Am doing, i've just rinsed the gravel.. going to add 1 more small bag of it and then start filling it up.. been told a trick to get water heated quicker is mix boiled water in with the cold in the bucket then put in... obviously need to watch temps... ive just purchased a backing poster and also a thermometer ( just a cheap internal one for now ) to sort this
Setting Up A New Tank, Advice Etc Appreciated
- Thread starter justjon
- Start date
All gravel in.. just trying to figure out how to build filter.. its a black case stuck to inside of tank and sponges etc are all seperate... with white pieces of plastic.. i guess to piece them together! better read the manual... heh, so i'll build it.. put it in, get new water in tank (moslty)... then fill it up mostly.. then put treatments into the water (in the tank)... leave it running for 1 hour with new filter... then transfer some old water to new tank (and make sure its heated).. put fish in new tank.. (with bit of old and about 90-95% new) water... then take filter sponge out of biotube, quickly cut it up.. and somehow dismantle the new filter whilst its under-water to place the old sponge in quickly... 
- Edit
Yes, im somehow asking for a little advice in if this will work and how hard will the filter be to dismantle under-water already!
- Edit
Yes, im somehow asking for a little advice in if this will work and how hard will the filter be to dismantle under-water already!
Ok, got sponges etc sorted in right order in new filter, heater in... now im just wondering about the pump, does the pipe that comes from it have to stick out of the water? As where it's placed at the moment will be underwater..
I'm assuming that the filter in your tank is the same as in my Juwel Rio? That was a big black box in the corner, white plastic holders and square sponges about 2 inches thick.
The water in the Juwel filters is pulled down through the sponges, then pumped back up through that internal tube thing then out through the little tube you attach through the hole in the side. The sponges are loaded into the white plasic holders and lowered into the black box. So at the bottom you put the fine blue sponge(s), on top go the coarse blue sponge(s) (different size tanks get different numbers of these, but the principle is the same). Then you're supposed to put the green nitrate sponge, if you have one, and the black carbon sponge. Leave these out, you don't need them, you'll put your biorb filter here. Then lastly the white pad. Fill the bottom holder first and put it into the box, then the second holder with the remaining sponges and the plastic cover on top.
When your ready to put your old filter pad in there, switch off the pump and lift off the plasic cover. Then just lift off the white pad, put your biorb pad in and put the white pad on top of it. You don't need to remove the holders to do this. When you clean the filter pads in a few weeks time, you'll have to lift the pump out (I always found this a fiddle!) so you can get the plastic holders and sponges out, but you shouldn't need to now (unless your hands are too big to fit!!).
As for the water, I just boil a kettle to get the water temp right in the bucket when I do a water change. Some people use hot water straight from the tap, but if you have a hot water tank that fills from a storage tank in the attic like I do, you never know what's got into the water!
Edit Just seen your last post. That little pipe can be turned to point the water flow in the direction you want. It doesn't have to be out of the water. It should be adjusted to ripple the surface of the water, but not so much that it causes a tidal wave. If your fish prefer calmer water, point it at the back wall.
The water in the Juwel filters is pulled down through the sponges, then pumped back up through that internal tube thing then out through the little tube you attach through the hole in the side. The sponges are loaded into the white plasic holders and lowered into the black box. So at the bottom you put the fine blue sponge(s), on top go the coarse blue sponge(s) (different size tanks get different numbers of these, but the principle is the same). Then you're supposed to put the green nitrate sponge, if you have one, and the black carbon sponge. Leave these out, you don't need them, you'll put your biorb filter here. Then lastly the white pad. Fill the bottom holder first and put it into the box, then the second holder with the remaining sponges and the plastic cover on top.
When your ready to put your old filter pad in there, switch off the pump and lift off the plasic cover. Then just lift off the white pad, put your biorb pad in and put the white pad on top of it. You don't need to remove the holders to do this. When you clean the filter pads in a few weeks time, you'll have to lift the pump out (I always found this a fiddle!) so you can get the plastic holders and sponges out, but you shouldn't need to now (unless your hands are too big to fit!!).
As for the water, I just boil a kettle to get the water temp right in the bucket when I do a water change. Some people use hot water straight from the tap, but if you have a hot water tank that fills from a storage tank in the attic like I do, you never know what's got into the water!
Edit Just seen your last post. That little pipe can be turned to point the water flow in the direction you want. It doesn't have to be out of the water. It should be adjusted to ripple the surface of the water, but not so much that it causes a tidal wave. If your fish prefer calmer water, point it at the back wall.
essjay - Thank you so much, i've now sorted the pump. I didn't realise I could just put my chopped up biorb filter under the white pads (theres 3 white pads in total there).. may be a bit of a squeeze but i'm sure i'll get it, shouldnt be a huge issue.. i'm literally running buckets back and forth from the cold tap directly to the tank now... i'll treat it, leave it running for an hour, then as said put some old fish-tank water mixed in, then transfer the fish straight in..., once they are in, i'll do the filter then switch it all back on.
Hopefully they'll be all ok!
Hopefully they'll be all ok!
You only use one white pad at a time, two are spares. You're supposed to change them every week, but if you wash them carefully, they'll last a bit longer. (The blue sponges will last for years, so don't change those till they literally fall apart). Don't waste your money buying white Juwel pads, get some filter wool sheets from your lfs or ebay and cut it to size.
If your biorb filter is too large, just leave out one of the coarse blue sponges or cut one across the middle to make it thinner.
If your biorb filter is too large, just leave out one of the coarse blue sponges or cut one across the middle to make it thinner.
Nearly there! My fish all survived the experience. I think it's more stressful for us with all the running round with buckets of water and worrying we're doing the right thing.
After going through all that, I removed the Juwel filter after a couple of months, then had to 'persuade' those huge sponges into a completely different shaped filter. They survived that too.
After going through all that, I removed the Juwel filter after a couple of months, then had to 'persuade' those huge sponges into a completely different shaped filter. They survived that too.
Ah right.. well I think for my first proper fish tank this'll do me nicely - once I get a bigger place i'll get a bigger tank!
It's all filled up, treatments are in to start it off, heater, light, and pump all on... so all systems are go... bit cloudy so will wait till it clears then put the fish in (will give it ATLEAST an hour)... is that long enough? (aslong as the temp is right).
It's all filled up, treatments are in to start it off, heater, light, and pump all on... so all systems are go... bit cloudy so will wait till it clears then put the fish in (will give it ATLEAST an hour)... is that long enough? (aslong as the temp is right).
Just wait for the cloudiness to get a bit less. It'll be dust from the gravel, almost impossible to wash it all away. You'll find your white pad gets dirty quite quickly with the dust. That's what it's for, removing large particles. Just wash it out in a bit of dechlorinated water.
Turn the light off for a couple of hours when you first put the fish in, to reduce the stress of the move.
Turn the light off for a couple of hours when you first put the fish in, to reduce the stress of the move.
wow nice tanks.. 
- I've just woke up from a little doze to discover my temp is still sat apparently @ 32c... I don't know if this is a correct reading as the thermometer was a cheap one at best (all i could afford at moment).. but the heater is set between 26/28 so I don't know if it's right or not! Obviously don't want to shove the fish in incase it's too hot!
- I've just woke up from a little doze to discover my temp is still sat apparently @ 32c... I don't know if this is a correct reading as the thermometer was a cheap one at best (all i could afford at moment).. but the heater is set between 26/28 so I don't know if it's right or not! Obviously don't want to shove the fish in incase it's too hot!Similar threads
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