henward Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 ok, for years now i have been doing the same configuration. top basket filter wool mid and bottom bio media i am thinking of putting in course foam on the top filter wool middle and bio media third bottom basket. i would put the surplus bio media in my sump whcih has a chamber left in it with jsut moving bio media. i dont want to comprimise too much bio filtration but i really want to enhance the length of time between cleans of my 4 filter socks on the sump, as well as help make the water clearer. any feedback? i currently change the woold in my fx5 every 1.5 to 2 weeks max. i am hoping that it will catch more debris making water clearer, i am not too fussed if i have to clean wool, foam in same time frame, thats not the issue, its more effectiveness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 As the wool gets full of detritus it will become more effective as a physical filter as well as a biological filter. I would not clean it unless the flow rate has been seriously restricted as that is when the filter is working at its best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 As the wool gets full of detritus it will become more effective as a physical filter as well as a biological filter. I would not clean it unless the flow rate has been seriously restricted as that is when the filter is working at its best. yeah i know what you mean.- i notice that when i clean my sponges on the side, it takes a good day to get the mech filtration going again. i only replace the filter wool when the flow is almost gone. i wanted to add a course foam before the wool to increase the livfe of the wool and also to catch mroe things. but thinking bout it now, it prob wont catch more things will it? because coarse foam will just trap it momentarily and eventually break down and move to the wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I don't replace filter wool that often, just give it a good rinse and squeeze then put it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I reckon that there isn't much that coarse sponge won't catch that the initial filter intake won't catch anyway, so it's moot. The uneaten food will either get stuck at the filter intake till you clear it, or it will eventually break into smaller particles and get caught by the fine filter wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 shortly after asking, i figured out. im not looking for longer life on the ;mechanical clean cycle. im looking for more mechanical in general so more debris gets sucked in quicker, that can only be helped by either adding faster turnover through my return pumps, OR another filter, either internal or another canister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 im not sure which way the fx5 flows but the cf's i have flow from tank to the bottom then up through the baskets. I put the course sponge at the bottom so it takes the large particles out of the water first then up to the finer sponge and onto the wool last so the wool is filtering the least amount and finest of the debri. It seems to flow better than having them around the other way when dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 fx5 flows top towards the bottom, cleanest water is at the bottom. but i know the principle you are getting at:D i am just wondering if there is a merit in using course sponge in my fx5, not about prolonging wool life but more taking debris quicker out of the water, so even fi i put course sponge, all that will do is prolonge my cleaning process, so thats not what im after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I've read somewhere that the principle is your finest filter ( wool ) is first to catch as much debris as possible. This means that the secondary microbial filters don't get clogged with particles and keep as much surface area open as possible. So, even as organic matter accumulates in the filter wool, and decomposes, the secondary microbial filters detoxify that as well the ammonia etc generated in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 henward, of late my cf1200 was struggling to keep the 'bits' out of the water as the bioload has increased (bio-filtration has been ok though) as fish grew. I first solved this problem by removing the impeller and placing a 3500 l/h pump inline. this was also running the chiller as was the cf1200. This worked well, but have changed it back to the cf1200 running the chiller and the 3500 l/h pump just creating flow and sucking its water through a 3" DIY intake with filter wool around it, this seems to be working even better although the 'sock' needs washing each day or two as it is a bit small. ie it could beat least 2 or 3x as long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 inline? what you mean inline, you mean a inline pump out of the water forcing water through the canister instead? so in effect you replaced the aquaone impeller with a external pump and used the canister as a cartridge ? am i making sense? lol i just got another return pump from fruju, unused return pump as he has no more sump. increased the turnover of my red aro tank by approx extra 20% (hard to gauge but i gauge by the diffisuser containers water retention) this splits the water into 4 paths to distribute into the 4 filter socks. this container tells me how fast the turn over is by the level it fills up. rudementary system of telling the increase but better than nothing, also the overflow is no longer just over flowing, it is now a gushing waterfall, the water arcs away from the top as before it was just crawling down the glass wall. (wonder if that makes sense again) :digH: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 inline? what you mean inline, you mean a inline pump out of the water forcing water through the canister instead? so in effect you replaced the aquaone impeller with a external pump and used the canister as a cartridge ? am i making sense? lol Yes that is what I did. The pump that I used wasn't really designed for use inline, although it did have both in and out pipe barbs, so it has taken lots of silicon grease to stop all the air getting in and the water getting out. dont buy cheep crap :facepalm: i just got another return pump from fruju, unused return pump as he has no more sump. increased the turnover of my red aro tank by approx extra 20% (hard to gauge but i gauge by the diffisuser containers water retention) this splits the water into 4 paths to distribute into the 4 filter socks. this container tells me how fast the turn over is by the level it fills up. rudementary system of telling the increase but better than nothing, also the overflow is no longer just over flowing, it is now a gushing waterfall, the water arcs away from the top as before it was just crawling down the glass wall. (wonder if that makes sense again) :digH:It sort of made sense at 20 past 6, if any thing can when you worked to 10pm the night before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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