Canister filter help

[Cobraxassassin]

Hi all

Hoping someone can help, I have an aquael 700 and a 300 running in my 105 litre tank. I got some seachem matrix as I keep getting small ammonia readings that never fall off to zero, I can't fit enough in the canister for my tank size. I've read the matrix is really good filter media, can I cut 1/4 of my canister sponge to make space for matrix? Or should I just add what I can fit in the canister?

Can I squash the sponge or does that hinder performance?

Should the matrix be before or after the sponge?

 

[Wills]

How long has the tank been set up and what fish do you have in there?

Matrix is a good media but it wont solve your problems it could actually make things worse. Have you added it already? What kind of media did you have before to replace with the matrix?

Its not the actual media that will solve the issue its the bacteria that grows on it over time.

Wills

 

[Cobraxassassin]

How long has the tank been set up and what fish do you have in there?

Matrix is a good media but it wont solve your problems it could actually make things worse. Have you added it already? What kind of media did you have before to replace with the matrix?

Its not the actual media that will solve the issue its the bacteria that grows on it over time.

Wills

Hi wills,

It's a long ass story, I'm a novice to fishkeeping. But I had a disaster 3 months ago after advice from pets at home and lost all my fish, I've since researched and spoke with countless fishkeepers and I now know what I'm doing thankfully( in theory in practice is of course a whole other ball game and any input and help is more than appreciated)

When I lost my fish I didn't know what I was doing and destroyed my BB colonies and had to start from scratch.

Tank had been running fish free for 5 weeks with added bacteria and liquid ammonia to regrow bb. I added 8 neon tetra with a tank temp of 26, ph 7.5, kh 70, amonia was sitting at 0.5(my tap water is 0.5) and 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate.

They were in for 3 weeks dosing seachem stability for first 7 days. After 3 weeks all 8 terta are healthy and tanks seems good except a brown algae outbreak. Consulted fish shop (jolleys) and they said I should be good adding another 8 neon tetra. However the media sponges for the filters I use just don't seem to be great and thought matrix would be a good addition. It's had great reviews for holding good colonies of bb and last ages so I can replace clogged sponges knowing I have a good colony of bb in the matrix is my thinking. But the canisters are not big enough for a full size sponge so not sure how I should proceed if at all. Please let me know your thoughts. Been going about a year now and my knowledge of most important things I think is pretty good but I cannot get this last 0.5 of ammonia to get the hell put the tank.

The 8 tetra being fed daily the ammonia spiked to 1.5 once done a 50% water change and it never spiked again so I'm pretty sure I have colonies going...

 

[Cobraxassassin]

How long has the tank been set up and what fish do you have in there?

Matrix is a good media but it wont solve your problems it could actually make things worse. Have you added it already? What kind of media did you have before to replace with the matrix?

Its not the actual media that will solve the issue its the bacteria that grows on it over time.

Wills

 

[Myraan]

I like those cheap aquael kits - but the filter that comes with is very basic. Best cheap inadequate filter I have ever seen through. Usually they are even smaller and ask you to regularly replace a cartridge.

What's good about that filter is the weird way the pump is at the intake, so it pushes the water though the filter rather than pulls. I never had a problem with the impeller getting clogged up but I guess that could be an issue. The whole thing is ridiculously simple to deal with.

I did worry about the sponge not filling the chamber 100% - so I bought a second sponge (same as one that came with) and sorta squeezed them in together like you have with the matrix bag.

I would worry the matrix bag is less permeable though - and the water will just by-pass it. I have no experience with matrix, so I don't know if it will help you. I am considering trying it as my tap water has 10-20ppm nitrates - so I don't have to overfeed much to get nitrates up to 40, most weeks my nitrates say round about my tap water level unless I underfeed and starve the plants of ammonia.

Eventually I upgraded to the Aquel professional turbo filter, and more recently to a small cannister. I almost regret upgrading to a cannister, internal took seconds to clean - a beefier filter than yours would have more options for playing around with alternative media.

That said... if you tank is dealing with ammonia mainly through plants like mine does - the cheapo filter should be adequate.

I just recalled that aquael sell sponges that they claim chemically filters nitrate (and another sponge for phosphate) that fit your filter. No idea how or if they work though.

If ever you do change the filter - keep hold of the cheap one - they are one of the few that should work vertical in just a few inches of water if ever you make a small paludarium. Not sure if the PFK reviewer who claimed this ever tried though, it's possible the pump is too weak to get water go above water surface.

 

[Myraan]

Looked at your photo again - the matrix bag looks more porous than the sponge if anything... Your idea is a god one - but honestly just two sponges might work as well or better.

Apologies, I forgot that matrix is just plain old biological media, I wrote my above post thinking of seachem de-nitrate (an allegedly rechargeable chemical media that removes nitrate).

But nitrate was never your problem anyway (at least it isn't yet).

I guess the only way to deal with too much ammonia is keep checking it, do lots of water changes and have patience. It looks like you simply doing a fish in cycle - but it sounds like you are doing it correctly, and it sounds like you are just about "finished". Just be ready for ammonia spikes each time you add livestock until the bacteria colonies catch up.

edit.... or was purigen im thinking - either way thats my problem and not urs so dont listen to me

 

[Cobraxassassin]

Looked at your photo again - the matrix bag looks more porous than the sponge if anything... Your idea is a god one - but honestly just two sponges might work as well or better.

Apologies, I forgot that matrix is just plain old biological media, I wrote my above post thinking of seachem de-nitrate (an allegedly rechargeable chemical media that removes nitrate).

But nitrate was never your problem anyway (at least it isn't yet).

I guess the only way to deal with too much ammonia is keep checking it, do lots of water changes and have patience. It looks like you simply doing a fish in cycle - but it sounds like you are doing it correctly, and it sounds like you are just about "finished". Just be ready for ammonia spikes each time you add livestock until the bacteria colonies catch up.

edit.... or was purigen im thinking - either way thats my problem and not urs so dont listen to me

Thanks, yeah in checking ammonia daily, and dosing with prime daily so there's 0 free ammonia in the tank. I fishless cycled for 5 weeks, and my cycle got stuck and I'm inpatient so I added 8 tetra and started dosing prime to keep the small amounts of ammonia away from them till the cycle finishes. Bad I know but as longs there's 0 free ammonia as far as I know its not an issue.

So it works cramming two sponges I the canister it doesn't restrict the flow too much?

My aquel 700 filter has 1 standard sponge and some matrix in it, my aquael 300 has 1 standard sponge and phosguard in it to remove silicates and try combat the brown algae outbreak.

After I remove the phosguard I may try 2 sponges in the 300 filter and see how it goes.

Hoping you are right and it's enarly cycled I want a community tank again lol. My plan is a 16-24 strong school of neon tetra with about 8 ottocinclus and a blue dwarf gourami as a centre fish.

Thanks any other help is appreciated!

 

[Myraan]

I sort of off-set the two sponges so they were only squished in the middle of the cannister. I found a single sponge would contract when full of poop and the flow would just bypass it. But that was probably my fault for overstocking with a small filter. I was also trying floating plants at that point - but due to the lid of these tanks being close to water - the amazonian fern stuff was too moist and the the weird flow kept submerging it at end of tank.... so much of the solid waste was dying floating plants.... so I ended up getting a beefier filter; my current filter is 10 times capacity but half the flow - so sedate fish are happier.

Aquael stuff seems cheap and cheerful but I like it because its straight foreward and does what it says on the tin. Was really easy cutting off the section of lid for external filter hose access.