| |
Main
Date: 20 Nov 2005 14:23:42
From:
Subject: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
Hi GF fans,
I am considering the inevitable needs of tank cleaning, and want to bounce
an idea off of you.
I have an undergravel system, with about and inch +/- of stone. What I
propose to do is buy a D.E. filter, which traps all particles down to 1
micron. Put the fish into a holding bowl with some of the tank water, and
an air stone. Remove the air stone and top piece from the undergravel
riser tube, and connect the input from the D.E. filter directly to the
riser. Use the exhaust jet from the D.E. filter as an agitator to move the
stone/sludge around and just let it flow into the bottom intake screen of
the undergravel system. This would just produce a loop of water that traps
all the debris in the D.E. filter for disposal. I also plan to do a 25%
change out at the same time.
My main concerns are . . .
- Will this introduce too many organics into the water by disolving the
waste products to smaller that 1 micron?
- Is the Dietimacous Earth (forgive spelling) safe for GF tank chemistry?
- Would a less efficient canister filter and powerhead be better suited for
this?
- Should I use manual agitation, and just let the water circulate through
the whole tank?
- Would it be better to just use the D.E. Filter as a power vacuum, and
leave the bottom basically undisturbed?
- What brand/size of D.E. filter would be adequate?
- Has anyone ever done this, and what were your results?
--
With all due respect
Kevin
|
|
| |
Date: 20 Nov 2005 21:31:26
From: Bill Stock
Subject: Re: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
<kaylward@aol.com > wrote in message
news:hKydndd3IabrGh3enZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@giganews.com...
> Hi GF fans,
> I am considering the inevitable needs of tank cleaning, and want to
> bounce
> an idea off of you.
> I have an undergravel system, with about and inch +/- of stone. What I
> propose to do is buy a D.E. filter, which traps all particles down to 1
> micron. Put the fish into a holding bowl with some of the tank water, and
> an air stone. Remove the air stone and top piece from the undergravel
> riser tube, and connect the input from the D.E. filter directly to the
> riser. Use the exhaust jet from the D.E. filter as an agitator to move
> the
> stone/sludge around and just let it flow into the bottom intake screen of
> the undergravel system. This would just produce a loop of water that
> traps
> all the debris in the D.E. filter for disposal. I also plan to do a 25%
> change out at the same time.
>
>
> My main concerns are . . .
>
> - Will this introduce too many organics into the water by disolving the
> waste products to smaller that 1 micron?
> - Is the Dietimacous Earth (forgive spelling) safe for GF tank chemistry?
> - Would a less efficient canister filter and powerhead be better suited
> for
> this?
I believe this is the tried and true method, but your idea s/b safe and
effective.
Although I'm not sure what your UGF is buying you if you're using stones
rather than gravel. ie. the large grain size isn't adding much to your
Biofilter. If the UGF isn't your only source of filtration, I would be
tempted to just remove it. They tend to be bad news with GF.
> - Should I use manual agitation, and just let the water circulate through
> the whole tank?
> - Would it be better to just use the D.E. Filter as a power vacuum, and
> leave the bottom basically undisturbed?
> - What brand/size of D.E. filter would be adequate?
> - Has anyone ever done this, and what were your results?
> --
> With all due respect
> Kevin
|
| |
Date: 20 Nov 2005 16:14:20
From: Daniel Morrow
Subject: Re: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Bottom and mid posted.
- --
You can find my public key at https://keyserver1.pgp.com
<kaylward@aol.com > wrote in message
news:hKydndd3IabrGh3enZ2dnUVZ_t6dnZ2d@giganews.com...
> Hi GF fans,
> I am considering the inevitable needs of tank cleaning, and want to
bounce
> an idea off of you.
> I have an undergravel system, with about and inch +/- of stone. What I
> propose to do is buy a D.E. filter, which traps all particles down to 1
> micron. Put the fish into a holding bowl with some of the tank water,
and
> an air stone. Remove the air stone and top piece from the undergravel
> riser tube, and connect the input from the D.E. filter directly to the
> riser. Use the exhaust jet from the D.E. filter as an agitator to move
the
> stone/sludge around and just let it flow into the bottom intake screen
of
> the undergravel system. This would just produce a loop of water that
traps
> all the debris in the D.E. filter for disposal. I also plan to do a 25%
> change out at the same time.
>
>
> My main concerns are . . .
>
> - Will this introduce too many organics into the water by disolving the
> waste products to smaller that 1 micron?
Your method will not "dissolve" the pollutants to smaller than 1 micron -
the diatomaceous earth filter simply will not allow particles larger than 1
micron out through the exhaust of the filter, the larger particles are
trapped in the filter to be dumped out/removed later by you.
> - Is the Dietimacous Earth (forgive spelling) safe for GF tank chemistry?
It should work great - but don't use swimming pool diatomaceous earth, only
use diatomaceous earth you are sure is safe for aquariums.
> - Would a less efficient canister filter and powerhead be better suited
for
> this?
> - Should I use manual agitation, and just let the water circulate through
> the whole tank?
Wouldn't work as good, some pollution/particles would remain in significant
quantities, but that sure would be much better than nothing.
> - Would it be better to just use the D.E. Filter as a power vacuum, and
> leave the bottom basically undisturbed?
As long as you maintain your maintenance schedule and never significantly
neglect it, your d.e. filter connected to riser stems idea is superior.
> - What brand/size of D.E. filter would be adequate?
