New Filter. What Next?

[shaunjdodge]

Hi all,

I've just upgraded to a 190 trigon corner unit. I've also last night been out and grabbed an aquamanta 1000u filter. 20 quid would have been rude not too.

My queries are, I only had an internal aquaflow 200. This has a bit of carbon media and a filter sponge. I have cut the filter into sections and added it underneath my first course media sponge in the new filter to keep some bacteria the carbon I have put in the top canister underneath the fine polishing filter

Is there anything I should be keeping an eye on whilst the new filter establishes. Daily water changes or raise in nitrate nitrate etc. I'm fairly new to this, well I've had my tank two years but now really getting into keeping fish.

Also best location for inlet and spray bar to achieve maximum filtration. If anyone as any experience on where they have drilled etc on a trigon 190 that would be great as at the minute it's just hanging out the back.

How often to remove the media and give it a clean also please?

3 x pearl cichlids
6 x filament barb
3 x Pictus catfish
2 x tiger barb
3 x black ruby barb
2 x melon barn

Want some more fish also but don't know what to look for.

 

[starlitsunrise]

Is there anything I should be keeping an eye on whilst the new filter establishes. Daily water changes or raise in nitrate nitrate etc.

Hi, I'm also curious about this as I will be changing my filter soon as well. I don't think there would be a huge drop in beneficial bacteria because you are using some old filter media and the bacteria would also be in your substrate. But, Im thinking you would want to follow the same steps as a fish in cycle, since you are essentially cycling a new filter. Those are just my thoughts, I'm really not 100% sure either. You can ignore this if you want xD

 

[shaunjdodge]

 

Is there anything I should be keeping an eye on whilst the new filter establishes. Daily water changes or raise in nitrate nitrate etc.

You can ignore this if you want xD
 

Would never ignore advice, I just dont want to do anything wrong. I know i have the media etc and bacteria in place so it should be a smooth transition.
 
Will do a few water changes, probably 30% every 3 days over the next week and keep testing the water. thats all i can think of really.
 
thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

You shouldn't experience any issues, as you're using the old filter media.

However, it can happen that you do lose some bacteria when you move media, so it's a good idea to keep feeding to a minimum and test frequently for the first week or so. If you do see any spikes, in either ammonia or nitrite, then you would need to do some extra water changes, while you wait for the bacteria to repopulate

 

[eaglesaquarium]

How often to remove the media and give it a clean also please?

 

 
 
I'll focus on this question.
 
You don't need to 'replace' the media very often at all, and I'm talking about YEARS, not the months that the manufacturer would have you believe.  Filter pads and sponges don't need 'replacement' very frequently.  Instead, they just need to be rinsed a bit in old tank water every month or two - to ensure that the water flow doesn't decrease.    Eventually, these will start to disintegrate.  When that happens, they will need to be replaced.  
 
Media like ceramic noodles/rings doesn't need anything except again a quick rinse every now and then to keep the flow high.
 
For my money, the ceramics are the best media available for biological filtration, because they NEVER need to be replaced.  These can also be easily passed on to friends or to new tanks to seed new colonies.  And you just replace the ceramics removed with new ones, which will quickly be colonized in a mature filter.
 
 
Ceramics can be added to ANY filter... although sometimes you have to get a bit creative.  I've added them to filter pads by cutting small slits in the pads, and squeezing the ceramics into the pad.  And while these methods don't provide a lot of space in some filters, it still provides more efficient biological filtration than pads alone.  Also, I'd add that when replacing the pads as necessary, I can just cut new slits into the new pads to move the ceramics over, and I have a quick and easy way to seed bacteria.  (Of course, the old pads won't need to be replaced for a long time either.)

 

[shaunjdodge]

That's really informative. Thanks.

I have the old filter upstairs in my 125 but obviously my filter sponge is in the new external.

Judging by that In a month or so I may de chlorinate and fill the 125 stick a heater in it and then put media back in old filter and add a few ceramics into the sponge to start that tank Again.

I'm planning on making the 125 into a well planted guppie neon tank for the wife and baby. So that will help me establish the 125.

Thanks.

