ADA 60F iwagumi

[foxfish]

Dean I don't really understand about the blue & white filter pads?
If they are the first stage of the filter then clean them in tank water every week if it is easy to do so or once every two weeks if not so easy!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Thanks Darrel for that very complicated but great explanation

The sound-bite would really be that test kits don't give reliable or repeatable results.

Darrel can I quickly ask you how often should I change filter foam pads (the blue and white ones) up to now I have just squeezed out and I know some people never touch the trays full of biological media any help on the question would be great ?

I don't ever change the sponges, unless they are so distressed that they have large holes in them. I've got sponges that are 10 years old, and possibly some that are even older than that. I just put a pre-filter sponge on the intake, the advantage of this is that you can give it a rinse without opening the filter. I usually rinse the pre-filter sponge out every 10 -14 days.

Because of this I usually don't have any sponge inside an external filter. I have any out of Eheim "coco-pops", floating cell media, alfagrog, hydroleca or sintered glass/ceramic rings. The advantage of all these filter media is that they don't inhibit flow, I don't really care what the media is, all the media will have enough sites for bacterial activity. The really important point is that you need to make sure all the filter media remains aerobic at all times. Biological filtration is all about oxygen.

Have a look a this one: <Filter maintenance. How regular do you do it? | UK Aquatic Plant Society>

cheers Darrel

 

[Deano3]

thanks for that Darrel very handy thread never heard of pre-filter before on aquarium is there small ones and what is the main advantage of them and would you advise one on my small tank I already have a huge filter for the size tank, at the minute i have been just cleaning every 2-3 weeks but want a proper routine now so think i will clean filter every 2 weeks i will clean pipes and lilly pipes then i will open filter and rinse out the media pads in tank water and should i just rinse the trays of biological filtration in the bucket of tank water and move around a bit with my hand ? then i usually empty water out the the filter housing and re-fill with clean treated water what do you think of this does it sound ok

also i seem to get a lot of white bubbles around edges of tank any idea of how to minimise these ? i do 40% water change every 2 days at the min

Thanks again dean

 

[Deano3]

as to the surface film and bubbles I have just found a thread about film on surface saying up co2 and ferts so done that and also noticed a small amount of algae in the hair grass black hair like not much so hopeing that upping the co2 will get rid of this

Thanks dean

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,​

thanks for that Darrel very handy thread never heard of pre-filter before on aquarium is there small ones

You can have any size you like. I think some-one suggested the black "RC Hagen A1387 Fluval Edge Pre-Filter Sponge" as pretty small and in-obtrusive. I usually just sew up some filter sponge sheet to the size I want.

and what is the main advantage of them and would you advise one on my small tank

There are a number of advantages:

• The most important one is that it stops organic debris, small fish and shrimps ending up in the filter. I want ammonia (NH3/NH4+) in the filter, I don't want anything else.
• It makes maintenance much easier, as you don't need to keep opening the filter.
• It allows you to position the filter intake in the stream of bubbles from a venturi etc. and the more oxygen we can get into the filter the better. If the filter doesn't have a pre-filter, air bubbles can build-up inside making the filter noisy and potentially developing air locks. With a sponge present air bubbles are retained (on the sponge) increasing residence time and allowing the gases they contain to dissolve.
• Shrimps and small fish can use the sponge as a browsing surface.

but want a proper routine now so think i will clean filter every 2 weeks i will clean pipes and lilly pipes then i will open filter and rinse out the media pads in tank water and should i just rinse the trays of biological filtration in the bucket of tank water and move around a bit with my hand ? then i usually empty water out the the filter housing and re-fill with clean treated water what do you think of this does it sound ok

I clean the pre-filter sponge fairly regularly (once a week), I only clean the pipes etc when they are dirty and flow is impeded. I clean the internal media every couple of months, and often it is pretty clean even after 6 months or so. I usually have some Asellus and MTS in the filter media which may help.

cheers Darrel

 

[Deano3]

I like the fact that it would stop larger pieces of grass of fish food etc entering and lying in the filter , does it just fit over the inlet to filter , I have lilly pipes so don't want to cover them is there any other way to use a pre filter maybe in the piping to the filter ?, also when u clean filter media do you just rinse out the sponges and rinse out the trays ? And a quick wipe of impeller ? And lastly what is MTS and the other that you add to the filter media ? I really want my tank pristine and looking great, I am now experiencing some hairlike brownish algae on the ends of the grass strands do you think this will clear with me upping the co2 ?

Thanks again Dean

 

[Deano3]

What do you think the brown hair like algae in the tips of the grass is and rocks going browny yellow but that may be from when unsettled the soil

Dean

 

[dw1305]

Hi all

does it just fit over the inlet to filter

Yes, it just slips over the inlet. Eheim etc do a good large one for big tanks <EHEIM prefilter>, but it is a bit ugly, and a small black sponge is easier to hide in a Nano etc. MTS is Malaysian Trumpet Snails, I know not every-one likes snails but these are very useful.

also when u clean filter media do you just rinse out the sponges and rinse out the trays ? And a quick wipe of impeller ?

