(Long reader, first post!)
I need some quick guidance. My girlfriend has a fluval 304 for her turtle/fish tank. (The fish are mostly food...don't hate us, the turtle has been in her family for 20 years!) I've been helping her out with it, but have come across two excruciatingly painful problems:
1) The prefilter cap/valve on the intake tube has cracked on first use twice already, out of two.
2) The tubes collect a truly frightening amount of algae in a very short time.
The first one is the bigger issue. Every time we have to stop the filter to clean it, there is a massive 2-person production needed to get it primed and running again. The second you start pumping, the back-pressure pops the ball valve off, and you're sunk. Also, since the turtle makes a lot more large waste than fish (think pieces of shell) it gets clogged up in no time.
I've done some searching, and noticed that people suggest using the Filter-Max III sponge pre-filter with canisters like this, and that it has an adapter kit. The question I need answered is if this includes the back pressure valve, or attaches to the one that is already there. If it's the second, this won't help me as much, and I still need to solve that problem. Anyone know if this will really solve my problems? Have a better solution?
The second problem I'm not sure what to do with...weekly water replacements to remove nitrates for sure. Would anything else be of use?
I need some quick guidance. My girlfriend has a fluval 304 for her turtle/fish tank. (The fish are mostly food...don't hate us, the turtle has been in her family for 20 years!) I've been helping her out with it, but have come across two excruciatingly painful problems:
1) The prefilter cap/valve on the intake tube has cracked on first use twice already, out of two.
2) The tubes collect a truly frightening amount of algae in a very short time.
The first one is the bigger issue. Every time we have to stop the filter to clean it, there is a massive 2-person production needed to get it primed and running again. The second you start pumping, the back-pressure pops the ball valve off, and you're sunk. Also, since the turtle makes a lot more large waste than fish (think pieces of shell) it gets clogged up in no time.
I've done some searching, and noticed that people suggest using the Filter-Max III sponge pre-filter with canisters like this, and that it has an adapter kit. The question I need answered is if this includes the back pressure valve, or attaches to the one that is already there. If it's the second, this won't help me as much, and I still need to solve that problem. Anyone know if this will really solve my problems? Have a better solution?
The second problem I'm not sure what to do with...weekly water replacements to remove nitrates for sure. Would anything else be of use?
