Considering its been 5 months that filter doesn't look too bad at all. As an experienced aquarist you will not be over feeding like newer hobbiests. I've seen your set ups, always immaculate, you get fantastic results with both flora blooming and aquarium inhabitants all thriving. There's so many common mistakes newer hobbiests make, whether with medicines, water changes, cycling, over feeding, too much light, too many nutrients etc. You always come out with really informative and useful videos, thank you for the content. Keep it up.
You know what, I didn't think about that. You hit the nail on the head I actually make sure I have a little spoon that I feed my fish and make sure they only get a certain amount of food each feeding and no more. If you remember one of my older videos I did state a goldfishs stomach is no bigger than its eye so don't overfeed otherwise you'll come up with all kinds of swim bladder problems. Maybe because of me just so used to doing things far so many years that I didn't think twice about how NEW hobbyist like to overfeed and therefore create all kinds of waste problems in their aquariums. Good observation.
This was nice to see. With the way you layered the canister it did an amazing job of filtering. I thought you would have more sand after you put it on the newly set up goldfish aquarium. Thanks for the update. 👌
The thing I really like is because the sand is heavier with this particular canister it all laid at the very bottom and didn't migrate up into the filter pads.
In my opinion I could be wrong I'm not a professional, the perforated separators might cause some flow restriction maybe try something with bigger holes. make sure the legs of the bottom plate is not blocking the input hole in the bottom, at this angle it seems that's what happened 10:52
The only word of caution I can give you about stainless steel canister filters is they are heavier, a lot heavier than plastic filters. However, I don't have the feeling that every time I touch it a new plastic part is going to wind up breaking on it.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Duly noted doc. My above the tank filters are doing fine for now ... mechanical filtration and clean water going around the BCBS through settlement chamber.
Hallo Dr.Novak , I have bigger Eheim proxima 250 liter (100 x 50 x 50 cm) aquarium but I got a lot of algae on the plants and the glass,filtering was biological with prefiltering- course, medium ,fine and then eheim substrat pro . So I bought an Eheim Classic 2217 - 600 filter because of its round form and put an bcb bag in it .On the bottom I put a course sponce, then a medium sponce, and then thick layer of normal filterwool fine,so the water is very clean, and then a bcb bag and on top of it a fine sponce to protect the impeller.I use no carbon. Now a month later, the water is very clean , the algae dies off .I have no plenum made, I will do this later, but I noticed a change of improvement in the water wich is very clear.I turned up also the light to 100 % (this is a fluval aquasky 2.0 27 watt and a fluval Plant 3.0 46 watt) This is for me the better way of filtering, thank you Dr. Novak. Greetings from Holland.
Thank you dr now that is called as a real helpful video not like marketing others are doing without knowing anything all these years its like blind are showing the way to blinds thank you for enlightening andOpening our eyes so that we can enjoy the hobby more thank you
Believe it or not, the opening and discharge size of the pump are far less important than the size of the hose running to and from the filter / aquarium - mostly due to friction loss. The smaller the ID, the higher the friction loss will be, but you can really pump a lot of water through a small discharge, as long as your hose is large. Of course (to a limit) larger opening to the eye of the impeller and discharge from the volute will also help, but the biggest change is hose diameter. All depending on pump design, pressure, etc... Clearly you are restricted by the intake and discharge of the stainless canister so you can't change that, but your biggest restrictions are there and the filter media. I do like the concept - it would be interesting if you would measure the output now, with a clean filter using the original fittings you had, then again with the new fittings, and again in 6 months - with both sets of fittings.
Hi Kevin. . . Not as dirty as I was expecting . I'm only using one medium sponge and one square of filter floss in my juwel aquarium filter both of which are changed weekly , the rest is running on a plenum style under gravel filter . Virtually no algae . Plants growing mad . 1 ml liquid carbon per 100 litres nett a day and 1 ml home made liquid iron . Never vaccumed my gravel ever , and it's play sand on top of kitty litter ( sanicat pink in the uk ), plus corys keep everything clean .
