Prefilter for heavy bio load large fish

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Charney

Charney

The Fish Doctor
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Nov 15, 2005
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My aquaclears are starting to get clogged up pretty quickly with my bio load. It's not the end of the world to clean them but annoying so frequently. Anyone have some good prefilter ideas? Everything I have used in the past clogs way too quickly. I might be using the wrong sponges. So let me know what works.


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Drill your tank for overflows and use filter socks in your new sump. Filter socks are a breeze to change out. Throw them in the washing machine.
 
A sump is the best! Like rodger said, Pull the socks add new and throw the dirty in the washer and reuse next time. Do a sump man, DIY PVC overflow spray painted black and its good to go!
 
Look into radial flow seperators.

Not sure if I got lucky with the ones I built but seem to be working great from day 1. I figured they would be a nightmare to get right, but seem to be working fine without any changes right from the rough draft. Thought they'd be an ever tuning nightmare like the reactors I tried building, but they sure seem to be catching the poo.....

I used to think vortex settling chambers were the ideal setup, but once you look into the radial flow seperators vortexes seem like an inefficient waste of space. ;)

If you're just looking for different media for the 110s, the foam that Aquatic Eco sells works pretty well. I used to use a few sponge layers then some medium grade pad on the top.... They sell all sorts of grades and thicknesses of foam and pad. That foam doesn't seem to plug as fast as the AC110 foam.....
 
I use the sponges from smaller size sponge filters. You can get them at any online pet store - pet solutions, dr foster & smith etc. I think they're about $1.50 a piece.
 
Prefilter are gona get clogg too and your flow will be restricted so your gona clean the prefilter faster then your Aquaclears. why not put your sponge at the top? makes cleaning very easier, clean entire chamber every other time
 
DB junkie said:
Look into radial flow seperators.

Not sure if I got lucky with the ones I built but seem to be working great from day 1. I figured they would be a nightmare to get right, but seem to be working fine without any changes right from the rough draft. Thought they'd be an ever tuning nightmare like the reactors I tried building, but they sure seem to be catching the poo.....

I used to think vortex settling chambers were the ideal setup, but once you look into the radial flow seperators vortexes seem like an inefficient waste of space. ;)

If you're just looking for different media for the 110s, the foam that Aquatic Eco sells works pretty well. I used to use a few sponge layers then some medium grade pad on the top.... They sell all sorts of grades and thicknesses of foam and pad. That foam doesn't seem to plug as fast as the AC110 foam.....
Click to expand...

How did you scale down radial flow to work in an aquarium? I am intrigued..... Is it intrusive?
 
shelbybmc said:
A sump is the best! Like rodger said, Pull the socks add new and throw the dirty in the washer and reuse next time. Do a sump man, DIY PVC overflow spray painted black and its good to go!
Click to expand...
not a possible option with my setups

DB junkie said:
Look into radial flow seperators.

Not sure if I got lucky with the ones I built but seem to be working great from day 1. I figured they would be a nightmare to get right, but seem to be working fine without any changes right from the rough draft. Thought they'd be an ever tuning nightmare like the reactors I tried building, but they sure seem to be catching the poo.....

I used to think vortex settling chambers were the ideal setup, but once you look into the radial flow seperators vortexes seem like an inefficient waste of space. ;)

If you're just looking for different media for the 110s, the foam that Aquatic Eco sells works pretty well. I used to use a few sponge layers then some medium grade pad on the top.... They sell all sorts of grades and thicknesses of foam and pad. That foam doesn't seem to plug as fast as the AC110 foam.....
Click to expand...

this sounds really interesting. I will research it

decoy50 said:
I use the sponges from smaller size sponge filters. You can get them at any online pet store - pet solutions, dr foster & smith etc. I think they're about $1.50 a piece.
Click to expand...
will clog incredibly quickly

SickSauce said:
Prefilter are gona get clogg too and your flow will be restricted so your gona clean the prefilter faster then your Aquaclears. why not put your sponge at the top? makes cleaning very easier, clean entire chamber every other time
Click to expand...
so in all of my ACs (which is a fair number) I have the foam block it comes with and then the cereamic noodles. You put it the other way? You find this works better?
 
If you have heavy bioload, the filter is supposed to get clogged up quickly if it is doing its job. Adding a prefilter to a filter is not the solution as it simply moves clogging up the prefilter ahead of the main filter. Besides, an HOB is not designed to operate with a prefilter to restrict the flow. To delay the frequency of cleaning the fitler, you have to increase the total filter media area by either adding more filters, or switching to a sump system with the largest filter media area.

How big is your tank, the size and number of fish you are keeping? I have a heavily loaded 125 gal filtered by three Penquin HOBs and I have to change all filter pads twice a week when they get clogged up. But changing Penquin filter is easy, simply slide in and out of the filter pads.
 
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