Pimp My Filter #16 - Hidom BF-200 Hang on Back Filter
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- čas přidán 16. 08. 2018
- Hidom BF-200 HOB Filter (Amazon): geni.us/DZ30v
Hidom BF-200 HOB Filter (Ebay): ebay.to/2wjs5J1
Fluval 'Edge' Foams (pre-filter): geni.us/dcJ5j
Foams and Biohome media: www.filterpro.co.uk
(FilterPro site has links to suppliers in other countries)
This is a decent little filter - very cheap and although it is small it still manages to fit around 500g of media in making it suitable for a normally stocked community tank of around 50 litres (13 US gal.) to achieve a full cycle.
At the price you really can't go wrong.....but the way it (and other HOB filters) come set up is not the best...
HOB filters aren't very popular here in the UK but I do hope to feature more of them in the future as some of the larger ones can offer decent space for media and would be suitable for larger tanks.
A full cycle is completed by bacteria - the aerobic part of biological filtration which processes ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate followed by an anaerobic part which processes nitrate into soluble nitrogen which bubbles off to the atmosphere.
Therefore it requires a suitable amount of excellent quality filter media to be able to provide the environment for both aerobic AND anaerobic bacteria - that is what Biohome ultimate does perfectly but even with such good media there are limitations and we recommend the following amounts for different stocking scenarios:
(1 US Gallon = 3.8 litres)
(1kg = 2.2 lbs)
Average community tropical aquarium = 1kg per 100 litres
Average coldwater aquarium = 1kg - 1.5kg per 100 litres
Predator aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Large cichlid aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Malawi / Tanganyikan aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Marine aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Average mixed fish pond = 1kg per 200 litres
Average koi pond = 1kg per 150 litres
You may be disagreeing with the above figures but remember that they are for a FULL CYCLE not half a job - achieving 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite is quite easy since aerobic bacteria grows freely on any surface but the anaerobic bacteria responsible for COMPLETING the cycle needs more a specialized habitat.
Size a filter properly, set it up sensibly and you will have perfect water - it's that simple....and your filter won't be the dreaded 'Nitrate factory'.....you'll spend less money on treatments too......basically the filter is the foundation of a successful aquarium.
This series of videos is all about trying to squeeze more efficiency out of internal and external aquarium filters which generally have a limited filtering capacity - If you have a filter you'd like me to feature in a video then please contact me on:
sales@filterpro.co.uk
07772848730 (Richard)
Anyone who sends a filter (UK only at present) will have it upgraded and returned to them for free and the only cost you will pay is how much it costs to ship it to me - I'm helping to boost your filter and the resulting videos will hopefully be useful to viewers all over the world so it's a win/win.
The following videos will be useful to anyone interested in learning more about filtration, bacteria and making the conditions for your fish as good as possible:
Sizing a canister properly and filter set up: goo.gl/om19un
Looking INSIDE different filter media: goo.gl/hZWS6c
Bacteria and filter media: goo.gl/123gAF
How to clean an aquarium: goo.gl/bPMhvh
Aquarium tips / filtration playlist: goo.gl/pXgqVj
Check out my channel for hundreds of videos on a wide range of my hobbies - many of the videos have educational content so if you have enjoyed any give them the thumbs up and share.
This channel is purely a hobby for me so I will never ask viewers to donate money for any of my projects or charge anyone for information - information should be shared freely and I certainly don't consider myself an 'expert' in anything I pursue as a hobby so please do your own research, never accept anything as 'fact', reject anyone claiming to be some sort of authority or 'expert' and make your own minds up about anything you wish to study.
We all are on a long path of learning.........
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS ON AMAZON: goo.gl/jMaBWy
INSTAGRAM: / pondguru_outdoors
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
+Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn
JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24
Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects.
Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching.
See you next time.
