Sand And Filters

[sjolliff]

Iv got the tetratec EX 1200 and sand as substrate, iv seen posts saying to leave the sand to settle for about 48hrs before turning on the filter!

Does sand cause damage to the filter componets or do i need to service it more? if so in what way?

 

[Truck]

Iv got the tetratec EX 1200 and sand as substrate, iv seen posts saying to leave the sand to settle for about 48hrs before turning on the filter!

Does sand cause damage to the filter componets or do i need to service it more? if so in what way?

seeing as the water goes through the media before the impeller i would think youd be fine, aslong as you have floss in their/

 

[sjolliff]

in the top tray iv got the normal sponge, then some medium sponge then a homemade floss which is 40mm thick

cheers truck

 

[3ndl3r]

Youshould let it settle for atleast 24 hours. Fines in the sand will eventually clog up the filter sponges etc..

James

 

[sjolliff]

if its just the sponges media etc not too bothered about that as there easy to clean, its more the propeller etc

 

[three-fingers]

Even without media, any particles of silt small enough to be floating in the water are highly unlikely to damage the impeller anyway.

 

[sjolliff]

Even without media, any particles of silt small enough to be floating in the water are highly unlikely to damage the impeller anyway.

 

[Tropical_Fish]

I wouldn't like to risk it myself, the parts around the impellor wear with normal use - this would be accelerated with any sand in the water.

The floss should make sure very little sand gets past but I still don't like the thought of it! I know a few people who have worn out filters and blamed it on switching to sand - needless to say they quickly change back to gravel

 

[three-fingers]

If these people are blaming the filter getting broken on the sand...they should maintain the filter more often.

 

[dthoffsett]

I'd recommend giving your filter a good clean about a week after adding the sand just to make sure, but I've never had problems with sand messing up a filter.

 

[sjolliff]

Cheers

 

[Tropical_Fish]

If these people are blaming the filter getting broken on the sand...they should maintain the filter more often.

I think it comes from maintaining the filter and not having any problems for years with gravel, then they change to sand and the filter dies in a few weeks - heard of 3 people where this has happenend - of course it could be coincidence due to the filter being a few years old but I can see the logic. I would say it will reduce the life of the filter - it might be from 10 years to 9 years - without doing scientific testing it's impossible to say

 

[Truck]

If these people are blaming the filter getting broken on the sand...they should maintain the filter more often.

I think it comes from maintaining the filter and not having any problems for years with gravel, then they change to sand and the filter dies in a few weeks - heard of 3 people where this has happenend - of course it could be coincidence due to the filter being a few years old but I can see the logic. I would say it will reduce the life of the filter - it might be from 10 years to 9 years - without doing scientific testing it's impossible to say

sand will shred impellers...but it depends on the filter...with tetratec filters it will be fine as the water goes through media first, maybe those 3 people you know had filters where water goes through the impeller first