 

[Byron]

Also best location for inlet and spray bar to achieve maximum filtration. If anyone as any experience on where they have drilled etc on a trigon 190 that would be great as at the minute it's just hanging out the back.
 

 
The main part of your initial post has been answered, but not this yet.  I am not familiar with the tank/filter, but in general terms you want to place the filter intake (water passing from the aquarium into the filter) relatively close to the substrate, with the filter return (water back into the aquarium from the filter, obviously) close to the surface and at the opposite end to the intake.  With a corner tank I am assuming it is less longitudinal and more cube, so just have these two as far apart as you can in the back.  The reason is that it creates a flow throughout the aquarium.
 
 

3 x pearl cichlids
6 x filament barb
3 x Pictus catfish 
2 x tiger barb
3 x black ruby barb
2 x melon barn 

Want some more fish also but don't know what to look for.
 
 

 
Here I see some issues that can easily be rectified.  First, barbs are shoaling fish that live in large groups, so there should be several of each species; same applies to tetra and all characins, danios and rasbora, and some other fish.  It can vary a bit by species, as some need more than others to be "happy," but generally the more the better.  This is essential for a couple of reasons.  First, the fish expect it, and fish that are programmed by nature to expect something will be stressed in its absence.  Second, many species have an hierarchy within the group, and this can be essential to their health.  And third, it is now proven scientifically that when shoaling fish are kept in small numbers, there is an increase in aggression (sometimes the reverse) even in otherwise peaceful species, and this is because the fish has no other way to deal with frustration, and the lack of sufficient members of its own species is frustrating and stressful.
 
Going one further, some species are naturally feisty or aggressive by nature.  Tiger Barb is one.  This species should always be in large groups, no less than eight but ten or more is much better.  If not, you may find they become nasty fin nippers.  As you only have two, and given the need to increase the others and to avoid issues with sedate fish, I would remove the two TB.
 
The Black Ruby Barb is a beauty indeed, but you want more of them, at least eight.  Male and female are easy to tell by the colouring, and a roughly even mix works well.  In my 90g I have a group of 13, six males and seven females, and a fry that survived a spawning; these fish are forever spawning, and I highly recommend them as very peaceful barbs.  But they need company.

 
Much the same applies to the melon barb [assume "barn" was meant to be barb, lol] and filament barb.  Taking the latter first, Dawkinsia filamentosis, this should be in numbers no less than eight to avoid aggressive interactions.  They attain between five and six inches, and are quite active, so this needs space.  I will assume your tank is 190 litres from the name, which is about 50 gallons; if I'm correct, I would consider re-homing this species.  The Melon, Haludaria fasciata, is a better fit; at max 3 inches, a group of 8-10 will give you the best in behaviours, as this species is interactive, and a roughly equal ratio of male/female.
 
The pearl cichlid presumably is Geophagus brasiliensis, and this fish attains 8-10 inches.  Males are territorial especially when spawning, and smaller fish will likely be eaten.  I would consider re-homing these cichlids.
 
The Pictus Catfish likes company or it may literally pine away, and while five is the usual minimum here, three should work.  They do get to five inches, but I think this is OK.
 
Once you up the numbers of the barbs, other fish won't have space.  But this will be a very nice display, as you will have some very socially-tolerant fish with active lifestyles.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am goignto add one thought to what Byron wrote about the placement of intakes and returns. Most canisters use a spraybar as the endpoint of the return. it comes with nice round holes drilled along the length spaced uniformly. So when one orients the spraybar. The flow is pretty much unidirectional. Well I was not happy with that in some instances and decided there might be another way. So out comes my drill and I go to work. I tend to drill a few smaller holes about 90 degrees around from the ones that are already there. This does two things.
 
The first is it directs some of the return flow at a right angle to the normal flow. I will mount spraybar either horizontally at the top of the tank along one end or else I orient it vertically in a read corner. In the first case i direct some flow downwards to prevent a dead area on the bottom under the spraybar. For the vertical alignment the extra hold direct circulation across the back side of the tank while the lions share heads toward and then across the front. The second thing it does is to reduce the force of the flow coming out under normal circumstances because of the additional holes. While the dispersal pattern is changed, the overall flow rate through the filter remains the same.