Pondguru - Zábava
Hidom BF-200 HOB Filter (Amazon): geni.us/DZ30v
Hidom BF-200 HOB Filter (Ebay): ebay.to/2wjs5J1
Fluval 'Edge' Foams (pre-filter): geni.us/dcJ5j
Foams and Biohome media: www.filterpro.co.uk
(FilterPro site has links to suppliers in other countries)
This is a decent little filter - very cheap and although it is small it still manages to fit around 500g of media in making it suitable for a normally stocked community tank of around 50 litres (13 US gal.) to achieve a full cycle.
At the price you really can't go wrong.....but the way it (and other HOB filters) come set up is not the best...
HOB filters aren't very popular here in the UK but I do hope to feature more of them in the future as some of the larger ones can offer decent space for media and would be suitable for larger tanks.
A full cycle is completed by bacteria - the aerobic part of biological filtration which processes ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate followed by an anaerobic part which processes nitrate into soluble nitrogen which bubbles off to the atmosphere.
Therefore it requires a suitable amount of excellent quality filter media to be able to provide the environment for both aerobic AND anaerobic bacteria - that is what Biohome ultimate does perfectly but even with such good media there are limitations and we recommend the following amounts for different stocking scenarios:
(1 US Gallon = 3.8 litres)
(1kg = 2.2 lbs)
Average community tropical aquarium = 1kg per 100 litres
Average coldwater aquarium = 1kg - 1.5kg per 100 litres
Predator aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Large cichlid aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Malawi / Tanganyikan aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Marine aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres
Average mixed fish pond = 1kg per 200 litres
Average koi pond = 1kg per 150 litres
You may be disagreeing with the above figures but remember that they are for a FULL CYCLE not half a job - achieving 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite is quite easy since aerobic bacteria grows freely on any surface but the anaerobic bacteria responsible for COMPLETING the cycle needs more a specialized habitat.
Size a filter properly, set it up sensibly and you will have perfect water - it's that simple....and your filter won't be the dreaded 'Nitrate factory'.....you'll spend less money on treatments too......basically the filter is the foundation of a successful aquarium.
This series of videos is all about trying to squeeze more efficiency out of internal and external aquarium filters which generally have a limited filtering capacity - If you have a filter you'd like me to feature in a video then please contact me on:
sales@filterpro.co.uk
07772848730 (Richard)
Anyone who sends a filter (UK only at present) will have it upgraded and returned to them for free and the only cost you will pay is how much it costs to ship it to me - I'm helping to boost your filter and the resulting videos will hopefully be useful to viewers all over the world so it's a win/win.
The following videos will be useful to anyone interested in learning more about filtration, bacteria and making the conditions for your fish as good as possible:
Sizing a canister properly and filter set up: goo.gl/om19un
Looking INSIDE different filter media: goo.gl/hZWS6c
Bacteria and filter media: goo.gl/123gAF
How to clean an aquarium: goo.gl/bPMhvh
Aquarium tips / filtration playlist: goo.gl/pXgqVj
Check out my channel for hundreds of videos on a wide range of my hobbies - many of the videos have educational content so if you have enjoyed any give them the thumbs up and share.
This channel is purely a hobby for me so I will never ask viewers to donate money for any of my projects or charge anyone for information - information should be shared freely and I certainly don't consider myself an 'expert' in anything I pursue as a hobby so please do your own research, never accept anything as 'fact', reject anyone claiming to be some sort of authority or 'expert' and make your own minds up about anything you wish to study.
We all are on a long path of learning.........
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS ON AMAZON: goo.gl/jMaBWy
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/pondguru_outdoors/
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
+Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn
JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24
Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects.
Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching.
See you next time.
Pondguru
Hey Pondguru, I live in Canada and I have a small Eheim internal filter. Would you be interested in pumping that filter (small boxes are cheap to ship to Canada from the UK).
I'm only doing filters from the UK but as the series progresses it will become apparent which filters I still need to cover so I'll throw it out to Europe then work out to the rest of the world. I can only imagine how many filters will have been covered then, lol
I think I have already shot videos on 1 or 2 eheim internal filters but I'm about 15 videos behind so have a load of editing to do.........
