Some Questions On Fluval 204

[Dave B]

Hi there

Im asking these questions on behalf of my father. He has a well established aquarium but has decided to put a better biological filter system on the tank. A friend of his has just shut down his aquarium and has given my father a fluval 204. The questions he has asked me to ask are:

1. Will he/ Should he do away with his under gravel filter system?
2. Does the fluval system provide enough air for the tank or should he keep his air pumps?
3. Will the system need to remain on 24/7?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give

Dave.

 

[three-fingers]

1. Better not to, extra filteration is always a good thing. He would need to have the fluval 204 running for around a month along side the UG filter before removing the UG filter (if he decides to). If your tank is over 200 litres, then defiantly do not remove the UG filter .
2. Depends where the outlet is placed, if you place it somewhere where it will produce lots of surface agitation on the water, then it will do the job of your air pumps. However, unless you have an overstocked tank or the fish you keep are particularly dependant of high oxygen levels ('hill stream loaches' for example), you wont need to place it to produce surface agitation OR use air pumps .
3.Yes.

 

[Dave B]

1. Better not to, extra filteration is always a good thing. He would need to have the fluval 204 running for around a month along side the UG filter before removing the UG filter (if he decides to). If your tank is over 200 litres, then defiantly do not remove the UG filter .
2. Depends where the outlet is placed, if you place it somewhere where it will produce lots of surface agitation on the water, then it will do the job of your air pumps. However, unless you have an overstocked tank or the fish you keep are particularly dependant of high oxygen levels ('hill stream loaches' for example), you wont need to place it to produce surface agitation OR use air pumps .
3.Yes.

Thanks for the reply. Just one more question. If he keeps the UG filter would that run independently or would you connect the UG stack pipe to the inlet of the 204? I can see that this would be either overkill or would not supply enough water to the 204, but then again I have no experience in this area.

Thanks again

Dave.

 

[three-fingers]

Keep it separate, I guess It wouldn't be hard to connect them, but it is unnecessary .
The filter probably wouldn't have a problem with it, but the filter alone would do just as good as good a job.
Then again since it's a 204, it could be pretty old (the more recent one is the 205) so experimenting with an old filter may not be that good an idea .

 

[Dave B]

Thanks for the help.

Dave.

 

[Dave B]

Just a couple more questions.

My father currently has a biolife system with bio blocks in, would he be advised to just transfer the bio media over to the fluval?

How long does the bio media last before it requires changing?

Thanks again

Dave.

 

[three-fingers]

Transferring them over will be fine . That way you don't lose the bacteria from the biolife, and bacteria will grow faster on the other media in the fluval.

If by bio media you mean the sponge, then IMO despite what manufacturers say, you only need to change it when it starts to disintegrate. Other than that, just squeeze it out in tank water when it gets clogged up.

If you mean the ceramic rings, then the same, except its harder to clean them when it gets clogged up (which is why you shouldent really put these as the first stage) .