Matten Filter for 300 - Umbee or Amphilophus heavy stocking

ahud

Plecostomus
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Aug 15, 2009
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Good summary!

Here's a point on which I'm still struggling: Is some detritus in the tank a bad thing (other than, of course aesthetically)?

Experienced fishkeepers argue both ways...

I've been a vigilant detritus-siphoner for many years and some really skilled folks have told me to chill out :)

Matt

Matt,

I honestly think it depends on what is causing the detritus, driftwood dust for example is unsightly, but not really an issue. The same holds true for leaf litter. You can get away with more detritus in soft acidic water IME.

I use to believe "less technology, more biology" which is why matten filters interested me. But now I am of the opinion of the less detritus the better. I can't imagine any good can come of junk collecting in the tank and just rotting. Especially if you are talking uneaten food and poop. If you can get that poop and uneaten food out of the water BEFORE it makes it into your filter and breaks down then that is less "nutrients" making it into the water column.

Secondly, if you look at people that keep sensitive species (Freshwater rays, reefs, etc) exporting nutrients is a big part of the care. Which involves removing detritus, not just catching it.

My ideal filter catches particulate (poop, food, etc) and settles it so that I can remove it via siphon. But beyond doing a sump, its hard to come up with something that catches the nasty and is also easy to clean.

Always shocks me what box filters with filter floss pull out of a tank!
 
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dogofwar

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In my quest to reduce power usage in my fishroom, I took out the last canister filter (an FX5 on a 180g) and replaced it with a 2'x2' piece of course Poret on one side of the tank...powered by a strong air pump with a couple of jet lifters...and two box filters (one behind the Poret and one on the tank side). I also have another large Poret sponge filter bubbling away.

Going to see how this works out. The tank's currently empty and I'm planning to stock it with pikes and acaras...

Matt
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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JasonsPlecosCichlids JasonsPlecosCichlids good to see you back. Any updated pics or vids? Did you end up removing the biomedia you behind the hmf filters? Had to do any cleaning on the poret foam?
 

JasonsPlecosCichlids

Goliath Tigerfish
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I keep the media bags behind them so I can seed new tanks, which I did last week on the new 170 for my Royal pleco. I took 8 months for me to clean the first matten, probably could have went another month. Once the water level is about 2" lower behind the matten then it's usually time to clean them. The two 265s I have cleaned 3 times in 2 years, the two 220s I have cleaned one once and the other twice. I had a 75 that I never cleaned in over a year, those are now on the 170. I dont really have any pics of that, its kind of hard to see, lighting is bad behind the tanks.

I remember cleaning the FX5's once to twice a month, which I had 2-3 per tank, what a waste of time that was and money. Glad to have that time back, best money I ever spent from selling the canisters.
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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I meant more pictures of the tank in usual. I was curious if the black turns brown due to debris or if it stays black. Also, did you find it dumped a ton of stuff back in the tank?

Definitely agree about multiple FX5s. I hated maintenance on that filter.
 

JasonsPlecosCichlids

Goliath Tigerfish
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Checkout my YouTube Channel, Jasons Plecos and Cichlids

Mine are still black. The blue ones turn green. It doesn't dump anything, even with the air pump off. When I clean them, I drain the tank about 90%, then I have a piece of acrylic that I slide in between the glass rods and the front of the matten so when I lift it, all the dirty water, well most of it stays in the corner, then I siphon it out.
 
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nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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D dogofwar and Yoimbrian Yoimbrian just curious how your HMF experiments are coming along.
 

Yoimbrian

Dovii
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D dogofwar and Yoimbrian Yoimbrian just curious how your HMF experiments are coming along.
So far so good.

The 20 gallon hasn't had any cleaning other than water changes and the water is crystal clear. No debris at all floating around. See picture. The small gap between the filter mat and the glass has a thick layer of brownish stuff, and I'm not sure if it's mulm building up or algae (there's a window right there, but shaded and east facing so only a few hours of sun). I'm just gonna ignore it unless it becomes a problem.

I also have another thread about my new 180 gallon, also using matten filters. It's still cycling though, nothing interesting to report.
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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NW Cichlid Keith NW Cichlid Keith curious if you setup the HMF on your 135g and how its going.
 
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