I like the idea of the magnum 350 as it won't hurt fry but you might never
have to deal with fry, and it sometimes comes with a gravel cleaner which
you could use in place of the riser stem connection but to be honest I think
you riser stem to d.e. filter seems even better (significantly). To be
honest I own and rarely if ever have to use a vortex xl d.e. filter and it
is almost as good as the magnum because the magnum is easy to open from the
looks of it. The vortex is difficult to open and close for scooping out fry
both because of the bottleneck of it's jar and the d.e. bag often comes off
when opening, and it is hard to get a perfect seal with the vortex as
diatomaceous earth often "grits" the rubber "o" ring that seals the jar to
the main body of the vortex.
> - Has anyone ever done this, and what were your results?
I've never done what you are proposing but I have done similar things that
supports your future success with it. By the way - the vortex has an
accessory that works as a gravel vacuum as well. Overall I recommend the
magnum 350 but still appreciate the vortex xl that I own, it may come in
handy some day. I don't use undergravel filters myself but have them in
second place as practical biological filters, the first being biowheels.
> --
> With all due respect
> Kevin
Good luck and later!
P.s. now that I think about it I realize that an actual gravel vac like the
magnum 350 deluxe kit (cheap for a d.e. filter kit) might work better, so if
you want to cover all bases get the magnum 350 d.e. canister filter with the
gravel vac accessory. That way you should be covered/insured no matter what
happens.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32) - WinPT 0.7.96rc1
iQD1AwUBQ4ERSq2WfcjE5myzAQK1xgb8C7zcw9MngevVuLHziGYanoo5lsi0Weu6
2o2ioPC2MERB9B4JuToDJvL4fkFFwwL6poXtD/rfpq9y/Gu+bbh0m6LJ9/tAY5Nw
YUX9wHYFIwS134pzxfNSVPhD1Co7rAFN1Uqffno8ERBI/llKPTMZ0mdYH0CWdseA
nlNqZpA9Hyp/XV73T2FJSURcT3D4+nPGVzWd8hjo+2jtMY/P6UYkoMVl9cEx8O4d
tUUKBiDrbGTv6edBH3mh9e2sIqd4vXvuS0dCo/KaWz+2fyGcgUjy4pkLpTgtvCDo
ILtiyal2WwY=
=uS6U
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
| | |
Date: 20 Nov 2005 19:11:02
From: Koi-lo
Subject: Re: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
"Daniel Morrow" <videoman@ccountry.net > wrote in message
news:11o24bmas1ivp73@corp.supernews.com...
>
> It should work great - but don't use swimming pool diatomaceous earth,
> only
> use diatomaceous earth you are sure is safe for aquariums.
========================
The diatomaceous earth used in pools and sold at Home Depot is SAFE for
aquarium fish. There's nothing harmful in it and it's a fraction of the
price of that sold for aquarium use.
--
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }<((((o > ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>
|
| | |
Date: 20 Nov 2005 16:22:27
From: Daniel Morrow
Subject: Re: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
One last thing - the magnum 350 is technically not a diatomaceous earth
filter but it still can filter down to 1 micron with it's micron cartridge.
It might clog faster than a vortex xl d.e. filter though. Good luck and
later!
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32) - WinPT 0.7.96rc1
iQD1AwUBQ4ETLK2WfcjE5myzAQIwrQcAvZnbBlmZLYzmBJ2gXKmpOZOy8dN0Mj6R
QjGMSQKiwSlAudZHRf86bhgCSlTbP87uvMOvHkIh/6sxQLFglyxcg6r4BYxA5Z0E
Y5yWwVtCd/thHPsNt5g1T1aEVsBKLl+u/nH7TzrPSpeHR7Wi1fpoAaq8B/mg8nx0
yQFSLxz86bODaJQLkkyv7oFcmL7oZcx1O98jPCcgEH1mnxE3kNPOtY4XnYgKEtAa
R7g8XD+7rcrS6Gpcu4mVKzzYOYDNdPt8P/oXzUfahZI5FOL8QzkWOJkFYvmnjf9f
oRcspWBE9MQ=
=ZXSl
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
| | | |
Date: 20 Nov 2005 18:22:55
From: Daniel Morrow
Subject: More - Re: Tank cleaning possibilities
|
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Bottom posted.
- --
You can find my public key at https://keyserver1.pgp.com
"Daniel Morrow" <videoman@ccountry.net > wrote in message
news:11o24q1f9ksen58@corp.supernews.com...
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> One last thing - the magnum 350 is technically not a diatomaceous
earth
> filter but it still can filter down to 1 micron with it's micron
cartridge.
> It might clog faster than a vortex xl d.e. filter though. Good luck
and
> later!
>
Also - you can by a gravel vac gravity siphon powered gravel cleaner
for around $10.00 these days, and they work good but they siphon
water out at the same time you are gravel vacing so it probably isn't
as efficient in smaller tanks and maybe even in frequent operation
compared to a magnum 350 or a vortex xl. I always use one of those
gravity powered gravel vacs for frequent water change/vac but might
get into a magnum 350 setup sometime soon. Good luck and later!
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32) - WinPT 0.7.96rc1
iQD1AwUBQ4EvX62WfcjE5myzAQJexQb/UQVp19ofmU5tYPCv+YqWkT4C41PQwfgI
fNseDZpS/N+RmllDQf/68TgT+/SM8UAlVdnVM96/dJULgFBM7PYE3plcY3iBZQhQ
FOG0YX+KN6puGZ8X3K6G3BlSt2JPv48C/nJeCI/VCzY18U/J1UJMAlGEcllpzZNX
+mqdmYqjF3w8FcG4RuOiYQ4wGYTo/SnyrCpZz2ckQ7zgiFE8vbC3/qMPDFdzZZdP
77wQrXjgqklIO5mp7HD++TLvPZTz5gJprCpf3+qKirZx7UypU5o+7zZXppbDVf/Q
L8xT6BsAaZM=
=Iefe
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
|
