Navyscuba
The Fish Envy
Looks good Gunner. Hoping to find some extra canister for my 100 so I can use the HOT Mag on the 55.
Fluval 404 / 405 DIY micron & sponge filter modification (Gunner's F404 Supercart)
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
Great. Just remember with a smaller size its sort of like doing it from scratch, but if you do and run into any glitches let me know cause I probubly have a solution after doing mine.
Well It dawned on me last night that if I waited to seal the corrugated hose with silicone as an extra precaution that I might have to take it apart anyway not having at least decided to do a preliminary test.
Im happy to report that it started right up after the usual priming scenario with the Fluval and actually had much better flow then I anticipate, I mean as good if not better then stock configuration. No surprise really since I only added surface area not mass to the filter load.
A point I wanted to make to an earlier question "Do you think the pump can handle such a large cartridge" The answer being since the cartridge is only adding surface area to such a tiny ratio of mass, flow can only increase not decrease, or I should say be less restrictive not more. Only when you add mass or bulk without increasing surface area is restriction or resistance increased. this is the essence of difference between an inline filter (more bulk to surface) and a circumference filter (more surface to bulk).
Its been running great all night and I will be letting it run until I arrive back from LA on Wednesday for an internal inspection. :thm:
Im happy to report that it started right up after the usual priming scenario with the Fluval and actually had much better flow then I anticipate, I mean as good if not better then stock configuration. No surprise really since I only added surface area not mass to the filter load.
A point I wanted to make to an earlier question "Do you think the pump can handle such a large cartridge" The answer being since the cartridge is only adding surface area to such a tiny ratio of mass, flow can only increase not decrease, or I should say be less restrictive not more. Only when you add mass or bulk without increasing surface area is restriction or resistance increased. this is the essence of difference between an inline filter (more bulk to surface) and a circumference filter (more surface to bulk).
Its been running great all night and I will be letting it run until I arrive back from LA on Wednesday for an internal inspection. :thm:
You know what I think I miss-interpreted your post as I was on my way out to church and was in a rush. I thought you wre talking about modifying a smaller Fluval model LOL. You talking about a new canister for you 100 gallon tank to replace your Magnum polisher.
Well I have 2 Mag 350 on my 60 and I couldn't be happier even with Oscars the water is always inadvisable LOL. All I can say is that no matter what filter you go with I recommend at least 1 polishing filter to give the water that extra clarity. The rest is all a matter of budget and personal preference.
The only reason Im modifying both my Fluval 404's is becasue I was just not satisfied with their performance and so I decided to improve them for my needs "high performance polishing and efficiency". Although the jury is still out pending the test trials I can already see it working great on my Goldie-feeder tank with 9 large comets.
I am interested to see it in action with a 5 micron cart. At least with some bypass you don't have to worry about a 100% clog.....
Can I ask what the inline canister for this cart ran and why you opted to go this route rathr than plum it inline with the fluval?
Can I ask what the inline canister for this cart ran and why you opted to go this route rathr than plum it inline with the fluval?
Well first off if you really look closely at the way the F404 series is built you will see that it was engineered deliberately for a significant amount of bypass literally and why the filter has such marvelous endurance and seems to be self cleaning IMO.
I had both my F404's all cleaned, packed and ready to sell off to someone else who would never come to my conclusion. But I knew it and the longer I procrastinated selling them and looked at them every time I passed by storage, the more my mind though "why not just fix them, they look long enough to accept a standard cart", the rest is history. That's about it, why plumb something piggyback when you can integrate it into the existing platform for $2.50 in parts. An add on would have required complicated plumbing, gauging, valving, and draining for substantially more money ($70 just for the container only) and effort, not to mention bad looks. For me my new "F404 Super-cart" is the bomb, and the bomb is hidden inside and stealthy, just like the plane LOL.
As far as using a 30 micron instead of something closer to the Magnum 8 micron, having used the 8 micron in my own Magnum I wanted to try middle of the road for the prototype. If all is successful I will be outfitting my 2nd Fluval 404 with an improved low profile PVC coupler, no outside plastic mesh, and try a 1 micron giant cartridge. In any case since cartridges can be slipped on and off in 2 minutes for interchange, one could have on hand any number of micron sizes (1 thru 50) for use depending on the specific need or demand at the moment.
I have no doubt this will get back to Fluval and it wouldn't surprise me if they come out with an impeller adapter and their own propitiatory line of cart polishing filters. But considering they just introduced the G line which uses carts, a 404 adapter would be too simple and counterproductive to the G.
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The only thing is with the cart containers you don't get any bypass, just like the magnum. Now I know you made some mods to cut down the bypass, but what is your estimate on its effectiveness? I have purchased these cart containers for as little as 15 bucks on clearance, I can see why you wouldn't want to spend 70...eeks!
But I digress, I have not seen carts in the size you are showing, only ones of the same hieght but slightly smaller in diameter or larger in diameter..........
But I digress, I have not seen carts in the size you are showing, only ones of the same hieght but slightly smaller in diameter or larger in diameter..........
That's why the larger container cost more also. As far as performance I'm optimistic and 19 hours running the out flow is strong and steady, tank looks crystal and the Goldie-feeders are doing just great.
Theoretically if a switched to a 5 to 10 micron cart since the surface area is 6 times greater then the Magnum 8 micron cart, flow should and endurance before clogging should be 6 times greater then the magnum cart. But only time will tell.
I have to make sure I test it thoroughly so I can get any bugs solved and streamline this prototype design so I can take my other 404 and come out with the Supercart2.
I have even considered creating a mating manifold that will utilize 2 of the narrower 10"x2.25" cartridges side by side which if possible would increase surface are another 60%, or 10X that if a magnum cartridge giving 10X less restriction and 10X the endurance even using 1 micron filters. :naughty:
PS, you can buy them at Lowe's.
Rena makes some sponges that are 20 ppi and 30 ppi (pores per square inch), I am sure others do as well. These would work nice in the pre-filter section.