You're right I thought it was going to be a lot dirtier after almost 5 months so I was a little shocked also. Goldfish are feed four times a day so they are producing a lot of waste and I do a water change once a week and stir things up in the water column maybe that helps.
Following on from your previous video setting up this canister I ordered a 22 gallon without pump direct from China. Not available in Australia, about US$ 350 delivered. Approx A$500.00 not a bad price. Will see what happens when it arrives and get get a pump fitted. See yah Tom
I really don't have to but if SEACHEM wanted to send me some free samples so I can check against what I make and their product I'd be more than happy to do so.
just get an other smaller cheap canister filter as pre-filter stuffed with all your pads. every time you only have to change pads in your smaller filter and leave your main one closed for much longer time.
Hi Dr. Novak, after watching your Fzone review & set up videos I went out and purchased exactly the same filter & pump. I am very happy, everything is as you said. I noticed this time that you only used filter floss beside the BCB's. Did I miss a step, or did you decide that it's better not to have a layer of filter floss in the Fzone? Thank you for your honesty, Gord Jones
I did use the filter floss material this is because that material will polish the water. Maybe in the video I just didn't show it but yes I did use it.
Good evening Dr. Novak, ive been enjoying your videos immensely, thank you for sharing this great knowledge for everyone to enjoy, i live in the country and a nature lover at heart. I find all this extremely facinating and would absolutely love to read your book, is your book available ?, if so, how can i purchase one ? ... Thank you for all you share Dr. ...Fernando
Im learning how to make the AFS. May I know what the yellow things in carbon basket ? Could I use purigen for cat litter bags and any replacement for yellow things in carbon basket ? Thank for your concern
The little yellow things are a food grade resin that you can buy off of Amazon. It's the same resin that Dick Boyd uses in his carbon. I did a video explaining what it was and how other products use the same resin to clean water for human use. Like Zero Water for example.
I stumbled across it when I googled in "stainless steel canister filters." And it just happened to come up on Walmart site. It's a fraction of the cost of the ADA filter and therefore I bought one to give it a try for the goldfish tank. Now I regret I spent so much money on the stainless steel ADA filters when this one works just as well. It may not be the same high standards of the ADA filter but it will last a lifetime.
Make sure the ledge where the O-ring goes is clean of sand and debris, make sure your O-ring is clean. Make sure you lubricate your O-ring. Do not use petroleum jelly on your O-ring unless you are absolutely sure that it is made of a synthetic rubber. Petroleum jelly degrades natural rubber. So use a silicon lubricant and err on the side of caution. If none of this helps, get a new O-ring.
Hello Dr Novak Only two weeks ago, and for my good luck, I found your channel... I watched some of your videos and I learned many things from you about nitrate control, which was causing me a nightmare in my cichlids tank... So I thank you very much for your effort in scientific explanation to complete the nitrogen cycle and getting rid of nitrates. I am a little confused about some things, and I hope you will have time to answer my questions I am a fan of gold fish and I have a 300 liter tank and 60 liter sump and I want to put an 6 or 8 gold fish in it, without having to put a substrate at the bottom of the aquarium, And I want to use BCB basket only but I don't know what size basket is needed in this case ? another question, in my country there is no brand name active soil only Chines active soil, can I use it ? and there is another option for iron, we have home made Iron Nutrients fertilizer for aquarium planets and several planted aquarium users use it and doing well, can I use it instead of Seachem Flourish Iron ? thank you
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I watched your video about making Chemi pure carbon with the resin. Unfortunately I didn't hear what kind of resin you are using. I'm guessing that you are talking about an ion exchange resin that is used in water softeners. Is that correct? I searched "food grade resin" on amazon and found nothing that looks like what you display in your video. I must be missing something. Please help! Thanks
Hi Kevin After 5 month of use, do you see any stainless pitting corrosion inside your stainless filter wall? Is it normal to see any pitting corrosion on the stainless steel ? Do you know What cause putting on stainless steel thanks
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums I used ADA Superjet ES1200 filter and running for about 2 month or so and I removed the filter media for cleaning and I see some pitting on lid of the stainless steel filter and some are on the wall, any suggestion what causing that pitting on stainless steel? 🙁
Great Video as always Dr. Novak! - I'm waiting for my FZone 15L filter to be delivered! May I ask where you purchased the inline valves (link if possible)? I searched the internet and couldn't find the ones in this video. They also look like quick connects as well. Thank you for sharing your insights and knowledge! Keep up the great work!
