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Advice needed- external filter media

Sacha

Sacha

Member
Joined
3 Jan 2014
Messages
992
Location
London
I have just watched this video:



Currently on my 125, I run an internal Juwel 1000 lph filter, and an External APS 1400 lph canister filter.

In the internal, from bottom to top, I have:

Blue coarse sponge
Blue coarse sponge
Cirax (ceramic media)
Blue fine sponge
Blue fine sponge
Poly pad (floss)

In the external, from bottom to top:

Bottom tray:

Blue coarse sponge
Bio balls

Middle tray:

Ceramic noodles

Top tray:

Fine floss

According to this guy, all your sponges should be on your bottom tray? So all the mechanical filtration should be done before the biological filtration. Also, he says the ceramics are useless? Is that correct?

Considering this is a heavily planted Co2 tank, flow needs to be optimal. I'm guessing a lot of my biological filtration is done by the internal filter and the plants. So the external is really just for mechanical filtration, flow, and injecting Co2 via the spray bar.

According to this guys advice, I should change my external filter media arrangement to this:

Bottom tray :

Coarse blue sponge(s)
Fine filter floss

Middle tray:

Biological media

Top tray:

Biological media

Now, I have no idea what to do, since a Co2 tank doesn't need all that biological media. What's the best way to fill my external?! I've asked this question many times before, and every time the answers seem to be different 🙁
 
I have been advised by a number of members in here that in a heavily planted tank bio media isn't imperative, bacteria grows everywhere including mechanical filter media! I have been running both my filters without any ceramics in for the last 6 months! I didn't even get a spike when I removed them!

Ceramics aren't useless by any means but they aren't NEEDED

Saying this as my opinion! Not as gospel! Obviously caution should be taken when removing beneficial bacteria, but it has worked with no hiccups for me!

Hope my late night ramblings might help!



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Excuse the shoddy texting, auto correct had a field day...

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If your tank is heavily planted, and everything is growing well, the only media you need to worry about is the stuff that stops particles from clogging the impeller and re-entering the water column. The main concern in planted tanks is flow, and media does little other than slow this down. The way this guy packs the media into his filter, I wouldn't be surprised if he only sees 2/3 of the flow it is capable of.
 
Putting the ceramics in the bottom seems like a bad idea. Hindering the flow that should reach the whole underside of the first box so much it might just cut 50% right there.
At least he put some thought into it 😉

I'm fine with coarse sponge, some bio balls and carbon. Might even swap the bio balls out for more coarse sponge after seeing this 😛
 
Right, so the ceramics are going.
Should the poly pad move from the top tray to the bottom?
Should I use any bio media at all?
 
I personally would buddy! All the do is reduce flow!! and you can leave your poly pads in yeah! Although more flow will be gained with less resistance!

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk
 
Let's say I remove all the bio media. That means my only biological filtration is coming from the internal filter, and the plants. If I go on holiday for a couple of weeks, and my internal filter impeller seizes up (this has happened before), will the biological filtration of the plants alone be enough to sustain the fish?
 
Sacha said:
Let's say I remove all the bio media. That means my only biological filtration is coming from the internal filter, and the plants. If I go on holiday for a couple of weeks, and my internal filter impeller seizes up (this has happened before), will the biological filtration of the plants alone be enough to sustain the fish?
Click to expand...

In a normal healthy tank this is not a problem. Your external filter will still have some measure of biological filtration even without special media, as bacteria are everywhere. As long as there is flow it will be fine for 2-3 weeks.
 
This is how I have my filter but less packed than his. The idea is sound, that the mechanical filters take out all the crap so that 'clean' water hits the bio media so the bio media does not clog up. The idea of the 10-20-30ppi-floss is that each level takes out smaller and smaller chunks so that it it shouldn't clogs.

The bio media really can be anything, even more sponges, bacteria don't care what surface they cling to. I currently run a 10ppi pre-filter, 10ppi-20ppi sponge and rest of the trays have a layer and a half of clay rings, (because that's what I bought when I got the filter before I knew better). Chances are if you have a planeted tank you're running an over sized filter for your tank, so it really doesn't need to be packed with media. I also have the outlet tap 45 degree closed because any more has my Blue Ram gets pushed around the tank.
 
+1 on the pot scrubbers. I have a eheim classic 2/3 full of them. Flow is excellent and filtration superb. At £1ish for 12 and with the job they're doing I can't see much point spending more.
 
I always understood on larger capacity high flow filters you put ceramic rings/noodles/pan scrubbers etc before any foam or floss in order to try and remove as much dirt as possible before reaching the finer filter media. This makes the foam/floss last much longer before cleaning than if it were first in the flow.

Also ceramics/rocks have much more biological surface, for bacteria to grow on, per unit volume than foam, panscrubbers, plastic balls etc which may or may not be relevant in your filtration case.
 
Hi all,
ian_m said:
I always understood on larger capacity high flow filters you put ceramic rings/noodles/pan scrubbers etc before any foam or floss in order to try and remove as much dirt as possible before reaching the finer filter media. This makes the foam/floss last much longer before cleaning than if it were first in the flow.
Click to expand...
I think that is what Eheim advice for the "Classic" range, something like:

1. Ceramic rings
2. Coarse foam
3. Eheim substrat Pro
4. Floss
5. Carbon pad

I'm not convinced personally, I don't like any floss or foam inside the filter.

I like a pre-filter (takes seconds to clean), clean that every week and then just have rings, coco-pops, alfagrog etc. in the filter body. Usually the hoses need cleaning long before filter media does.

cheers Darrel
 
sit down, have a think and do whatever you think is, or like best. It's not going to make a huge impact that will change your whole world.
Every single person has his or her way of doing it and they're all still keeping fish.
Look at the fish, look at the plants and look at the flow.
Maybe change it up after a few months and see if you can spot the difference. I'll bet you won't notice a thing.
 
Hi all,
Sacha said:
I actually have no idea what to do...!
Click to expand...
Why you are thinking, make a pre-filter from PPI10 or PPI20 foam (or the sponge you already have in the filter, or if you want it in black you can buy the one for the Fluval Edge ("RC Hagen A1387 Fluval Edge Pre-Filter Sponge").

Then just leave the rings, cirax and noodles in the filter. Put every thing else in a cupboard, put the pre-filter onto the intake, prime the filter, turn it on, purge any air and then forget about it until the next week, when you clean the pre-filter sponge.

Job done.

cheers Darrel
 
The problem with that is that the dirt (on the pre- filter) remains in the tank. Half the point of using an external is that the dirt itself leaves the tank
 
Hi all
Sacha said:
The problem with that is that the dirt (on the pre- filter) remains in the tank. Half the point of using an external is that the dirt itself leaves the tank
Click to expand...
No it isn't. You don't want the external filter media to act as a mechanical filter, you want it purely to act as a biological filter.

You need a continual flow of oxygenated water through the filter, so all the filter media remains aerobic. People who talk about "long retention" times and both anaerobic and aerobic processes within the same filter are misguided.

You need to syphon out any large debris, smaller items will be captured by the pre-filter sponge. I you want if to capture all the fines you can use a PPI30 pre-filter sponge, but you need to clean it every couple of days.

cheers Darrel
 
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