Cannister bio filter

[scott]

I am going to be using a fluval 404 as the biofilter on my 150 and was wondering if I should fill all of the baskets with the ceramic bio noodle thingys (I think thats the technical term) or should I use some carbon? I am going to use two AC 500 for mechanical and I think I will use one & half foam blocks, should I put carbon in there? I think I will also add either one large or two medium powerheads with quick filters. Thanks!

[BK]

why do you figure you need carbon?

[scott]

I am starting to see the use for carbon less and less and lately have been wondering why to use it at all except to "polish the water". That is why I am wondering if I should bother putting it in the canister or maybe just put a bag in the AC. Sorry if I wasn't specific.

[Sumpin'fishy]

I'd put two full foam blocks in each AC and just remove one as needed for any carbon.

[scott]

Thanks sumpinfishy I will. How about the canister? Just fill it with thingys? Do you use carbon?

[JSchmidt]

Filling your canister with only bioballs or ceramic noodles will give you a great, low-maintenance biofilter. Here's a link to a good article on this practice:

http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cannister.html

Using the ACs primarily for mechanical filtration is a good idea, too.

Jim

[scott]

Thank you very much for the link JSchmidt. That was exactly what I needed to know. It's nice to have an idea in your head and be able to get feedback on how to perfect it. Thanks everyone.

[JimG]

I use biostars in one of my canister filter's slots for my biological filtration. According to the manufacturer 1 star will effectively filter 5 gal of water, I have a 55gal and 24 stars fit in the canister slot. I confess I still use carbon, probably mostly because I just always have but people are beginning to talk me into not using it all the time. There is a company - SeaChem - which has a media product called "Matrix" which I have been told about and am thinking of filling my entire viaflow canister with.

[scott]

I have seen the matrix on the shelf but have never picked it up and read it. What does it do?

[hineigger]

I use a Fluval 404 as BIO ONLY.

Its filled to the brim in bio things. Not bio balls, but the coarse stuff... Like cylinder type things.. Its actually better than BIO balls, much more surface area all together.

Anyways, its BIO only. So I NEVER open it up. I have a filter attached to the intake tube for mechanical filtration, so I just pop that off and replace it whenever.

I dont use chemical filtration, but sometimes I will for the hell of it. In this case I just put this little add on thingy I have onto one of my opwerheads and fill it with carbon. But thats rare...

[JSchmidt]

In bio-only canister, I prefer using either ceramic noodles (I like Ehfimech) or bioballs. I don't like the rough noodles -- these are actually a sintered glass product (they used to be marketed as Siporax, but I think the name has changed).

Sintered glass does have greater surface area for colonization, but only for a limited time. After a while (6 months, a year perhaps) the micropores clog and cannot be recovered. You then have to replace it or live with the a surface area that approximates plain old ceramic noodles. Even worse, the rough surface tends to not slough off dead biofilm as easily as smooth noodles, so there is a need for more cleaning or colonizable surface will decrease.

Bioballs also tend to slough off dead biofilm and require less maintenance. I have a couple canisters that still have Siporax in them, and they require considerably more maintenance than the smooth noodles or bioballs.

Since I want my bio-only canisters to require as little maintenance as possible, I try to avoid using sintered glass media in them.

HTH,
Jim

[scott]

It definately helps. I was wondering why it was recomended that they be replaced every six months. Is there a place online I can order the Ehfimech? Also, how do you attach a filter to the intake tube? Can't you just use the two sponges inside the filter and clean/replace them as needed?

[JSchmidt]

If you're using the filter as a bio-only canister and you're not using sintered glass media, you don't want sponge/floss in the canister. The nice thing about running the canister with noodle/bioballs only is that they slough off old biofilms. If you run without sponge/floss, these are expelled from the filter and (we hope) picked up by your mechanical filter. This is important, because we don't want that stuff building up inside the canister, which is much more difficult to clean. This allows bio-only canisters to stay much cleaner.

If you use sintered glass (rough noodles, Ehfisubstrat) you need to use the white floss pad between the 'substrat and the motor. If you don't, small bits of sintered glass ("fines") can get into the pump area and cause excessive wear in the impeller well. Not good.

You can filter water before it hits the filter media, though. The easiest way to do this is to attach a prefilter sponge to the intake. Filter Max III is a good option - costs less than ten bucks and will fit almost any intake tube. You can also get any cylindrical sponge that will fit over your intake tube, drill a few holes in the bottom 2.5" of the intake, and slide the sponge over. This sponge adds mechanical filtration and is easily rinsed. You could use a filter pad in the bottom of your canister, but that also defeats the goal of having a low-maintenance bio-only canister. You'd have to clean that pad very regularly or your filter would turn into a nitrate generator.

With this sort of system, you also want some sort of mech-only filtration. My preferences: high flow rate, easy to service, and non-disposable media. If mech filtration doesn't meet those criteria, I don't use it (not for long, anyway....).

Ehfimech can be obtained at most of the big online places. I'm sure That Pet Place and Drs. Foster & Smith carry it.

HTH,
Jim

[nanahachi]

i was at bigalsonline.com as well as on here, and found 1 liter of ehfimech:
Price: $5.99
Search for " ASWO#7681 "

5 liters:
Price: $24.99
ASWO#7682

http://www.bigalsonline.com

im not sure about other online stores' prices, but bigals will pricematch and give you back 5% (from their site: "NOT ONLY DOES BIG AL’S OFFER HUGE SAVINGS AND DISCOUNTS EVERYDAY, WE ALSO GUARANTEE A “LOWEST PRICE POLICY” IF YOU FIND THE SAME PRODUCT SOLD ANYWHERE ONLINE FOR LESS, BIG AL’S WILL NOT ONLY MATCH THE PRICE BUT BEAT IT BY 5%"

anyway, hope that helps

[BluEyes]

My fluval 104 came with a bag of the ceramic noodles in the box.
I use those plus the big foam pieces, and have some extra foam from an aquaclear filling the bottom basket (more to keep ready-cycled media than anything else) Seems to work great. Just rinse everything out when I clean the filter.