How to set up an external canister filter for aquarium by Pondguru 

BIOHOME FILTER MEDIA, FILTER UPGRADE KITS AND FOAMS HERE: www.filterpro.co.uk Decent external filters: geni.us/2LnO 2.3 litre booster filter for externals: geni.us/2bj1 1.2 litre booster filter for externals: geni.us/1pBh This video shows how to set up an external filter for an aquarium using simply 3 grades of foams and great quality filter media........With the bewildering array of filter media available for sale and manufacturers trying to outdo each other with pointless technical jargon designed to confuse the beginner and enthuse the armchair 'expert' I decided it was time to once again make filtration simple and understandable. Filtration is at its most basic level a 2 stage process: 1 - Mechanical Filtration. The water passes through a series of foams or screens, each one finer than the last until it is visibly clean with no (or very few) suspended solids. 2 - Biological Filtration. The 'clean' water flows over and through media which can be plastic, ceramic or sintered glass. The best types of media are high quality sintered glass and ceramic (although there is a nation of poor quality ceramic media for sale from China). The media supports beneficial aerobic bacteria which consumes ammonia and nitrite, producing nitrate as an end product which is used up by plants or exchanged with the atmosphere. The very best media (e.g. Biohome) also supports anaerobic bacteria which will reduce the amount of nitrate providing a more complete filtering process. More surface area = more bacterial colonisation. Common sense. Foams and media to be positioned as follows (in order of contact first to last by water): Coarse, Medium, Fine foams followed by media. Yes, it is that simple. Many manufacturers will advise the incorrect placement of media and foam pads; possibly for no other reason than to sell more replacement media? but if the media is well protected from muck by good foams then it will last many times longer. No doubt there will be some ass clowns who cuss this video up and insist on having filters with digital readouts and the latest branded media but too often the idea of filtration is over worked to the point of stupidity - a case of the 'Emperors new clothes'. A filter is only as efficient as the media it uses and all too often manufacturers will sell cheap external filters which will filter no more than a small foam internal filter due to the media inside them being cheap ineffective crap. Rip out the guts of the cheap filters and replace them with decent layered foams and good quality media and your cheap filter is capable of outperforming the most expensive range of filters. I am using 3kg of BIOHOME *MINI* ULTRA in this video. It is a sintered glass media which has been made to my specifications by the manufacturer of other Biohome media. Unbelievably good stuff. *NOW AVAILABLE - BIOHOME ULTIMATE - It has exactly the same structure of mini ultra but also has the added trace elements of Biohome Plus. This combination easily makes it the best filter media you can buy. For quality filter media supplied Worldwide click the link below and contact me for bulk orders on sales@filterpro.co.uk or 07772848730 BIOHOME FILTER MEDIA, FILTER UPGRADE KITS AND FOAMS HERE: www.filterpro.co.uk **PLEASE NOTE I HAVE CLOSED TYNE VALLEY AQUATICS AND NOW SELL MEDIA FROM HOME ONLINE. COLLECTING MEDIA IS NO PROBLEM JUST RING OR EMAIL ANY TIME.**

Great example. The way you configured the filter is exactly how all of my Eheim filters came brand new. Whomever owned it previously may have configured it that way. I use the classic series and have now adopted this configuration for all of my canister filters.

Hi too who, Ever reads this comment. I'm so impressed with this basic hands on advice and very understandable talk. A very hands on man with no airs or graces and willing to help us dummy's of this fish enjoyment...Thank you for your share of knowledge. Robin

After having a canister filter running for two years the wrong way I watched this video and changed my media and foams this way. Huge difference in water conditions and cleans the water way better than the recommended setup on the box. Thank you so much for improving my filter and aquarium.

btw, bummer about Jeff Hanneman dying. Slayer were one of my favorite bands back in the day. Reign in blood is probably my most played album ever. 10 tracks and 28 minutes of raging perfection.

+Joel Kim Not really as anything fine enough to get through the coarse, medium and fine foams will simply be caught second time around. Last thing you want is the fine particles held in the media chamber clogging up the media and reducing efficiency.

This is brilliant and thank you!! There are so many contradicting instructions all over the Internet but this makes perfect sense! I changed my filter yesterday from the way it was sent from the manufacturer to your way and the water is 100% so much better looking! Great video.

Finally, a practical and working counsel on how to set up media on a canister. Absolutely brilliant. Thank you!

+Ranchu Goldfish The media would need to go into filter bags for easy removal but that would be fine.

Your videos are loaded with information thanks for sharing

I would just like to say that we struggled with constant water changes, spiking nitrites and ammonia levels, messy gravel etc until I found this video on how to set up a canister filter correctly. We ordered the eheim mech media and set up the canister filter with all media exactly as you indicated and to date we've been running 0 readings on ammonia, nitrites with only 10 to 15 % water changes weekly or every 10 days. Thanks very much!