Hi Richard it Me again just a quick question you know the bio home ultra do you have to change it out and if so how often do you recommend
Richard where are you 2 weeks no content! You can’t just tease us with the mega filter then disappear
I've got over 20 videos shot which need editing in the pimp my filter series but haven't had any time to edit them or do any more work on the filter. August was the craziest month ever for my business and it was literally the same as 3+ months sales when I has the shop (and staff) squeezed into one month by myself so I'm knackered. I should really put a video out about the mad situation but I need tome for that, lol
I do look forward to these "how they work video's" they do lighten my day :)
I'm a huge fan of your videos, Richard. I used your methods to "pimp" my Fluval C4 hang-on-back. It's a little power house now, thanks for the tips!
Great idea putting that foam at the beginning of the inlet tube. Thanks for sharing man.
I was in a pinch and needed a new filter so I bought a cheap hob called Re-Sun hf-2003. It came with two carbon cartridges and nothing else. It was for a musk turtle tank. Your videos helped me turn a very bad filter system into a decent working filter with corse and medium sponges, ammonium pad, cotton pad and a bunch of fluval bio rings. I am upgrading to a AquaClear 70 shortly to get more surface area, but I'm very surprised how well your ideas actually helped. Thanks, mate.
Pimped out my hob filter under 2 weeks ago.it contains 5 ranchu there's also a fluval 2 in there.my hob flow almost stopped tonight so i decided to clean some of the media. I was totally shocked an amazed but how much muck had been caught in the extra media I added.so i would just like to say a big thank you for the tips. It's worked wonders
The Finnex PX 360 Ned’s a pimp job.🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
good day to you Richard !! another awesome pimp my filter episode !!
On another note i setup my canister like you instructed and after nearly a year without cleaning, the media had almost no muck buildup. I just rinsed the baskets in some tank water and put them back after changing the filter pads, absolutely impressed. This is on a heavily stocked tank with lots of big and dirty catfish, gotta keep the Biohome nice and clean.
lol at big dirty catfish - yes the filter needs to be set up right to stay clean and do a good job - nice one.
cut a long story short always dreamed of a koi pond but because ill health an not been able to work that dreams gone but still love watching all your stuff cant wait for next installment of the mega filter
Wow! That was a huge upgrade. It went from trash to actually usefull
Another great vid! This will also help folks in the USA who use the Marina S series filters (S10 & S20) as it appears to be very similar. Thanks again for a great video series. I really look forward to these.
Nice one as I'm always getting heat for showing filters which aren't available in the US, lol
This will also work for the Dymax Slim Flo series of HOB filters, too.
Lol i think the best place for that Richard is the bin lol
I absolutely disagree.
I pimped my filter similar to this one, but the major advantage is that the pump is in the water. So when there is a power outage, the filter starts on its own.
Plus, it's very slim in the back and you can have the tank close to the wall.
I pimped out mine similar to his, but the white foam on top is an excellent idea.
Perfect for smaller tanks of 20 gallons or less or even Betta and Gourami tanks.
Fantastic my friend as i have a janeca the same size and i am gonna do what you did. Thank you
Finally you did a hob filter! As for the media bags... I’ve found that at least with hob filters you can get a good 50% more media if you just drop it in loose. It’s a bit more pain for cleaning so I dump it into a strainer then use the strainer to shake it inside a bucket of tank water. Tbh I use a stainless steel deep fryer basket cause it has a hanger to hang off the side of the bucket lol. Wife want impressed btw.
I do setup all my filters with intake sponges even canisters to maximize biological capacity. That filter was very narrow and not really conducive to how most hob filters are. Hydor makes a prefilter kit that uses an airlift style sponge of good quality with lots of extra pipe attachments to fit almost any power filter made. The one thing I can say about surface skimming hob style filters is the fine pad will clog very very fast (like in less then a week fast). I would recommend most to not to use one for this reason. Even with a non surface skimming hob I would advise using a fine foam and not a fine pad material for same reasons. The gravity flow of a hob is not very good for proper flow when minor clogging is present. In a canister this isn’t an issue cause of the power behind the flow pushing or pulling it through but cause a hob only sucks water up then gravity falls back it’s really not as efficient and wo that force I’ve found it doesn’t work that well with any style or make hob filter. That said for the same reasons it’s really not as important cause a lot of muck tends to just fall and collect in the bottom of the media chamber anyways.
