Fluval G series

[paulster]

I respectfully disagree.

the idea of a maintence schedule based on conditions only is very bad for most aquarists.

why?

because many times by the time the aquarist realizes that the conditions are bad, its too late.

reactive maintenance is a bad philosophy to follow, because quite often, the damage to your fish may already be done. water changes after the fact may not help.

regular water changes at regular intervals eliminates this problem and ensures a stable system, not a system that is gradually deteriorating up to the point of the next water change.

Hi guys, first time poster here so be gentle! I'm in the UK and have a 180l community tropical setup.

I've been looking into the G filters and thought the same as you at first, until I got some more information and spoke to a guy at my LFS who had gotten professional training on it from Hagen. According to him it's the conductivity level that's the key to preventative (not reactive) maintenance, but you need to do a little work first to set up your schedule. Here's how it's supposed to work:

First you get a status quo situation, so the conductivity is right for your fish species, the aquarium is mature, nitrates are low etc. You record conductivity level and test for nitrate & phosphate and record the results.

Then you leave your aquarium with no water changes for 30 days and re-test for all the above. Any rise in conductivity will be indirectly caused by an increase in nitrates/phosphates seeing as they are chemical salts. Lets say conductivity has risen from 600 to 800us (33% rise), nitrate from 20 to 40ppm and phosphate from 0.5 to 2.0ppm. You know these levels are unacceptably high so to prevent them getting that high again you set the conductivity alarm to go off when the level reaches, for example, 700us. That's then your signal to do a water change, before nitrates and phosphates get out of hand. You can then perform a change with R/O water to restore the conductivity level to the correct level for your fish.

The other major thing is that the filter is a zero bypass system, so all the water goes through the mechanical cartidge. This does mean you have to clean it pretty often, but it looks quick & easy to do. The point is that it forces you to remove solid wastes before they can break down into nitrates. It also stops the bio media getting clogged - Hagen's official line is that you only need open the body of the filter once every 6 months for a quick rinse and partial media change.

I was pretty impressed, yea it;s expensive but it does seem to make monitoring very convenient once you've got things set up how you want thewm.

 

[fishloaf666]

Hi guys, first time poster here so be gentle! I'm in the UK and have a 180l community tropical setup.

I've been looking into the G filters and thought the same as you at first, until I got some more information and spoke to a guy at my LFS who had gotten professional training on it from Hagen. According to him it's the conductivity level that's the key to preventative (not reactive) maintenance, but you need to do a little work first to set up your schedule. Here's how it's supposed to work:

First you get a status quo situation, so the conductivity is right for your fish species, the aquarium is mature, nitrates are low etc. You record conductivity level and test for nitrate & phosphate and record the results.

Then you leave your aquarium with no water changes for 30 days and re-test for all the above. Any rise in conductivity will be indirectly caused by an increase in nitrates/phosphates seeing as they are chemical salts. Lets say conductivity has risen from 600 to 800us (33% rise), nitrate from 20 to 40ppm and phosphate from 0.5 to 2.0ppm. You know these levels are unacceptably high so to prevent them getting that high again you set the conductivity alarm to go off when the level reaches, for example, 700us. That's then your signal to do a water change, before nitrates and phosphates get out of hand. You can then perform a change with R/O water to restore the conductivity level to the correct level for your fish.

The other major thing is that the filter is a zero bypass system, so all the water goes through the mechanical cartidge. This does mean you have to clean it pretty often, but it looks quick & easy to do. The point is that it forces you to remove solid wastes before they can break down into nitrates. It also stops the bio media getting clogged - Hagen's official line is that you only need open the body of the filter once every 6 months for a quick rinse and partial media change.

I was pretty impressed, yea it;s expensive but it does seem to make monitoring very convenient once you've got things set up how you want thewm.

lol is this guy from hagen/fluval or what? plus i would never not change my water for 30 days wtf?

 

[paulster]

is this guy from hagen/fluval or what? lol

Ha, no but that info came from them, my friend at the aquatics centre showed me their training material. I just found it interesting.

 

[fishloaf666]

ya me too, i sometimes fap to my canister filter catalogs

 

[paulster]

I think the 30 days was just an example but I thought the same. It's just that first time though to find out the relationship in your water between conductivity, nitrates and phosphates to see how one affects the others.

 

[Deaths Sting]

Fluval G series =

 

[paulster]

ya me too, i sometimes fap to my canister filter catalogs

Those long winter evenings must just fly by...

 

[fishloaf666]

Those long winter evenings must just fly by...

u sure did lern yerself fast there for your first post being 20 mins ago

 

[paulster]

u sure did lern yerself fast there for your first post being 20 mins ago

not really been into these forums till lately, only just registered. Been fishkeeping for 6 yrs tho. sorry for the heavy 1st post, I'd just had the hard sell a couple of days ago on the g filter and then saw this thread.

 

[IrnGynt]

Good info paulster. Thanks.

Does conductivity relate to Redox (ORP)?