This is my filter too, the 2028 and i've used exactly the same materials and set it up exactly the same way too! 11/2/2023. Looking forward to seeing if I can achieve a full cycle in the coming months. Thanks @Pondguru for all your time and effort in producing these videos!

rec0n117 With regard to chemical filtration it really needs to go right at the top so it is the last thing the water hits before it leaves the filter.

I been using your setup on my canister filter for over a year now and the bio media is as clean as the day I put it in. I just rinse the Bio Media with aquarium water and that's it. So I just want to say thank's man.

Whenever I'm searching for aquarium info (which is often conflicting/outdated), you put my mind at ease with your knowledge and innovation. I really appreciate you sharing it with the rest of us. Thank you for this, and all of your other very informative videos!

lol. I appreciate for the compliment. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

Absolutely love you! haha! No Nonsense, no selling expensive products we don't need, no faffing around job done. Plus i could listen to your accent for hours tellin me stories haha. I'm going to be constructing a new tank to be built into the alcove in my livingroom and will be purchasing my first canister filter, so this vid helped a ton! Thanks pet!!

This is the first time i am getting the correct knowledge of filtration setup. Thank you for the valuable information.

Thank you ... I follow all your advice and step... it not only save my money to get a new canister... I just invested on biohome. Work like a magic .... thank you so much.

Your video was such an inspiration. Today I cleaned up my dophin 1300 canister filter on my 70 g tank. I had got it from someone. I had not noticed anything as it was from an established tank (I got it with the tank and the stock in it). When I opened it up today all media was all over the place as so absolutely wrongly stacked. The filter is strong and cycles at 2300 L per hour which is great. So I stripped it completely. I removed the polyster filling which was so mucky and was in most of the 4 trays. I put the bio ceramic rings in the aquarium water in a bucket. I washed all the trays & I got the gunk out of the filter and washed it thoroughly. I put in ceramic rings at the bottom 2" gap which appeared in my canister filter too. Then I filled the first tray with coarse then medium & then fine sponges. I had to cut these out as your video showed. Then in the second tray from bottom I put in new bio balls. Then in the third tray from bottom I added the same ceramic rings which had all the beneficial bacteria in them from the filter. In the top last tray I added two bags of activated carbon as I had a new seasoned drift wood which was still giving out tannins. I washed the impeller and filled the filter with clean aquarium water. I have now plugged it in & the flow is great. I didnt get a chance to clean the input and output hoses today. Maybe next time. Thanks for your video which was a great help. One question how often do I clean the canister filter ? Thanks again

Mr.Guru, you are sir by far is the best man out here on youtube who actually makes sense of what he says when it comes to aqua life, and I have learned a lot from you so from the bottom of my heart, a BIG THANK YOU!

No worries. The biohome mini ultra is an awesome media. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

The fine particle matting is basically a more compressed form of filter floss which can be cut to size. When you use the fine pad you do not need filter floss. If you want to use floss, not fine pad it goes in place of fine pad above the medium and coarse sponges (as shown in the video). The worst place to use it is above the media as it allows all the fine muck into the filter media, blocking it up and reducing the effectiveness of the filter (as explained in video) Thanks for watching.

+amy brooks Using 3 trays for media and one for foam can only do good as more biological action = better and quicker processing of waste.

It would be a good experiment indeed. One I do not have time for since my only aquariums are at the shop and they have a high turnover of fish so its not the best place to do such a test. Would be interesting to find out the answer to that though.

I like your vids, to the point and not waffling on. Speeding up boring bits is much appreciated too. Keep it up.

I will give the clickable annotation a go. That sounds sensible. I already have the channel icon showing on all my videos (including this one) but don't go with the featured video as it looks too cluttered when it shows too. I have had a channel intro for ages on my channel. Just did one specifically for metal detecting which I will be putting on the start of all my detecting videos if I can get time to go detecting. Thanks for watching, man.

I have used your setup in my Tetra EX 1200 plus now for two years now and I get fantastic water readings. I mix with the BioHome a few Tetra BalanceBalls as food for the bactreia. Water change every 6 month! Thank you very much.

No worries, man. Thanks for watching and appreciating.

Unfortunately I couldn't do that since fluval seem intent on giving internet only businesses crazy discounts and making independent fish shops pay through the nose for their stuff so we don't stock them. I'm not a fan of HOB filters so we only stock the occasional small one unfortunately. The media and how the filter is set up is ultimately more important than the type or make of filter so good to hear you are going to be giving the Biohome media a try. Mini ultra and ultimate are most popular.

That is the claims made by the distributor in Singapore. I tend to say replace the media in your external with biohome and if the filter was coping before it will do a much better job with the biohome. The amount of water any media will filter is very variable as it depends on fish stock, quality of mechanical filtration prior to media contact, flow rate, type of filter etc. it cannot accurately be quantified as far as I'm concerned.

Same thing is true of all types of filter. If you are using good porous media it needs to be protected by graded foam. Coarse, medium then fine foam before the water hits the media. If the filter foams and media are fully submerged or wet/dry the need for good mechanical filtration prior to media is still the same. Hope that clarifies.