All sounds common sense to me and it will be interesting to take a look at a more 'serious HOB filter as some actually look decent.'
The 2 hang on backs I have are set up like this, 1 difference is I used the frame from the cartridge to put floss over instead of on top.
Sounds good to me.
I set up my fluval 206 95percent your way and my wife keeps saying she can't believe how clear the water is.....that this is the clearest tank I ever had....Thanks for your info! Greg
Groovy.
Think you’ll find that red disc might push on the black “peg” that sticks out the bottom. You can then rotate it to level the filter when hung on the aquarium. I had a filter in the past similar possibly an aqua clear from Hagen and that had something similar.
That seems as sensible as anything, shame there isn't any sort of instructions or diagram in the box, lol
I’ve put the fluval spong inside of a sponge filter foam.. as in one cylinder inside another... massive foams then
I just got one of these for my fluval chi tank because I want the crap filtered from the bottom of it. we have real plants in a coarse sand substrate but no fish because we havent been able to sort out the nitrite.nitrate issue in it. Had the fluval for years and like the shape and size of it so justlooking at ways to adapt it so it works for me not against me. Other tanks (my daughter keeps guppies) are fine, but the chi, is such a pain. I am going to do what you have suggested and hopefully we can get the chi running nice and clean and fish ready. Thanks very much for your video it really helped. I have no idea what that round disk is either, doesnt seem to fit anywhere!
Well I did it, followed your plan and within 6 hours the water is running clear! Thanks very much
The small red round part comes down to the filter and serves as a spacer to the aquarium disc so that the filter is in balance ...: o)
The red cap is to adjust the angle of your filter box from the aquarium back !
See the little knob at the bottom of your box ,you snap it there
I guess I never thought of my prefilter sponge being enough mechanical filtration, I put one on all my filter intakes regardless of stock, so next I would do the fine pad in the pump chamber and the biological media in the main chamber. Thanks for sharing your expertise! Guess I have some items to order!
No worries and I'm glad you found the video useful - thanks for watching.
12:21 That middle finger ^.^
Looks like Richard noticed it rather quickly too haha
I believe the Aqua Clear HOB filters are very good and can be set up in almost any way you prefer and can hold a good amount of media.
Indeed, and I vote for an episode using one. I have the AQ 110 on a 65 gallon and would love to hear other ideas on media loading.
I have 2 aquaclear 110's on a 65 gallon, the way I have them set up is a sponge on the intake, then on the inside, I cut the course sponge in half that came with it, on top of that I have a medium filter pad & on top of that I have a fine 50 micron pad, then a crap ton of Fluval biomax. This method works great for my goldfish.
Sounds like a good setup, if you had some biohome it would be even better!
Richard Portelli so true!! I'll have to look into getting some. I appreciate your helpful videos, it's why they're working so well! I learned from the Best! 😉
Just purchased Fluval aquaclear 110 for my 29 gallon (currently use stock light fluorescent and Aquaon 75 with ceramic rings bioballs, and fluval edge sponge on intake ) I also purchased biohome Ulta mini and getting ready to overhaul my new filter. New light fluval plant 3.0 and tank will be happy place...I hope. Just 2 fish and plants. Fish Gurami and Raphael catfish. Plants Anubias and cryptocorine aponogetifolia. My tank was sort of not regular basis maintenance schedule.1-2 months partial water changes. I'm trying my best but not always successful. I hope those upgrades will improve my happy fishkeeping. So it will be nice to share some ideas about this filter and results achieved with upgrades. Enjoy this beautiful hobby and good luck.
I have an Azoo Mignon 150 hob filter. I set it up EXACTLY the same way 😁
Groovy.
5:54 or just get black electric tape and do a few loops around the end to make it slot tighter. Love the stuff, use it for everything haha.
