Filter Advice And Another Point

Johnny287 · Jul 20, 2011

Thanks guys. Filter now up and running. Trip to a new fish shop tomorrow to see if I can replace my fish I have rehomed with something more suited to my tank setup. Got a few new platies in there that seem to be getting along nicely with the rest. I'm guessing I should leave my internal filter running alongside it for, what, a month or two?

raptorrex · Jul 20, 2011

fluttermoth said:
In most externals the flow goes from the bottom to the top!

I should have phrased it more clearly; the coarsest media (sponge with large holes/bioballs/ceramic noodles) goes first in line, then your finer sponges or polyfilter (floss/wool) near the end of the process

They are a bit more complicated, at first, than your 'normal' internal filters, but you soon get used to it, and the benifits to your tank are well worth it.

Oh, and do remember, the order doesn't matter that much

actually, the order is vital. thought the filter will work, after a fashion, with mixed up media.
flow and therefore cleaning intervals are badly affected by misplacement.
its also bound to effect the efficiency of the BIO media. as it receives more or less flow (dependent on how you stack the media.) as page EN-3 of the 305 manual says

Media is packed into
filter baskets at the factory in the recommended
positions for basic filtration in order to save you
time and eliminate guesswork.

it goes further.

The intake assembly siphons aquarium water
and suspended debris in through its clog-proof
strainer. Water flows down through the foam
screen frame, which traps large particulate
matter. The filter's powerful pump then draws
the water up from the base of the unit through
the media baskets for the customized stages of
mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration

so, it'll work anyway you put it. its just designed to work as stated by Fluval.

Johnny287 · Jul 20, 2011

Ha ha well one thing I didn't think about - because my tank is not designed for this filter, I can't put the lid on now! Think some hacking of the lid is in order, unless I can actually get a lid cover that has a bigger gap in it....

raptorrex · Jul 20, 2011

Johnny287 said:
Ha ha well one thing I didn't think about - because my tank is not designed for this filter, I can't put the lid on now! Think some hacking of the lid is in order, unless I can actually get a lid cover that has a bigger gap in it....

its the same with, most tanks. none are really made for cannisters. hacking is part of the whole move.

Johnny287 · Jul 20, 2011

raptorrex said:
Johnny287 said:

Ha ha well one thing I didn't think about - because my tank is not designed for this filter, I can't put the lid on now! Think some hacking of the lid is in order, unless I can actually get a lid cover that has a bigger gap in it....

Click to expand...

its the same with, most tanks. none are really made for cannisters. hacking is part of the whole move.

Ha ha, well fortunately I'm pretty handy with a hacksaw, and am an expert fudger so shouldn't be a problem!

Johnny287 · Jul 24, 2011

Right folks, so having taken in all the advice, quite a lot has changed since I originally posted this thread! I now have a lovely L288 red tiger plec sitting pretty on the bottom of my tank, and having rehomed the two fish suggested, and set up my new filter, all is good in the hood so far!