As I said in the video everything is cleaned with just tap water because of the BCB bags will maintain all the bacteria you need. And because you don't have to clean the BCB bags therefore you're not destroying any of the bacteria that lives inside of them.
That's exactly the way I did it . The carbon is on the very top at the last stage. However, the BCB basket can be at the bottom because they never clog so it's OK.
Thanks, will discus tolerate the higher outlet flow? All I have in my canister filter is ceramic rings to catch detritus and a large BCB, more ceramic rings to fill voids. So far so good! Thanks Doc
My inlet and outlet to the canister are over each other but it won't make a difference where you put your outlet. Actually, you can put it in any direction. Also, I have a video on how to increase the flow rate of that canister filter. You may be interested in watching it.
😃 thanks Doc for another great video 👍 I have two questions , those green phosphate pads when I used them they raise the pH in my tank is this ok , I noticed the quick connects you using what brand are they ?
There was no leak at all, the main reason I wanted to change it is to change out the intake and outtake hose fittings from 1/2 to 5/8 ID which is given in the package with the pump. Believe it or not it made a difference enough that now the pump is actually pumping more water into the aquarium which is what I like.
I was thinking about an iron source. Is there any reason you can't stick a cut rod of steel or cast iron in the center of the kitty litter / oil dry? It would seem to me that it should rust initially, then slowly over time release iron - and the fact there is the iron, it should oxidize and keep any oxygen bound thus keeping the anoxic region 'safe' for the obligate anaerobes. I could see even using filings. Another thought was putting a magnet in the medium - any thoughts?
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums Why no steel? A low carbon steel will be mostly iron, will oxidize, and is easier to find. Is it the Mo Cr Ni, Si, etc that is the concern?
Actually air bubble do not deplete CO2. The air bubbles themselves agitate the water which mixtures oxygen with the water and therefore helps release CO2 into the atmosphere. However, there are other chemistries happening in aquarium that are constantly making CO2 and replenishing that is being expelled so therefore aquarium stay at about 2 to 3 ppm CO2 at all times.
@@anoxicfiltrationplenums ok. Thanks for the info. I asked for a video because I’m struggling to get my CO2 drop checker to turn green. I have a DIY CO2 reactor setup on a Sun Sun hw-302 canister filter for my 55 gallon. 2 airlines connected to the plenum but I only open one because I thought it was depleting the CO2. I’ve also tested but found now leaks in the CO2 lines so now I’m leaning toward maybe there’s not enough water flow to distribute the CO2. However I have angelfish so I can’t allow too much water flow. Any suggestions?
Please please please answer me. I've asked before with no reply. I breed axolotls and have many large tanks. It would be amazing if I didn't have to change water so much. I can't seem to get a bcb canister filter to work. I've done everything you have recommended and nothing works. I've tried for over a year now with different filters. I even use Dr. Tim's bacteria to jump start it and nothing! Please expand why my nitrates are still there in huge numbers
I live in South Florida and understand you live in Florida as well. I actually met up with father fish once. I won't be negative about anyone but I personally believe his methods are incorrect. I did things his way for a while and had many problems in my tank. I'm really trying to get this right. I appreciate the reply.
I'm not sure how others have reached out with images but I was thinking I could make a video and upload it to my RU-vid channel then let you know to check it out and maybe you could offer me some helpful suggestions. Let me know if that works
People who use ton of chemical filtration but only clean filter once every 5 months, makes no sense at all. It's baffling how stupid that is. It's pointless to use chemical filtration then.