Using a similar method, i made water tight seal instead using a bulkhead on my pond filter :)
2:28 that Richard is the stabiliser to adjust the filter level with glass and water. There's a little nub at the bottom of the filter for that piece of plastic.
I tend not to use the pre-filter because everytime I do maintenance, the tank get dirty (I was using ada aquasoil, idk how dirty the tank if you used inert substrate) i just use a course foam and a floss near the pump. The setup did well for a 38 liter tank. For HOBs, a good design I've used was the fluval C series, never used the aquaclear so idk.
Syafeeq Said a trick I saw for avoiding the prefilter mess is to use a ziplock bag or similar and slip it over the sponge before you remove it. Contains all the loose muck and stops it clouding up the tank.
Good one - seems sensible and hopefully someone will send a fluval HOB or the seachem tidal as they look much more substantial.
Yep, bag the filter in the water.
Though that pre-filter would be too fine for most.
Great video. now can you please do a AquaClear 110 hang on the back filter. the number one selling hang on the back filter in the world
Yes I'm sure someone will send one as I have seen them in the UK.
So, my Marina S10 is gonna get a wee upgrade. Is basically the same filter as this Hidom. :))
We don't get many hang on filters in the UK, and of the few that we do, most are absolute shite. I had a Fluval C4 on one of my smaller tanks that my brother imported that was very good. The Seachem tidal and All Pond solutions UV hang on models (much more customisable than the non UV models for whatever reason) look pretty good too.
I worry that the intake may overflow given the bunch of bio media and you would need to resort in adjusting the intake to a more lesser one then makes the water flow/GPH a bit ineffective? But thanks for the sponge tips! Will definitely try those :)
Please do an aquaclear 110. 🐟
Sweet...I luv ur pimp filter ideas all of our filters in the US are crap...
Would be great if you could actually run the modded filters in some dirty water to show us exactly how well it all works at the end of these videos. Keep up the good work! Thanks!
I will be doing that with a large canister filter at some point to demonstrate the difference between setting it up as manufacturer recommends and how I recommend but generally the filters in this series are owned by other people so have to be shipped back to them dry.
This is the best pimping of the series. When I saw it in the beginning I had no expectations from this junk filter with junk cartridges, designed only so people keep buying cartridges.
I have my gravel in my 75 gallon as the main source for bacteria to grow on and stuff 100% polyester for into my hob filter for the mechanical filtration. Is this a good idea? Help please
ive done almost the same thing on both my H.O.B filters one is a slimline marinland i started the cycle with the crappy cartridges then added bio rings , and i use Poly filter under the water intake . my other has 2 bags of bio rings a sponge at very bottom and nitrate chemical pad , i dont know how thats going to do as i just added it and purigen , which so far has dropped my nitrates from a steady 40ppm to 10-20ppm
i really am now going to in future get the biohome media as i didnt know it came in small gravel form
Hey Richard..Tom Shively here..love your pond related videos..I'm coming to England on a metal detecting adventure and was wondering if you would be willing to go on a dig? I'll be spending a week in Colchester in spring of 2019 from March 23-30..I'm deciding whether to spend another week there! Thanks!!
Thanks very much for the offer but I haven't been detecting in the UK since February 2017 due to the ridiculous hours I've been working as my business is going mad. Some of my local fields are being ploughed but by the time I get through all the work I just fall asleep, lol
Best of luck on your trip - there are still discoveries to be made.
in the hang on back filters, particularly top fin pf40 power filter, do i have to put some foam in the section where it takes in water? like i put the circular foam at the intake that is inside the aquarium, but inside the filter body where the intake rod attaches, there is a hollow space above it, should i put some foam over there also or leave it blank?
Very informative video indeed 👍🏼, please use a mic for your recordings it will be great.
Can you do tidal by seachem hob filter please would love to see what you come up with.
Yes that would be a good one since it is a decent size and looks well made - I'm sure someone will send one sooner or later.
