Monster Canister Filter

[RegalAngel]

Background: 300g SW setup uising four(4) Ocean Clear model 325 filters with filter area of 4 x 25 sqft = 100 sqft. Rated at 25 mircrons these cartridge filters work fine.

But they take up alot of room and are somewhat cumbersome to remove and deal with.

They are furnished water from two Reeflo Marlin pumps at about 40 gpm total.

Plan: To replace all four of these four Ocean Clears with:

One Sta-Rite Posi-Clear PXC125 cartridge filter. Plenty of room once I remove the rack and OC's...see pic. It has one cartridge to remove...much easier than current setup and is rated at 20-30 microns.
I will continue to use the two Reeflo Marlins.
http://www.pentairpool.com/pool-own...rtridge-posi-clear-filters-pxc-series-127.htm

Any reasons why this won't work as well as what I have now as far a mechanical filtering capability?

 

[Conner]

how many cubic/square feet of micron filter do you have now, vs. with the posi-clear filter? You could run into an issue of having to clean it much more often, even if you're only cleaning one filter.

 

[RegalAngel]

"Background: 300g SW setup uising four(4) Ocean Clear model 325 filters with filter area of 4 x 25 sqft = 100 sqft. Rated at 25 microns "

Posi-Clear is 125 sqft

Best I can tell is that it would be like having all four of my OC cartridges stacked on top of each other in one filter housing.


http://bwclark.smugmug.com/Aquariums

 

[knicks791]

wouldn't it be easier just to have a sump?

 

[RegalAngel]

Negative...I am using the Hiatt closed loop system for mechanical biological treatment of water. This requires a very high flow rate thru the bio part of the system. This results in zero nitrates & phosphates...see my photos and the last one in particular for the detailed testing results.

 

[dawnmarie]

Great Photos in the link. That is a boatload of plumbing. You must buy PVC Ball Valves by the case.

So, where did you get your info on micron ratings for the pentair ?

The reason I ask is I called Pentair awhile back (3 Months) looking for micron ratings on a Clean and Clear Plus cartridge and was told by someone in their tech department that all Pentair cartridges were 50 micron + . I would be curious to know the correct answer either way.

As goes your filter swap, There is no reason I know of it won't work. This assumes you are not in any way reliant on whatever BB may be present on the filter cartridges.

A couple of curiosity questions : How often do you clean them now and how long does each filter take to service ?

If you do the swap and want to sell the Ocean clears PM me as I am looking for them for a smaller project.

 

[RegalAngel]

I asked Pleatco that makes a filter cartridge that fits this filter:

This type of filtration media will clean 100% of the 30 micron "particles after about 6 passes of water…the media will also filter 10 -20 micron material but not 100%.

Salt water…NO problem. Regards, John PS - Nobody’s filter cartridges work better.

John Antretter
Chief Operating Officer

Pleatco, LLC
28 Garvies Point Rd.
Glen Cove, N.Y. 11542

O - 516 609 0200
D - 516 280 1902

www.pleatco.com "


I currently clean the OC about once per 3 weeks and could go longer as the pressure does not increase during this time.

I remove the entire filter unit to do the cleaning and it takes about an hour. Not too bad but it is cumbersome and I would like to make life easier.

I will let you know about the OC.

 

[RegalAngel]

As a follow-up on the model filter I plan to use:

Unicel models C-8413 125 sqft or C-8417 175 sqft

According to Unicel the micron rating is 20 microns with 100% of 30 microns.

Seems like this will be equivalent to what I am doing currently with the OC.

 

[squint]

Pool filters are generally not recommended for ponds or aquariums. They're intended to be used with water that's fairly clean not water that's constantly being defecated in (the exception being public pools, I suppose).

In my experience, micron cartridges clog quickly yet are unable to filter out the unicellular organisms that cause cloudy water. They're also hard to clean because the debris gets thoroughly embedded in the polyester material and has to removed by soaking in a bleach solution out then the bleach has to be dealt with.

What I recommend are bead filters: Ocean Clear 354s or a small pond bead filter. They're quite popular in ponds and aquaculture facilities. Just turn off the pump, flip two valves, turn the pump back on, and the media is clean. No opening up the filter and no cleaning the media by hand.

 

[RegalAngel]

For my application, I am already using micron cartridge filters successfully.
This will be a equal replacement with one unit replacing four units, and an improvement in the flow potentially due to the elimation of several 3/4" lines with a 2" line inlet to the filter and out.

I do remove the cartridges and soak them in buckets with bleach; 2 cups/3 gals. and they remain for 24 hours. They are then flushed and soaked for 24 hours in clean water. Then they are air dried until the next use ~ 3 weeks. Works fine.

I see great clarity in my 300g with this filter setup as the filters are followed by 50 lbs of carbon in four separate bio tubes. Any fines get caught up in these and are dealt with by the bacteria. The result is zero nitrates/phoshates and only 40g water changes per month.

I have ordered the Sta-Rite PXC 125 with a couple extra Unicel C-8413 filters and will be eliminating the Ocean Clear cartridge units. These were orginially intended to go under the tank in the cabinet but not sufficient room was available to place it all there so I used a nearby closet.