New Member and new setup.

[WillemC]

Hi
My name is Willem and i have been lurking here for a while and although i have some fish keeping experiance i still regard myself as a newbie.

I am seting up and new 5ft tank and i am going to ask questions as far as i go if thats ok with everyone.

Ok here is a pic of the tank.

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This tank has a built-in filter which has three compartments as shown below if viewed from the side. The three circle on the bottom left are the inlets with mesh on and the top circle the return hole for the return pump.

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I have been told to use the filter as follows.
- In compartment 1 have a heater and activated carbon
- In campartment 2 have as much filter floss as possible
- In compartment 3 have a heater and the return pump
Is this correct?

I have also bought 40Kg bag of sillica sand(pool filter sand) for the subtrate. How deep should the substrate be and after cleaning the sand do i put some water in first and then sand? I have been told have some water in to prevent air in the sand. Is this correct?

Sorry for all the questions right off the bat like that, but i am keen to get started on this tank.

[speedz]

i havnt ever had a built in filter, but i havnt seen carbon in a built in filter. can someone clarify?

[Zoom]

I am assuming the built in filter is in the cupboard below the tank?

I have seen this type of filter before, also commonly known as an aquarium sump. I have seen a number of sumps set up exactly the way you described Willem. The tank that I have seen set up in this same way had some other type of white chips (do not know what these were for.) in the 1st compartment, as well as the wavemaker in the final compartment. I'm guessing the wavemaker was just to elliminate having too much equipment in the actual tank above.

I am also a new member to the forum, and have only had my tank for a few months. From the conversations I've had on the forum, and reading other threads, a lot of te people on TASA don't believe in having Activated Carbon in the filter. Unfortunately I do not know the pros or cons on either persons opinion... I think that would make an interesting side topic.

Ash

[Zafgak]

Hi WillemC - Activated carbon is only used when you need it - such as removing medicine - I would leave the carbon out and go with a filter sponge on the inlet, with filter wool on top of the sponge ( The sponge traps large particulates) ( the wool traps small particulates and provides area for bacteria) Then Bioballs or ceramic tubes in compartment 2 with a 300W heater, then another 300W heater in compartment 3 with some aeration from a powerhead.. The reason for two heaters is so that if one dies or stays on you will not cook your fish.. You could get away with 2 200W heaters.

Others may do it differently :blink1:

[stripes]

Welcome Zafgak,

[Savage]

Hi, i have these filters in all my tanks. all i use in the filters is brocken red clay brick and floss. i would also suggest that you do not put your heaters in the filter because as the water level drops so does the water level in the filter and then heaters pop. i learnt the hard way.

Jonathan

[WillemC]

Thank you all for the advise.

Zoom - the filter is on the side of the tank. I have marked it with red on the picture.
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I presume the red clay brick and the bioballs does the same thing.What is the purpose of these?

[Savage]

Yes the clay brick does the same thing as bio balls.

[Zafgak]

The clay brick and bioballs provide a large surface area for the GOOD bacteria to grow on.

[Savage]

Clay bricks are alot cheaper than bio balls......

[Zafgak]

Plastic hair curlers make good bi-balls - buy the large , medium and small - put the medium and small into each other then into the big one, put filter wool in the middle of those ........ A quick DIY tip

[Savage]

Nice tip Zafgak.