I have 2 Hagen Fluval AquaClear 50s hob filters on my 36gal bowfront Spotted Congo Puffer tank. I put 1.5kg of your BioHome Mini Ultimate in mess bags in both filters and then as you recommended to use in the USA the course, medium and fine media available on Amazon. The flow is through the course first then Medium then fine and then BioHome. Do you think filter floss is any better than these fine pads? Thanks Rich
How often do we need to clean the filter media?
Would this little filter be ok for a shrimp tank?
Hello, love your videos I'm learning so much. It occurred to me that silver as anti microbial properties to it. A couple hundred years ago when the settlers were traveling west across the United States in wagons drawn by horses they would put silver coins in their water barrels to keep the water safe to drink. So what happens if I just drop a few silver coins in the bottom of my aquarium? Thanks
Silver kills bacteria. Its used in the air humidifiers to keep the water from stinking and such. Wouldnt recommend it for aquarium use where some bacteria are needed.
I'm not sure that a silver coin would have any free ionic silver unless it was acted upon in some way so my honest answer is I don't know. Silver is a natural anti-bacterial and may have a background effect but when a tank is properly filtered you shouldn't need anything else to improve water quality.
Thanks, I was given a 50 gallon aquarium that has about 36 fish in it. Three of which are more than 10 inches long. It was given to me by a landlord that was cleaning up a mess their tenants had left behind. The filtration, top, and light were nowhere to be found. So I immediately went to Wal-Mart and got a couple of whisper filters which are just eating the cartridges that can't keep up. I purchased a small canister filter and am waiting for a FX6 to be delivered from Ebay. Meanwhile I'm in the process of trying to purchase another aquarian that is much larger. I'm trying anything to avert a disaster which I know is coming without bankrupting myself. Aquarian supplies are rather expensive. Thanks again.
Having an FX6 properly set up for that situation is a good idea - I'm glad you find the videos useful.
The sponge is the prefilter for the Fluval Edge filter
YEEEES!!...nice one.I couldn't remember what it was and then forgot to look it up and put the link in the video description, lol
Thanks for the reminder, I will add that now.
I thought it was just a 'fry' protector to prevent any newborn fish carnage in the propellor blades?
It's sold as a prefilter, however, I'm using it to keep micro Rasbora and fry out of my filter.
hi mate. i am wondering do you have a video on hood filtration. ive got a boyu LZ-2000 and it has twin hood filtration. at the moment ive only got fine pads in the hood....do i need any bio media in with the pads?
i have 2 aps ef2000 filters bith set up the same
top tray...bio home plus
next down is ceramic rings
next down is activated carbon
bottom tray is foams only top foam is fine then middle medium and bottom is course foam.
any help greatly appreciated mate thank you
If you check out part 9 of this series I feature a hood filter but the Boyu hood filters often aren't as deep as the Aqua One version featured in the video - best to add an external to Boyu tanks due to the very limited hood filter capacity.
With regard to the APS 2000EF if you check out the video 'Why your filter is too small and not cycled' it features that filter there and I will shoot a specific video on it for this series at a later date.
Hope those video help.
Richard.
Can you pimp an under gravel filter so that it’s a full cycle (using sand over top of bio home media with a garden ground cloth separating the sand and bio home media)?
Is this possible? CZcams search Asian under gravel filters.
Yes you could just use biogravel over the plastic under gravel plate and if you wanted something finer as substrate add the ground cloth (like woven weed control fabric) then add the sand no worries.
Hell yeah
I have a question regarding your huge outdoor aquarium! I live in Belgium so the climate here is a lot like yours. I just put a 4,5 meter (75 cm width and 78 cm height, water level at about 70 cm) in my garden. I made a 10 cm thick concrete floor for it and i covered the concrete with 5 cm thick styrofoam. Could you give me advice on how to get the tank through the winter alive? I was thinking about also wrapping the sides and the top in 5 cm thick styrofoam and bubble plastic, leaving the pump on and maybe add two 300 watt aquarium heaters to keep the temperature just above zero. Can I go this way or do I drain the tank and keep the fish inside for the winter? THANK YOU in advance!!
