Help, used FLUVAL 204 w/ no manual!

If you have Adobe reader(you'll have to hit zoom a few times)

http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Fluval04new.pdf

there are other sites but you need Adobe for them also...Just use Google and type in Fluval 204 manual and it will show you all of them.

I use a bio sponge on top. I also use white cotton ( i guess) mechanical pads at every level--. The bio sponge is blue. You can buy them pre cut for your filter---I like to buy the cut-to-size sheets so I can cut them a bit oversized. I have found my canister (a cheap Jebo) does best when the baskets are very tightly packed.

kimberlynns said:

Ok, just to help clear out the dirt from the sand I put in there...the sand has settled but the water is still not clear and its been a couple days...anyway, I hooked the filter up. It has the sponge along one side and then the three levels. I put that polyfloss stuff on the bottom, bio tube things in the middle, and more polystuff on the top. I figured I would change it all out in a few days. Does that sound ok? I dont' have any fish in there...I want to get the tank set up first..then I'll cycle with some danios probably...before I add fish I'll redo what I have in the levels?

Kim

Click to expand...

Give the water a while longer to clear--Also, i found that with sand sometimes it leaves a film on the inside after it settles. Use your algea scraper to clean it off.

Don't change all your media at once. You'll get rid of all the bacteria you have started to grow which is one of the points to cycling. There is no need to change your bio media--the ceramic tubes and the floss. Only rinse them and with a one filter setup you don't want to do that all at once either. One level every two weeks about every two months or longer depending on your fish and feedings. You won't need to change or clean anything in the filter until you have fish.

Read up on cycling in the newbie forum. There is invaluable info there.

If the filter is making any clicking sound then theres probably sand in the impleller. You'd want to turn it off and clean it out. But, you won't ruin any of the media at all. If sand or particles got past the impeller, there is no harm in just leaving them where they land.
If it's only been on for a few hours, i would get all new media tomorrow just to start fresh. Change it all out and then forget about it. The biological factors will grow and you'll be set.

I have been told Big Al's is pretty good.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/?splash_done=1
The prices are low, but the shipping brings it up to about what you would pay in a store. You'll save on a larger order. Check around at other stroes. I think even PetSmart (as much as I hate to recommend them) sells the Fluvals--anywhere that sells them should have the replacement media. Any bio media will work (the ceramic tubes)--doesn't need to be fluval.

Did you ever find the manual? Here's a link--you will need Adobe Reader. It gives you part numbers for the media and instructions on placement.

http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Fluval_MSF_Manual.pdf