Tetratec Ex1200 Is Here

[T1KARMANN]

dont put any old filter media in the new filter

run the new filter along with the old filter for about 2 weeks then you can remove the old filter

Thanks but can you explain why? Cheers

why would you want to mix up old filter media with the new

just run both filters for 2 weeks then the old filter will help to mature the new filter no need to mix up the media

i agree with that , you will find that its hard to get the media into the new trays with the sponge size difference, and then you are not maturing the new medai, as t1 described above is the best method. Good luck

I don't wanna use the sponges just my bio rings - can I replace the carbon with my used bio rings?

Yes you can running the two along side each other wont work as effectively as it sounds, as very little benefitial bacteria is free floating. Placing the mature media directly into the new filter will decrease the chance of a mini cycle, if done correctly.

yes it will work fine

why do you think most people with big tanks use 2 x external filters its because when you clean 1 out the other is still running strong

carbon is a waste of time it only last for 4 weeks then it starts to let stuff back into the tank

you dont want to be opening you external filter up every 4 weeks to change the carbon an external filter only need to be cleaned every 4 months

carbon is a thing of the past its not used much anymore only to remove meds or poisons

i have matured many filters in my time and running it back to back with you old filter is the best method

you can also add some nutrafin cycle if you want to speed it up a bit

 

[SJ2K]

Just get yourself a bucket, fill it with tank water and leave the filter running in that, will help keep the bacteria alive for a while untill you sort out the problem.

dont put any old filter media in the new filter

run the new filter along with the old filter for about 2 weeks then you can remove the old filter

Thanks but can you explain why? Cheers

why would you want to mix up old filter media with the new

just run both filters for 2 weeks then the old filter will help to mature the new filter no need to mix up the media

i agree with that , you will find that its hard to get the media into the new trays with the sponge size difference, and then you are not maturing the new medai, as t1 described above is the best method. Good luck

I don't wanna use the sponges just my bio rings - can I replace the carbon with my used bio rings?

Yes you can running the two along side each other wont work as effectively as it sounds, as very little benefitial bacteria is free floating. Placing the mature media directly into the new filter will decrease the chance of a mini cycle, if done correctly.

yes it will work fine

why do you think most people with big tanks use 2 x external filters its because when you clean 1 out the other is still running strong

carbon is a waste of time it only last for 4 weeks then it starts to let stuff back into the tank

carbon is a thing of the past its not used much anymore only to remove meds or poisons

i have matured many filters in my time and running it back to back with you old filter is the best method

you can also add some nutrafin cycle if you want to speed it up a bit

Thats the first time ive ever heard an experienced fish keeper promote such products

 

[T1KARMANN]

Just get yourself a bucket, fill it with tank water and leave the filter running in that, will help keep the bacteria alive for a while untill you sort out the problem.

dont put any old filter media in the new filter

run the new filter along with the old filter for about 2 weeks then you can remove the old filter

Thanks but can you explain why? Cheers

why would you want to mix up old filter media with the new

just run both filters for 2 weeks then the old filter will help to mature the new filter no need to mix up the media

i agree with that , you will find that its hard to get the media into the new trays with the sponge size difference, and then you are not maturing the new medai, as t1 described above is the best method. Good luck

I don't wanna use the sponges just my bio rings - can I replace the carbon with my used bio rings?

Yes you can running the two along side each other wont work as effectively as it sounds, as very little benefitial bacteria is free floating. Placing the mature media directly into the new filter will decrease the chance of a mini cycle, if done correctly.

yes it will work fine

why do you think most people with big tanks use 2 x external filters its because when you clean 1 out the other is still running strong

carbon is a waste of time it only last for 4 weeks then it starts to let stuff back into the tank

carbon is a thing of the past its not used much anymore only to remove meds or poisons

i have matured many filters in my time and running it back to back with you old filter is the best method

you can also add some nutrafin cycle if you want to speed it up a bit

Thats the first time ive ever heard an experienced fish keeper promote such products

it works and if a product works i will tell people to use it

 

[SJ2K]

Fair enough, all down to person experience i guess.

Think ive said enough here, hope it all goes well whatever you do

 

[MermaidMel]

Well that was an experience!
Got it working THAT was the easy part, hacking away at my cabinet and tank, dropping pipework behind tank and trying to retrieve with a walking stick and squished arm was fun too!
Great bit of kit though and worth the hassle!
Thank you to all who helped me through it!

 

[fry_lover]

dont be blond (he he)

sorry Mermaid, i've left it too late to make a meaningful contribution to the thread, am very tired....

read a couple of posts......

T1karmann knows more about fish keeping that i'll probably ever know but......

1. i would always advise mixing media, some mature, some new if you can, dont see any problem with that

2. I believe the science behind "cycle" is very dubious and i know it did FA for me, and i am testing freak so if there was a speeding up of the cycling i would have known about it, money down drain springs to mind..... but we have our own views on stuff like this.

I got Mature media (sponges) for you blondy, but you'll have to come to Wood Green!!!!!


EDIT: I dont think t1karmann is wrong, not at all, but i personally would go with what SJ2K advocates, filters mature very quickly if you mix a bit of old mature media in it, in fact i can see any problems doing this? am baffled?

i am sure t1 has done it loads of time with success, but i wouldnt fancy a filter to be fully mature after two weeks

 

[MermaidMel]

dont be blond (he he)

sorry Mermaid, i've left it too late to make a meaningful contribution to the thread, am very tired....

read a couple of posts......

T1karmann knows more about fish keeping that i'll probably ever know but......

1. i would always advise mixing media, some mature, some new if you can, dont see any problem with that

2. I believe the science behind "cycle" is very dubious and i know it did FA for me, and i am testing freak so if there was a speeding up of the cycling i would have known about it, money down drain springs to mind..... but we have our own views on stuff like this.

I got Mature media (sponges) for you blondy, but you'll have to come to Wood Green!!!!!


EDIT: I dont think t1karmann is wrong, not at all, but i personally would go with what SJ2K advocates, filters mature very quickly if you mix a bit of old mature media in it, in fact i can see any problems doing this? am baffled?

i am sure t1 has done it loads of time with success, but i wouldnt fancy a filter to be fully mature after two weeks

Well I've used all my old rings anyway some to replace the carbon and at least half the bottom tray where they had new rings are my established ones so it should be fine! BTW I am not blonde

 

[T1KARMANN]

i wouldnt have cut the cabnet in any way

 

[MermaidMel]

i wouldnt have cut the cabnet in any way

No choice mate, it's not an open back, it's 48" across and about 30" high with a teeny bottom corner cut out for leads, but not for 2 thick pipes, so I just made a 2" square in the centre of one side of the cabinet and fed my pipes through, nowhere near big enough to weak it and it's only an MDF back board. I made the hole without even using a drill so it's not part of the main supportive structure, i.e. the thick hardwood sides/centre wall. Had to be done, no other way around it.

 

[boardy]

If you can get hold of some Tetra SafeStart that will kick everything back to normality pretty much within a day or two.

I used this to start two different tanks my 36" and my 24" both tanks were starting on new filters a Fluval 205 for the 24" and a TetraTec EX1200 on the big tank, same as your filter.

The SafeStart may cloud the water for a few hours but that is normal and will clear up don't worry.

I know people are going to say it doesn't work, blah blah, but it really does work. I have tried running old media in the EX1200 but it's a big canister and it was taking a while, I used SafeStart and everything was sorted extremely fast.

Hope it helps and gets you back to normal.

Adam

 

[T1KARMANN]

if its just the back board you cut that will be fine