Setting Up External Heater And Filter

[ellena]

I'm finally getting to set up my 60l tank
I have a tetratec ex700 and a hydor external filter. Before I start cutting pipes, I want to make sure I'm doing it right.
So, here's how it looks atm

On the filter, where it says in and out, does that refer to water in and out of the filter, not the tank? Probably the stupidest Q ever asked
The heater has a little loop to hang it up, so I'm thinking I'll put a hook on the underside of the wood the tank rests on. That means between the filter and the heater there will only be a tiny bit of pipe, will this be OK?
I bought the heater 2ndhand, but I've downloaded the manual. On the setup pic, I can't see whether it's on the inlet or outlet pipe. I would presume though it goes on the pipe going out of the filter and into the tank? And they haven't used the hook in the pic, do you think it would be OK, just hanging free?
I'm having sand, does the inlet pipe look high enough up?
Any other tips? Thanks

 

[Mr Spoon]

I'm finally getting to set up my 60l tank
I have a tetratec ex700 and a hydor external filter. Before I start cutting pipes, I want to make sure I'm doing it right.
So, here's how it looks atm

On the filter, where it says in and out, does that refer to water in and out of the filter, not the tank? Probably the stupidest Q ever asked
not stupid, the in and out refers to the filter

The heater has a little loop to hang it up, so I'm thinking I'll put a hook on the underside of the wood the tank rests on. That means between the filter and the heater there will only be a tiny bit of pipe, will this be OK?
I bought the heater 2ndhand, but I've downloaded the manual. On the setup pic, I can't see whether it's on the inlet or outlet pipe. I would presume though it goes on the pipe going out of the filter and into the tank? And they haven't used the hook in the pic, do you think it would be OK, just hanging free?
I'm having sand, does the inlet pipe look high enough up?
Any other tips? Thanks

ive never used a external heater b4, the inlet i would have 4 inches above the sand level, you can take the inlet strainer off and cut the pipe to correct length and put the strainer back on so the pipe work goes just above the rim of the aquarium and 4 inches above the sand

 

[kaivalagi]

The in and out refer to the filter, the heater also has a direction arrow on it, I have 2 x ex1200 and 2 x hydors on my 5ft'er.

I assume you have a spray bar with it? If so when I had 1 ex1200 setup with my 125L I used just one of the 3 tubes for the spray bar and melted bigger holes on both sides instead of one with a metal kebab skewer (whatever works )

Here's the best way I can describe the configuration:

From Tank: Tank -> inlet pipe -> hose -> filter in
To Tank: Filter out -> hose -> heater (arrow this way->) -> hose -> inlet spray bar -> tank

Also, make sure the inlet pipe fitting (with slits in it) is as high up as it can be, an ex700 is quite a strong filter and I would imagine that inlet pipe is quite long too...

I hope that makes sense

 

[ellena]

Thanks both, that's explained it brilliantly I've looked again, and it's actually the ex600 Same idea though.
The inlet pipe is sliding adjustable, but even at its shortest it's only 4" above the glass tank bottom. Rather than cut it, I think I'd rather just raise the u bend a bit-look OK?

The spray bar is in 2 parts and covers most of the length of the tank

Do you mean you made another row of holes along the back? The previous owner has made a hole in the little end cap, which I think I'll have to silicon on as it's very loose.
I've hung the heater so it looks like this now

Is such a short length of pipe between filter and heater OK, or should I have it higher and let it hang free at the back of the tank?
Here's the whole thing with the adjustments made

 

[kaivalagi]

Looking good, don't worry about the length of hose, if the heater could fit straight onto the filter that would be okay.

I think 4" above the sand with a ex600 would be fine, I would put the u-bend bit flush with the tank top, I'm sure it will be fine like that

The end plugs are a little loose, they can come off especially if you use only one part of the spray bar with less holes and the pressure will be higher inside. Yes, I made a row of holes on the other side of the bar too so I could have surface agitation and hit the back of the tank with the other row, it basically reduced the flow in one particular direction and stopped the end plug coming off too...I was using a ex1200 in a 125L tank so it may not be as advisable for your setup? Try it as is and just know you could melt some holes at a later stage if you thought it was appropriate.

 

[ellena]

Brill, thank you
Are the tops of the U bends meant to come off do you know? There is a definite ridge all the way around which looks like it should come off, and it would make sense, so you could clean them, but I haven't managed to get them off yet and don't want to force them if they're not meant to come off.

 

[kaivalagi]

Brill, thank you
Are the tops of the U bends meant to come off do you know? There is a definite ridge all the way around which looks like it should come off, and it would make sense, so you could clean them, but I haven't managed to get them off yet and don't want to force them if they're not meant to come off.

Nope, they are one piece as far as I am aware...

The best way to clean all this stuff incl hoses is to get a brush kit, Fluval do one which I have, the brushes will make easy work of cleaning everything and can have string attached to the handle end to allow them to be pulled through any long hosing...

 

[ellena]

Genius! I'll keep my eye out for one

 

[kaivalagi]

Genius! I'll keep my eye out for one

Shop about, P@H etc rip you off with these at about £6-7...but even at that price they're worth it

I like the piece of wood you have btw, what is it? It'll "make" the tank I reckon

 

[ellena]

Thanks, it's redmoor root from aquaessentials. The end you can see near the filter has been sawn off to a really unatural straight edge, so I'm hoping to hide that with plants, but the rest is really lovely