Yes.

I am now experiencing some hairlike brownish algae on the ends of the grass strands do you think this will clear with me upping the co2 ?

I'm a CO2 agnostic, so you'll have to wait for some-one else to answer. "Yellowy brown" usually indicates Diatoms.

cheers Darrel

 

[Deano3]

thanks again Darrel for your help very useful, I also need to stop doing water changes every other day as becomes a bit tedious maybe every 3 days or so lol I would have snails but think they would get out of the tank 🙁 cannot wait to get mine stocked then start thinking about a much larger 90-120cm tank 😉 but want to master this one first lol

Thanks again Dean

 

[Deano3]

Hi all I am having a small problem with algae it is hair like and seems to clog up my hair grass and web from strand to strand not much at minute and camera not good enough to see it but will try to get a pic, I haven't changed anything lately except up my co2 slightly so yellow or lime green later on in evening any idea what this algae is and anything I can do to prevent it ? still dosing EI daily

would you recommend moving drop checker beside the outflow for better reading rather than opposite the outflow ?

Thanks dean

 

[Deano3]

anyone have any ideas as seems to be on ends of grass all over tank not in one specific part ?

upped co2 today so drop checker was yellow and still dosing micro and macro 6.5ml daily
Thanks Dean

 

[tim]

Hi mate, does it rub off with your fingers ? Maybe just need some clean up crew in there now Deano. Cherry shrimp or red ramshorn snails would be good in your size tank. It's generally co2/ distribution issues at the root of most types of algae.

 

[Deano3]

Hi mate, does it rub off with your fingers ? Maybe just need some clean up crew in there now Deano. Cherry shrimp or red ramshorn snails would be good in your size tank. It's generally co2/ distribution issues at the root of most types of algae.

hi tim thanks, I have upped my co2 today and drop checker yellow what do you thin about moving my drop checker or lily pipes, also i have had 2 sets of shrimps and all jumped 😱 and such a shallow tank looks rubbish is drop water 1-2 cm, also worried snails will just slither over the edge 😉 what you think ? what about Otto's

Thanks dean

 

[tim]

Hi mate, always worth moving the dc around the tank, do you still have your outflow opposite your inflow ? Could be worth having them next to each other filter could be removing co2 mist before it gets to the back of the tank. Ottos maybe a bit big for your tank maybe a few Pygmy Corries would be ok. Wouldn't think the snails would slither out I wish some would slither out of my shrimp nano sorry to hear about the shrimp mate it may be a case of too high co2 for them even though the plants need it.

 

[Samjpikey]

Hey mate nice tank ,
Im in the middle of reading the whole thing ,
Anyway are you still using the same reg up a-164 ??

 

[Deano3]

Hi mate, always worth moving the dc around the tank, do you still have your outflow opposite your inflow ? Could be worth having them next to each other filter could be removing co2 mist before it gets to the back of the tank. Ottos maybe a bit big for your tank maybe a few Pygmy Corries would be ok. Wouldn't think the snails would slither out I wish some would slither out of my shrimp nano sorry to hear about the shrimp mate it may be a case of too high co2 for them even though the plants need it.

Are corries small and good for algae ? Lol do you think snails wouldn't get out as no lid ? Will move drop checker when get in and my inflow and outflow are opposite one another yes, can have them side by side you think that would be better ?

Hey mate nice tank ,
Im in the middle of reading the whole thing ,
Anyway are you still using the same reg up a-164 ??

And yes using Same reg mate

Thanks dean

 

[Samjpikey]

I got the same reg , do you think the needle valve is a bit sensitive as in it has to be nearly closed to get the fine tuning ??? Seems a very sensitive needle valve to me , but not sure if mine fluctuates , the solenoid didn't work at all when new so i got sent a new one which worked , is it working ok for you ?

 

[Deano3]

I got the same reg , do you think the needle valve is a bit sensitive as in it has to be nearly closed to get the fine tuning ??? Seems a very sensitive needle valve to me , but not sure if mine fluctuates , the solenoid didn't work at all when new so i got sent a new one which worked , is it working ok for you ?

yes very sensitive mate only problem is fluctuation but apart from that seems spot on

Are corries small and good for algae ? Lol do you think snails wouldn't get out as no lid ? Will move drop checker when get in and my inflow and outflow are opposite one another yes, can have them side by side you think that would be better ?

thanks dean

 

[tim]

Pygmy corries or hasborus corries stay small mate I've just added a shoal of pygmies to my 3ft tank they like to scurry over the plant leaves, will try and stick some pics up later.

 

[foxfish]

Dean I wonder if you still have a flow or C02 problem!
You have a small tank with no fish & the ability to turn up the gas, so you should be seeing very rampant growth with no algae!
Get the plants growing like mad before you stock up, do a few experiments, forget the drop checker & turn up the gas a bit more.
I would expect to see plants pearling & growing very fast....I think there is something amiss at the moment!
Do you have a bubble counter? how many bps are you feeding in?