Ginger,

First of all, how is your fish doing??

NO! Ammo Carb and BioMax are totally different!! - BioMax is a newly
designed ring (I think it's made out of glass) which houses Good
Bacteria. Ammo carb just reduces ammonia in the water, but it stops
working after a few weeks and if you add too much salt, it leeches
(sp.?) the ammonia back into your aquarium if you don't replace it.

The BioMax lasts about 6 months, but it is much more important than
either the carbon insert or the ammo insert. Some aquarists use only
the sponge and the BioMax in double quantity. I do use carbon myself as
well.

You can purchase Activated Carbon separately in loose form and put it
into a separately purchased mesh bag. Rinse well and place it on TOP of
the sponge and UNDER the BioMax.

Order of media in AquaClear Filter:
FROM BOTTOM To TOP:
Foam Sponge - Removes larger particles of waste for 3-4 months (must be
rinsed every week!!).
Activated Carbon- Removes impurities for 4-6 weeks
Ammo Carb - (OPTIONAL) Removes ammonia for up to 4 weeks, then change it!
BIOMAX - Houses GOOD Bacteria for up to 6 months; rinse every 2 weeks

Add Cycle or STABILITY (Better) to the tank to hasten the good bacteria
growth. Otherwise it takes a tank 4-6 weeks to cycle before you have
enough good bacteria to keep the ammonia and nitrites under control. If
you can find neither of these right away, you MUST keep do water changes
every day to keep the ammonia levels down.

Try this web site for info and to get what you need:
Cut and paste into your browser...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produc...?N=2004+113803

nan

Tispe wrote:
I have an aqua clear filter, which made all the difference in my
tank.....I've noticed the store I bought it from (it's an all purpose
dog/cat/fish/etc.) hasn't had all the three components. Now is bio max the
same as the bags of ammo carb? They don't seem to have the carbon bags
anymore.

Along with using the new filter, I did get CYCLE and I seem to be having
luck......could be the filter, could be the CYCLE or could be both.
"NanK" wrote in message
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