RTR, thanks for the clarification. I was wondering if you had tested other bioballs and found them wanting. I guess that experiment is still waiting to be run.
RTR, I have a question.
- Thread starter goldfish freak
- Start date
Harry, I did about 8 forms for the W/D tests, cut way back for the submerse as stated before - I was prejudiced toward Dupla since they were clearly 'way superior in W/Ds. If there had not been the supply interruption with import paired with my wanting to do the article on bio-only canisters, I would not have tested anything else submerse. I got a huge stockpile from when Burleson quit being the Dupla importer for the US and remaindered his warehouse. I did not need any more, but I could not do an article for mainly US audience without alternatives or the technique would have been of little utility.
GF - Yup. That is what totally self-cleaning does for you. And that has a wide safety margin. Remember that I do boost that by another 50% - if they call for that box in 50 gallons, I use a box and a half for 50 gallons. I'm neurotic, but I have not had a biofiltration blip since I started - In the now >12+ years I've been running bio-only canisters. And they need so little attention other than the prefilter rinses.
I pulled one of the fliers from the as-yet unused boxes, they say 3900mm2 per sphere = 29 cm2 each, or about 4.5 sq. in. each. They say that package has 140 spheres (I did not confirm that
), so that would be about 630 sq. in., or ~4 1/3 square feet.
Compared to Ehfisubstrat or other glass media, that is small, but it is IME much more than adequate, in part because it never changes. The old biofims shed well, leaving space for new colonization. The original test Classics are still going strong. I'm using more FilterMaxIIIs as prefilters now, less DIY, but the same functionality. I do still have the original prefiler setups going, not all the original sponges though.
GF - Yup. That is what totally self-cleaning does for you. And that has a wide safety margin. Remember that I do boost that by another 50% - if they call for that box in 50 gallons, I use a box and a half for 50 gallons. I'm neurotic, but I have not had a biofiltration blip since I started - In the now >12+ years I've been running bio-only canisters. And they need so little attention other than the prefilter rinses.
I pulled one of the fliers from the as-yet unused boxes, they say 3900mm2 per sphere = 29 cm2 each, or about 4.5 sq. in. each. They say that package has 140 spheres (I did not confirm that
), so that would be about 630 sq. in., or ~4 1/3 square feet. Compared to Ehfisubstrat or other glass media, that is small, but it is IME much more than adequate, in part because it never changes. The old biofims shed well, leaving space for new colonization. The original test Classics are still going strong. I'm using more FilterMaxIIIs as prefilters now, less DIY, but the same functionality. I do still have the original prefiler setups going, not all the original sponges though.
Thanks again RTR. You mentioned that you use Filter Max III prefilters on your canister filters. Does the Fliter Max I work as well as the III? Is there any difference besides size? I would prefer to use the former since it is a smaller size sponge, which I would be able to hide more easily.
Now you are confusing me - I thought I & III were the same size, I being a finer foam than III, and II being 1/2 size?
The suitability of the half-size model, whatever the number, would depend on the particulates in your tank. If you are using other mechanical-only filters, it might go. If the tank is large enough to use a 2217, the half-size prefiler is going to clog fast.
The suitability of the half-size model, whatever the number, would depend on the particulates in your tank. If you are using other mechanical-only filters, it might go. If the tank is large enough to use a 2217, the half-size prefiler is going to clog fast.
Hmm...I don't know. I know that there are different sizes but I just assumed that the "I" was the smallest and the "III" the largest. I did not know that one was a finer foam than the others. I will have to see if I can verify what inforamtion is correct. By the way I have 120 gallon tank, and I am planning on using the prefilters on a classic 2217 and a 2215(filled with Minikaskade) and using another 2217 for mechanical filtering only, filling with only the coarse filter pads and a fine filter pad on top. What do you think?
That should work fine. i'm too lazy to open canisters for frequent mech cleaning, but it does work.
goldfish freak - I'm curious, who is this supplier that is willing to ship up to Canada?
-Richer
-Richer
