New Fluval 406 Installed

[clivealive]

hi

I just installed a new fluval 406 (had for a while as eheim looked on last legs but recovered and now gave up)
my tank is 4ft x 15w x 18h (220 uk litres i think) 47 uk galons ish.
The flow is mega fast more than i expected well happy.
question:
Does the speed the water flows through filter improve or lessen the filters working ability.
should i leave full on or slow a bit?

also is my media setup def ok?
bottom 2 trays Eheim Substrat Pro (from old filter)
next tray fluval media that came with it bio max I think.
top tray Eheim bioMech (small amount from old filter and 4 packets of JBL Bio NitratEX.

idea's and comments welcome.




******** not 100% sure on what way the water flows ****

 

[Juggler75]

Remind me the direction of flow, the biomech should be on first tray the water hits as its job is mainly mechanical.

The quicker the water flows through the filter means the less time the water is in contact with the filter media so less time for them to feed (and convert ammonia/nitrites) however a faster flow means that the water flows through the filter more times (so the bacteria get more bites at the cherry). I think its your choice really if the flow suits the tank then leave it at full (this also means more 'bits' will be pulled into the intake).

 

[coldcazzie]

Going to move this to the hardware section - general chat is for non-fish related topics

 

[fishguy2727]

I have had different ideas about that over the years. I personally think that more flow is better. IME Fluvals are extremely effective as mechanical filters, and I think the flow is a huge part of that. It creates enough force to push the water through even very fine media (I stuff one tray with as much filter floss as I can squeeze in). I think with filters with less flow you would simply lose too much flow doing this.

The media should be: course mechanical (the vertical foam), fine mechanical/polishing (I use filter floss in the bottom tray), biomedia.

Have you used a Fluval 405? I heard the 06 line was coming out but from what I have read there is little difference.