Filter help

[CarpCharacin]

Awesome ideas!! I will look into that

Yeah i would go with a 30 gallon. You can't really cut the top off of a 15 gallon drum cleanly. Also, make sure you get an air pump that pumps A MINIMUM of 25 liters per minute. The hakko air pumps are my favorite. You want the kaldnes to fluidize. I would also suggest that you plumb in an emergency overflow that goes into the sump. That is what i did with my pond filter. I also built a prefilter basket out of egg crate/lighting diffuser and put polyester batting in it. In used tin snips to cut it and i used zip ties to hold it together, and i drilled holes in the edge of the drum and used zip ties to hang it. You do not want debris to get stuck in the kaldnes. You want to have a pre filter before the kaldnes. The kaldnes has little ridges and it is designed to trap biofilm, and it will also trap debris that will rot and generate ammonia if you do not have sufficient mechanical filtration before the kaldnes.

 

[BMac91]

If you are good wit an fx6 plus a small sump, then go with that. I'd use fx6 for mechanical filtration and have the sump as k1.

 

[M@T!@$]

If you are good wit an fx6 plus a small sump, then go with that. I'd use fx6 for mechanical filtration and have the sump as k1.

I just ordered my fx6, should be here in a few days

 

[CarpCharacin]

Is the k1 going to be static or fluidized?

 

[M@T!@$]

Is the k1 going to be static or fluidized?

Not sure yet, still figuring out the sump design.. As the filters I got are leaking if I transfer some old media into the fx6 how long would I have to run the other filters with it to be sure it's ready? I've got some of my favourite fish in there so I want to be sure it's done right

 

[CarpCharacin]

Not sure yet, still figuring out the sump design.. As the filters I got are leaking if I transfer some old media into the fx6 how long would I have to run the other filters with it to be sure it's ready? I've got some of my favourite fish in there so I want to be sure it's done right

It takes about 6 weeks for the bacteria to establish, but there has to be an ammonia source. I would go with a fluidized filter design over a static one.

 

[M@T!@$]

It takes about 6 weeks for the bacteria to establish, but there has to be an ammonia source. I would go with a fluidized filter design over a static one.

Ok, I will see if I can get a sketch some of the design

 

[CarpCharacin]

Also, make sure your air pump pumps AT LEAST 25-30 liters per minute for a fluidized kaldnes filter. Also, i would recommend getting a matala weighted diffuser disc. You fill the base with sand and water and it holds it down. They are great for high-output applications, such as a fluidized kaldnes tank.

 

[BMac91]

If you moved all of the bio media from your old filters to your new, then you no longer need to use them. You effectively moved all the good stuff to the new filter. I do that with all of my stuff. I have extra bags of bio in my sump as well as 2 sponge filters just for setting up hospital tanks or QT on the fly.
I'd move all bio to fx6 move it over to tank and then figure out how you want to do the sump. Let the fx6 run for a couple of hours and then check your water parameters, if done right you should be sitting with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, without running all the other filters.

Fluidized k1 is the way to go, depending on the amount of k1, the general rule of thumb is 1lpm of air to every liter of k1 with a 60/40 split of k1 to water. Depending in your design, you may have to supplement extra air to get the desired boil.

 

[M@T!@$]

If you moved all of the bio media from your old filters to your new, then you no longer need to use them. You effectively moved all the good stuff to the new filter. I do that with all of my stuff. I have extra bags of bio in my sump as well as 2 sponge filters just for setting up hospital tanks or QT on the fly.
I'd move all bio to fx6 move it over to tank and then figure out how you want to do the sump. Let the fx6 run for a couple of hours and then check your water parameters, if done right you should be sitting with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, without running all the other filters.

Fluidized k1 is the way to go, depending on the amount of k1, the general rule of thumb is 1lpm of air to every liter of k1 with a 60/40 split of k1 to water. Depending in your design, you may have to supplement extra air to get the desired boil.

.. Fx6 should be here in a week or so... In the mean time I will start getting the sump ready