Filtration - How Important?

[JenJ]

I know the short answer is very, but I'm after a longer story!

I bought a second hand 160L tank last weekend, and have noticed that the filtration is very poor. I'm gravel vac ing most days to keep it looking clean, and did a 50% water change yesterday. I thoroughly cleaned all the filter pieces (except the media!) in the old tank water, which has considerably increased flow, but I researched the filters I'd inherited, and discovered it's not really up to the job.

I have 2 Marina S20 slim hob filters, which I believe are recommended for 60-70 L each. Not quite the recommended twice tank volume!

Now, how urgent is this to fix? Do I need to go straight to my lfs tonight to buy a new one, or can I continue regular gravel vacs and large water changes for a few more weeks?

And any recommendations for filters? I want to be overfiltered, with an external, possibly aquamanta as I've heard they're great value for money...?

 

[Chad]

Filtration is really everything. It's the key to keeping the deadly substances like ammonia and nitrite (and with some filtration methods nitrate) out of the system. How urgent this is to fix depends on how many fish you have and how often you do water changes. If you have one small fish, it's not so important, or if you do daily water changes, but if those things aren't true I personally feel it's something that needs to be done right away. I have had good experience with the Fluval canister filters but there are many good brands out there.

 

[ColR1948]

Hope you don't mind me butting in, I'm not sure how experienced you are, but if your filters are matured then take some of the mature media out of the old filters and put it in the new then after a few days take the rest out and then your new filter should have enough mature bacteria to run the tank and you will be cycled.

If you are experienced then forgive me, I'm just trying to help.

 

[the_lock_man]

Col, in this particular instance, you're a little off-target.

When the OP gets the new filter, she should put all the mature media from both HOB filters into the new filter, fill it up with the new media that comes with the new filter, and be done with it. There's no point taking out that mature media, as there is nowhere for it to go back to. MIght as well leave it there, and let it grow bacteria.

 

[JenJ]

Col, I am not very experienced, but having been an avid lurker on here for the last few months, I now have a lot more knowledge than I do experience ;o)

I was just going to do as the lock man suggests, and move all the media over. Although I've only had it a week, it was an established tank previously and most of the bacteria seem to have survived the move - the worst ammonia readings I've had have been borderline 0.25ppm.

For some reason I'm nervous of fluval externals, maybe something I read on here previously? I was thinking eheim or tetra rec, but then read that aquamanta was almost as good for a lot less money?

 

[Chad]

Eheim and Tetra are great. I've had several Tetra filters and have been happy with them as well.

 

[sebn]

I picked up an Aquamanta EFX300 last week and i am very very impressed with it. Would highly recommend them!

 

[JenJ]

Ooh, I was thinking of that or the EFX1000, so that's good to read. Can I ask what size tank you're running it with?

Is it straight forward to put together (with a little common sense)? Is it very noisy?

 

[shepherd88]

I have the aquamanta efx300 in my 180litre and i love it, still got my fluval u3 also for even more filtration and to oxygenate my tank with the air bubbles.

 

[bikerfish]

Hi when I first got my latest tank it came with 2 of the slim filters which hang over the side of the tank, which had 4 cartridges in each of them . I had nothing but problems with my water as you have to change the cartridges every 4 weeks , If yours is the same then better rather than later to change filters but you will be ok for while if doing regular water changes also if yours are the cartridges it will be hard to media into new tank.
I left 1 old filters going for a month while running in my new filter to give it a chance to build up good bacteria and done regular water testing and had no problems with this . I swapped to an external fluval 306 brilliant filter
hope this helps
cathy

 

[JenJ]

Well I got the EFX1000, the 'Prime' feature just seemed to make it all a bit easier and that was the only real difference between that and the 300.

It's all up and running, and the fish are going bonkers playing in the current from the spray bar - the two old ones offered little more than a trickle near the wall!

Hey cathy, sorry, you must have posted just after I'd starting typing mine!

I've managed to fit all the old media in as the canister has a huge capacity for media - 3 baskets - and the old media fitted into 1 basket, still with some of the new media in as well.

I was thinking of spreading the old ones out across the 3 baskets, in the hope it the bacteria would spread and develop more quickly?

 

[JenJ]

Wheeeeeeee!

 

[sebn]

Cool, glad you picked one up, they seem to be great filters. I am running the EFX300 on a 125l aquarium, my cardinals love the flow and so do my corys!

Sounds like a good plan to spread out the old filter media amoungst the 3 baskets its what i did with mine, aslong as water is flowing through them it will be doing its job.