1 · answered by mandelyn_82 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, you shouldn't need to use them. Assuming that your tank is properly stocked and that you perform regular (weekly) water changes, you should not need to use these, because as the person before me mentioned, there are bacteria that should break down all traces of ammonia before they can harm your fish.
If your tank is still cycling, then definitely don't use these crystals. They will absorb the ammonia, preventing the bacteria from breaking it down, and slowing down or halting the cycling process.
If you have ammonia levels and you're cycling, let the cycle finish (4-6 weeks). If you already have fish, you can either cut back on your fish or do small daily water changes to keep the ammonia down.
If your tank is already mature and you're getting ammonia readings, your tank may be overstocked, or you aren't doing enough water changes.
2007-03-06 16:18:06 · answer #2 · answered by Zoe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Waste of money in my opinion. Just do regular water changes of about 25% per week and keep the filter clean and you will have no problems that those things could help with.
MM
2007-03-06 16:15:54 · answer #3 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Waste of money. If your tank is cycled, not overstocked, and you perform regular water changes, then the tank will do that on its own.
2007-03-06 16:24:08 · answer #4 · answered by fish guy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