A Few Ext Filter Questions From A Noob.

[pauly]

Hi all, hope everyone's enjoying the Christmas holiday.

I bought a Tetratec EX 700 for my 180l Mbuna tank. Until now my tank has run on the internal filter that came with the tank, but now I'm upgrading it with an external and its all new to me, so I wanted a few pointers please.

1. Once I've added the external filter on and its matured, is it worth keeping the Juwel Internal filter going, considering the huge black compartments they come in?
2. I read somewhere that people use vaseline around the 0-ring of the filter after maintenance. Is this normal, and could someone explain why this is done?
3. Will the external filter mean I need to do less water changes, or should I continue with my weekly regime?
4. The EX 700 comes with a spray bar, should I use this or should I just use an open tube to create a flow from one side of the tank to the other?
5. I have sand as my substrate, is there a risk of it being sucked up through the filter intake pipe? If so, what's the best way of avoiding this?

That's all I can think of right now, but if you have anymore useful pointers, feel free to let me know.

Thanks,

Paul.

 

[darrel69]

hi, i also keep mbuna & have a juwel aquarium with a built-in internal... Arnt they big and ugly !!

My tank is 190litre, & at the moment has the internal running (which does 600lph) along with a fluval3+ internal (which does a 700lph). so in all its doing 1300lph and turning over nearly 6 & half times.

However, i hate the built-in internal, its big and not nice to look at. So im ripping it out (carefully mind, lol) next week when i get my new external filter which is a tetratec ex1200. and ill be replacing the fluval3+ internal with another external at a later date. proberbly with a ex700.

1) ok, depending on what type of mbuna you have and how heavily stocked you are. most mbuna are messy and can get big, and some people overstock for aggression reasons, so its best to over filter your water. if i were you, id keep the internal in and invest in another external to go with the one you jus bougth. two ex700 would do great. but if you plan to heavily stock, an ex700 & ex1200 would be better. then, when you have two external's, you can rip out the internal and have more room

2) ive never heard of this before ??? although, ill keep popping back to see if anyone knows why as ive never had an external before so im pretty much learning too.

3) i shouldn't think so, id keep to your usuall routine.

4) the spray bar oxygenates the water !!

5) i hope not !! i have sand too ....

 

[Chri$]

Vasaline helps you to get a better seal to prevent leaks.

 

[philfista]

I have tetratec 1200 , really good. Run the 2 filters together for 6 weeks ish. Then take out the box with a knife . sand is o.k just place the intake from the filter a couple of inches above the sand.

 

[pauly]

Thanks for the replies guys

I've no idea what Mbuna I have, I have just bought the ones I like the look of. I now realise that this could bring me problems in the future. Mine are all juveniles still, thus so far I dont have any problems with agression. I got the external filter so that my tank would still be ok as they grow.

I guess I need to start considering my stock, I'll try to get some photos and post a new ID thread.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[darrel69]

Thanks for the replies guys

I've no idea what Mbuna I have, I have just bought the ones I like the look of. I now realise that this could bring me problems in the future. Mine are all juveniles still, thus so far I dont have any problems with agression. I got the external filter so that my tank would still be ok as they grow.

I guess I need to start considering my stock, I'll try to get some photos and post a new ID thread.

Cheers,

Paul.

ok, no probs. go to the 'African / Old World Cichlids' section HERE, there's plenty of info on mbuna there, plus pictures and other members with plenty of experience for help. also, you can post your ID there.

 

[SuperColey1]

Once I've added the external filter on and its matured, is it worth keeping the Juwel Internal filter going, considering the huge black compartments they come in?

There isn't a need to do this although theres no problem doing it. I set my EX700 up and just took the existing filter media from the old internal and stuffed it into my new filter. Had no problems

I read somewhere that people use vaseline around the 0-ring of the filter after maintenance. Is this normal, and could someone explain why this is done?

Sometimes when you open an external filter there are small grains of sand that can get into this are and break the seal, therefore after you've done all your maintenance, take the O ring off. Thoroughly clean it, clean the groove it sits in and then put vaseline on the o ring. put it back in its seat and put the top back on carefully. This should mean no leaks.

Will the external filter mean I need to do less water changes, or should I continue with my weekly regime?

It should but in your case it will not because the your tank is right at the top end of this filters capacity. remember the flow rates they give out are maximum flow rates with no media in them. A 1200 wouldve been better for your tank IMO.

The EX 700 comes with a spray bar, should I use this or should I just use an open tube to create a flow from one side of the tank to the other?

A spray bar will give a good circulation in the tank just as a pipe would but it will spread the circulation a little better

I have sand as my substrate, is there a risk of it being sucked up through the filter intake pipe? If so, what's the best way of avoiding this?

As per posters above say this is no problem as the inlet is extendable so just extend it as far as you need it to be (2" above the sand is fine)

I only open my cannister monthly (I clean the pipes fortnightly). Also I removed the carbon bag and put some Supawool (69p from Wilko) in its place for extra polishing.

Andy

 

[adamgreen240]

yep , just leave a good few inches from the substrate , you might find that the fish dtir it up a bit and you might find some sand at the bottom of the canister when you clean it , just simply wash it away!

 

[darrel69]

Once I've added the external filter on and its matured, is it worth keeping the Juwel Internal filter going, considering the huge black compartments they come in?

There isn't a need to do this although theres no problem doing it. I set my EX700 up and just took the existing filter media from the old internal and stuffed it into my new filter. Had no problems

yea, ive done that before with no problems, and i plan to do it again, even though people advice me to leave it to mature aside the old one... im like, why??? when i can just put the media into my new one....

 

[philfista]

Its up to you but i transfered the media from my internal filter to my tetratec 1200 and the tank went into a mini cycle. The readings went really high , took a week to get them back to normal, lucky not to lose some fish.

 

[smithrc]

I only open my cannister monthly (I clean the pipes fortnightly). Also I removed the carbon bag and put some Supawool (69p from Wilko) in its place for extra polishing.

He He - our 1200 has been running on our rio 240 (on its own) for just over a year - I've only cleaned it out once (about 3 months ago)


you'll still need to do your water changes as the nitrate levels will still increase at the same rate....
you might actually have to increase them if you up your stocking levels