For my aquarium the water is pushed into it from the big pond which never freezes but if you don't have a large (relatively warm) body of water to feed the aquarium from then it will definitely be best to drain it during winter or install a heater but the heater may need to be 1kw (or more) to make a difference for a raised outdoor aquarium in a harsh winter. An air pump which is housed indoors and pumping warm air into the tank may be the cheapest and best option to keep it ice free but even that probably won't make a difference to the warmth of the water since the air will be cold by the time it travels from the house to the tank unless it was very well insulated.
thank you very much! Unfortunately, my fish tank cracked yesterday :( In the spring I'll probably tear it apart and maybe I'll use the glass for a greenhouse or something and I'll build a wooden above ground pond withe a liner on top of the concrete.
That sounds like a good plan
Wow! Looked hopeless! Only you !
Hi I have a question I’m setting up a 70g peacock male only tank I’ll be using a Fluval fx4 to filter it if I put a ef booster filter before the fx would this help fx or would this slow it down
Adding a booster to any filter will slow the flow down as there is more pipes and bends to consider.
I'm assuming that the peacocks you're keeping are malawi cichlids and not peacock goby so the advice below is related to a cichlid tank.
If you have a 70 US? gallon tank that is around 266 litres so you'd be looking to get around 2kg of biohome ultimate per 100 litres (5kg total) if you want to achieve a full cycle. The FX4 will hold 3kg so for that situation you would have been much better off with a FX6 which holds 5kg - ignore the claim that the FX4 is for tanks up to 1000 litres and the FX6 is for tanks up to 1500 litres as that bears no relevance to a full cycle - I'm not even sure it would relate to half a cycle (0 ammonia and 0 nitrite) for such huge aquariums, especially when stocked with cichlids.
Unless you add the booster and use that for all the foams, allowing the removal of the sponges in the FX4 and replacement with biohome ultimate in that outer part of the trays there is no way of getting enough media in a standard FX4 for a full cycle on a 266 litre cichlid tank.
Hi me again if I put the booster on after the fx4 and use it for holding more biohome would that work
Yes that is a good use for it so no worries there.
Are you still using the sunsun filters? If so how it holding up. And you you still recommend it?
I haven't had my tanks since I closed my shop but for the price they are good filters. However there are better quality filters which hold a similar amount of media to the largest SunSun:
Fluval FX6 5kg
Tetra EX1200 6kg
Aquamanta EFX600 8kg
Unimax 700 8kg
@@pondguru yes buy the price of the other filters is it worth the price?
Ultimately the effectiveness of the filter is in how they are set up and what media is used so any will work as well as any other in that respect and people have used the SunSun filters for years and swear by them so really it comes down to how much you're willing to spend on the filter unit before upgrading it. Given the choice of a 2000 lph sunsun or FX6 I'd say go for FX6 as it is constructed much better but the cost of the filter is very different.
What is this witchcraft at 6:56?
I live in sweden and I want to buy 5kg of biohome ultimate. Is The best way to buy it on ebay or on your website?
I have it on both sites and it will probably be cheaper on the FilterPro website.
@@pondguru thank you!
Pondguru, I'm trying to setup filtration for my 55 gallon tank. I have 2 Aqua Clear 110s and a Fluval 406. Overkill yes, but I have 45 cichlids in the tank! Ridiculous I know. I'm planning on using the Biohome coarse, medium, and fine filters in both HOB's and canister. Then the Biohome Ultimate and the Biohome gravel. Which order should I put them in after mechanical filtration? Also, should I put strictly Biohome gravel in 1 HOB and the Biohome ultimate in the other HOB? What about the Fluval 406? I was thinking mechanical and then Biohome Ultimate in the other 3 trays. Please help! Thank you. -Neil
You can use either type of media in any of the filters but generally the biohome ultimate would be used in a canister filter (406 - 1kg per tray) and the biogravel would be used in the HOB. Ultimately they both do the same thing which is to support bacteria but we make the media in different sizes and more dense / open structured to suit different types of filters. I'm not sure how much the 110's will fit but looking at videos where people have altered them it could be around 1kg to 1.5kg of biogravel per filter or if you wanted to go with the biohome ultimate it would probably be nearer 1kg per 110 filter.
As long as the media goes after the mechanical part of the filtration (foams and fine pad) you can mix various types if you want to no problem.
Thank you! Do you ever recommend using carbon? If so, where would you place it? Also, what if you wanted to use polyfill for extra polish.....where would you place it? Lastly, what are your thoughts on the new Biohome supergravel vs the regular gravel? Thank you!
Carbon is fine to use if you need to draw in color from bogwood / treatments / chemicals in water but generally not needed in a well set up, suitably sized filter.
All mechanical cleaning should be done before the water hits the media.
The biogravel and shower media / supergravel is the same, just a different size for different applications. The smaller size is for smaller filters (e.g. internal / HOB) and the larger size is for shower filters / sumps.
Okay, thank you! You should really consider "pimping" the Aqua Clear 110. For a HOB, it has a ton of space and I'd be fascinated to watch you work your magic on that one! Cheers! -Neil
I'm sure someone will send one sooner or later - I think there is a Tidal 110 on the way to me but it hasn't arrived yet.
Hi Richard would you be interested in pimping a fluval u4
I have already done one but haven't edited the video down for upload yet.....I'm about 15 videos behind, lol
Pondguru ok no problem just thought I'd ask thanks for getting back to me
No worries, it's a well made filter and to be honest apart from filling the media box with biogravel not many other changes will make a difference. I even quite like the cartridge system in that one but like most internal filters they promise more than they deliver - great for smaller tanks though.
My 1.5 year old Sunsun canister has worn away the tubes built into the baskets that direct water to the bottom of the canister, that is the last time i buy a cheap ass filter. My Aquaone is still running like new after 5 years and the plumbing that came with it doesn't suck air when you do water changes so i can drain upto 80% before i need to turn the filters off. Moral of the story get a decent filter to begin with. The PITA is just not worth the pennys you save.
Was the SunSun a UV version by any chance?I sometimes wonder about the UV versions of canister filters having not enough protection between light and trays.
Yes, the Aqua One canister filters are very good. The Aquis 1250 is definitely one of the best filters I have featured in this series.
@@pondguru Yes it was but i dont use the UV light at all. It has worn away rather than broken or brittle as if it was erroded i couldn't believe it when i saw it. I have twin AquaOne Ocellaris 1400UVC filters and the lights have been on almost permanently for the last 2 years they are amazing filters for the price. I still prefer sumps so easy to maintain in comparison and the added space is awesome but they are far more difficult to setup.
That's a strange one as the trays should last for years. I've just shot a video on the Ocellaris 850 and although at first I wasn't impressed with the construction compared to the older Aquis range as the video went on I came round to thinking it was a decent filter, definitely very good for the price.
@@pondguru Definitely, the Aquis are great filters. I might have gotten a bad batch or something not sure the plastic seems strong it's just the tube thats worn away. Got me stumped.
I want you to read me bedtime stories.....
I use this playlist as ambiance for bedtime. Very relaxing.
Thanks to #PONDGURU my h.o.b. filter is set up right to get the most outta it!! Got the 3 different grades of filter pads, intake sponge and using bio-home ultimate in an aquaclear 30. All on my 20L. #FILTERGAMESTRONG
p.s.- I got the bio-home for free with a small sunsun canister filter i no longer use so figured I would use it.
What ever happened to telling us about your big cat sighting?
I know exactly what happened to that video - working 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day......
I've still got so many outdoor videos planned but actually getting outdoors when you run your own business and sales are about 200% up on last year is no easy task. With any luck our manufacturing plant will get the large drier delivered and installed (it's about 6 months late already) it should easily double production of the filter media, I can then get the trade site live and other shops and sellers can share out the orders as the growth increases....that should give me a bit if free time.
I don't even have time to edit the 20+ videos I have shot in the filter series,hence no uploads for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I wish I didn't work at all and I'd make videos every day no worries, lol
Wow that’s naff