Filter media.

[Doodle]

As above really,

Am running two large jbl externals.

Was interested in how you guys have the media laid out and what type you have in them?

Do you put the same in both or do you have different things in them?

Does it really matter if i put the charcoal in one place an the 'whatever' in another or is it good practice to keep things a certain way?

what do you use as the 'strainer' do you keep what the filter came with or do you bin it and put in what you want?

never quite know if im using them to their best really.:dk:

 

[bigbird]

Hello,

I am sure you will get a few variety of responses, however this is how I run all of my tanks which have 2 external filters each.

1. I set up each filter exactly the same set up in each. medium clay pipes lower part, dense balls middle and the top the strainer . My reason for this set up is twofold. In the event of one filter maybe breaking or nor working, that it does not upset anything and the other one is, if in another tank a filter breaks I can easily swap.
2. Initially I use the strainer which comes with the filter, however later I use a white filter mat, large sheets can be bought at the LFS and then cut to size and replace these with every filter flush or clean. cheaper
3. I never use charcoal in my filter media, as charcoal has a used by date. I only use this charcoal if and after medication or new set up. I however just buy a check corner plastic air bubbler and place the charcoal in that and then remove.
4. I am a believer that the 3 rules for good aquariums is 1 30% weekly water change 2 not to overfeed and 3 flush external filter every 4weeks

Hope this helps, cheers jk :yes:

 

[bigbird]

oh and sorry. When I havethe 2externals, I flush then every 4 weeks, however never flush both at the same time, but 2 weeks apart. cheers jk

 

[xingu]

My tank is small, i run the medium size Tetratec external, i think that is the 700?

I have clay pipes, coarse sponge, Bio Balls, coarse sponge and then polishing floss in that order from bottom up.

As the manufacturer recommends, althought the poloishing floss is just a generic one.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
My externals are both 2nd hand Eheim classics, and I just 3/4 fill them up with ceramic rings, and put a coarse filter sponge on the intake. http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?p=56938&highlight=ppi10#post56938

The advantages of the sponge is it easy to clean, stops bulky organic waste, fry and shrimps ending up in the filter and gives a sponge surface for fry and shrimps to feed on. The most important factor is that you need to keep the flow speed through the filter relatively high, as otherwise the water may become de-oxygenated and the ammonia > nitrite > nitrate conversion stop. The great advantage of ceramic rings is that they don't clog easily, meaning that flow and oxygenation levels wil remain high, vastly increasing the filtration efficiency of the filter. More details here: <http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=829>.

When we did more waste water work in the lab. we tried a lot of different filter media, and ceramic rings came out as one of the best (and cheapest) options. If I'd had to buy media for a really large filter I would have bought 25Kg of "Alfagrog" as it is almost as good as ceramic rings and cheaper to buy.

cheers Darrel

 

[Doodle]

Cheers guys for the answers and feedback.

I have the rings in the bottom of each filter, have the next basket with carbon and sponge around it and then the next ones are the proper layers of course and fine sponge.

in the middle baskets i have the ability to put in the centre of the sponge some carbon/or other bags of stuff! i read earlier that Bigbird does not use charcoal- i thought that you should - is it something i should consider removing or keep using it. I know the old adage dont change something if it isnt broken but was just curious if i could improve the filtering.

i know i should improve on my changing water- i know i could improve but its just trying to get a routine that fits in with my way of work and other things that crop up.

regards

Paul

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Bigbird does not use charcoal- i thought that you should - is it something i should consider removing or keep using it.

Depends what you want it for, it is quite a good biological media when it is "spent", so there is no real reason for removing it. You shouldn't really need it in a filter unless you have added meds. and need to remove them. Personally I'd go with a sponge pre-filter, and chuck the fine sponge out of the filter. I think the thing you really need to concentrate on is the amount of oxygen in your filter, not the amount of filter material, anything that reduces flow speed and/or clogs easily is almost certainly doing more harm than good.

i know i should improve on my changing water

I think this is the real answer, if you have heavily planted tanks it becomes slightly less important (plants are very efficient at mopping up NH3, NO2 & NO3), but even then it is still probably the single factor that makes the most difference to fish health and water quality. I change 10% a day in all small tanks (less than 100 litres), it probably is more than you need, but it works for me. If I'm away for a few days I just change a larger volume before I go and when I come back.

cheers Darrel

 

[Big-B]

My filters are set up pretty simple. First a layer of coarse filter sponge, then a layer of fine sponges. Then two baskets full of Seachem Matrix, followed by a polishing pad. Havn't used carbon or anything else in a few years. This set-up seems to work very well for my tank and the water flow stays strong. :yes: