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sanford

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Posts posted by sanford

  1. On 2/5/2023 at 9:32 PM, Mynameisnobody said:

    Personally I prefer a clear hose so it lets me know when it needs a good scrubbing. I clean the inside of all my hoses and intakes periodically. The green hose would make it a guessing game if I got all the muck out. Just my preference. 

    How long are your hoses?  Mine is 50ft and I can't imagine how I would scrub it.  Would love any advice on how to clean longer hoses (or hoses in general).

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  2. On 2/3/2023 at 2:55 AM, Tommy Vercetti said:

    Here is mine. Valves on both ends of the hose. After filling tanks, i close the valves so that the hose stays full of clean tap water. This provides the siphon on the next water change. I Just hang the hook on the tank, put the other and in my bath tub, open the valves and the siphon starts by itself. Then I attach the hose to my sink in my laundry room and adjust the water temp and fill up the aquariums.

    Was the flexzilla hose chosen for a specific reason? Is it really kink free?

  3. Thanks for all the replies.  Seems the DIY route may not lead to better results.  Is the recommendation to go commercial UG filter more of a lack of return on investment for DIY (too much time and trouble), or are there significant technical deficiencies with DIY UGF?  I suppose the one thing that stands out is that the PVC tubes are not that attractive.

  4. I've following the undergravel filter revival building on the Internet and was thinking of trying one out. While looking at the comparative advantages of the different types of UGF I came across the following DIY:

    https://sites.google.com/site/moashowmanyfish/tower-build

    Author discusses how the DIY version fixes an issue with uneven flow through the media.  Wondering if anyone has any experience with this DIY, or can comment on the theoretical effectiveness of the design.

  5. The LFS in my area stocks Estes brand gravel  that advertises an environment friendly resin coating on the gravel.  I'm not sure what advantage resin provides, but I am even  more curious about whether the resin coat reduces gravel porosity to a point where the gravel is less effective as bio-media for an under gravel filter.  Anyone have any experience with this?

  6. Full confession before I start, I have tried way too many aquarium filters than I would like to admit.  I tried a Top Fin Pro 30 to replace a Sicce shark internal filter and I liked it enough to replace a Tidal 110 with a Pro 70 and a Marina Slim 20 with another Pro 30.  So far so good.  The aquarium with the 70 also had an Ehiem surface skimmer that I've retired thanks to the adequacy of the built in skimmer on the Top Fin.  The intake on the 70 (I think they're all the same size) also conveniently accommodates the API Hydro filter sponge as well as the included sponge pre-filter.That makes it easy to seed your sponge filter with bacteria so you can set up a quarantine tank for new fish.

    The two cage design of the media basket means you can add filter floss or sponge earlier in the filtration process without it being crushed by some of the heavier biomedia.  It also allows you to easily replace media in the lower cage if needed. I was at a local Petsmart the other day and the Pro HOBs were completely sold out (or they did not have time to restock the shelves).  All that was left were the media kits.  I got one of the media kits so I could use the sponge pre-filter on the intake of a fluval filter, it's a more elegant solution than the hollowed out block of foam I had before.

    There are some cons as well. First, because of how the top of the media basket is configured, the top 4th of the top cage is not immersed.  You can "fix" this by adding extra media to the basket or spillway, but then you may get some bypass.  Second, it's not self priming.  That has not been an issue for me as I've used a timer to stop it for 30 min and restart, and the restart was problem free.  I've also found that Eheim 16/22 hose fits into the top of the intake, so I suppose you can run it off an internal pump if you like.  Third con, kinda ugly maybe?  Another tip is that the black intake pipe of a Fluval C4 fits the Pro so that if you don't need the skimmer, you prefer a black intake and happen to have a spare C4 intake, you are good to go.

    Anyway, those are my casual observations so far, I guess the big question mark is longevity and serviceability. For that, only time will tell.

  7. Hi all.  One of the oft mentioned cons of the Aquaclear filters is the lack of internal/submerged motors. To address that, is it possible to not use the motor it comes with and connect the intake tube to a submerged pump with a GPH rating similar to that of the original pump? I know it won't be cost effective unless you already have the equipment, but it could be a way to get the combination of sensible rectangular media box, bottom > up flow and internal motor that would result.  Thoughts?

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