No worries, man. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

I did have quite high nitrate levels in my tank that required weekly water changes. Brought an external filter filled it with bio home mini and bio home ultimate with 3 stage mechanical filtration at the base. Took pondguru advice and stuck some in the empty space at the bottom of the filter and have had perfect water for 2 months now.thanks.ps clean out every month. 2 pearl guramis 2 balloon mollys 10 neons 4 xl zebras 3 Chinese suckers.17 gal.

+Ranch Goldfish I can't reply directly to your comment for some reason but this is what I am trying to post as a reply: It will last around 6-10 years at high efficiency in a well set up filter but structurally it will last well beyond that. Some manufacturers will tell you to replace the biological media every 6 months but that is ridiculous - the media should be nicely bedded in then with aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. The anaerobic bacteria generally take 4-6 months to get established but aerobic should only take 2-3.

No worries, man. Thanks for watching and appreciating the video.

Nice one, man. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

Like the best open pore ceramic media, sintered glass will break down over time but you should still get a few years out of it. After 2-3 years the internal structure of the media will be packed out and need replacing anyway. not sure if you ordered the ultra or mini ultra as there has been so much going out lately but they are both very good media. Protect with layers of good foam filtration and any media will last longer.

While searching for better filter media I stumbled across your channel.. I have an Eheim filter and while cleaning it out I always noticed how much muck and particles were always inside the media. I never really thought my eheim was working up to snuff. While watching this video I had a dumb blonde moment and was like well yeah that makes sense if there is no foam in the bottom to filter the particles they will be stuck to the media. I will be changing around the set up of my filter thanks to this video and adding biohome as soon as I get it. Thanks for doing such a fantastic job I will be watching more of your videos😬😬😬😬

I could watch you all day long... Learn more from you than from any other way x Keep them coming x

I didn't fix it to any tank as this is an old filter I will be selling on ebay soon (with all the biohome mini ultra media in). It has brand new pipes and fittings too. There is also a smaller eheim one with all the bits too.

+Rommel Ondong Yes all the filtration should work just the same. Mechanical filtration followed by biological filtration.

Not sure if you are asking for advice on the best way to set up your filter but that is what this video is about. The plastic bio balls may as well be thrown out as they just waste space. The foams need to go in the correct order and be followed by good quality biological media. That's about it really.

It goes down the central column and only contacts the top tray on its way up unless there are some designs out there which are different (which may be the case)

Unless you go for a media which supports anaerobic bacteria and or plant many more plants, I'd usually suggest water changes but when nitrate is high coming out of the tap you would need to use a product like Nitrazorb from API. The biohome media actively reduces nitrate once the anaerobic bacteria has colonised deep within the media but will not eliminate it completely.

Filters I have are of different sizes. 2080 have around 12L media originally substrat pro. I want to use on the bottom layer foam like in your video. Many aquarist using pre-filter in the suction inlet but any they your option suit me best and is logic. I've seen most of your videos and I love it. You are real aquapond guru .-) Wish you all best

No worries, I'm glad you found it of use and will now have a more efficient filter.

I have actually followed your advice on my canister filter (a Marineland Magniflow 360) and it works great. I did go ahead and bought some of the bio home media and have been measuring my water parameters over the past five months; and just like you said my Nitrates did go down tremendously. I have a planted aquarium and thus use the E.I method of fertilizing my plants with Thrive liquid fertilizer. It works great and my plants are nice and green and lush. But the only problem with it my Nitrates would be through the roof with it. In my tank they went from 110ppm to about 15ppm in about five months. Great product and it works great. Thank your for your advice.

This filter used best part of 3kg. The media is £12.99 per kilo and the delivery cost (by courier) for 3kg is £30 tanking total delivered price to £68.97. If you want me to arrange delivery just send me an email at the address given in this video description (just click 'show more'). I will need your email address associated with paypal to send you an invoice, no worries.

I'm not familiar with all the eheim range but if they are near the size of the filter in this video I used best part of 3kg biohome mini ultra. If it was biohome plus then it would be nearer 4kg. The mini ultra is simply awesome stuff.

No worries. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

I've never really seen the need for UV units in aquariums although they may reduce the parasite problems associated with multi tank systems. Glad you are pleased with the media, man.

The principles of having the progressively finer foam followed by media holds true for all filters, yes.

I have another video coming up but that will be on metal detecting - I like to rotate them, lol Thanks for watching and appreciating.

I'd maybe put the either right in the top or in the very bottom. It doesn't matter too much. If I was pushed I'd say bottom then any small particles of peat which are released will be filtered out by the foams.

Yes, you can leave the pre filter in the top of the filter then add the graded foams (including the fine sponge) to the bottom tray and scrap the hard ceramic tubes. Filter will be much more efficient and your media will be protected from clogging quickly.

Hello Mr.GURU...I do the way that you do it buitI always add one tray of one small bag of activated carbon and one small bag of zeolite in one tray..I have 4 trays ..I find hat my tanks are very clear and they do not smell and I have no algae blooms..My tanks have been very clean and I have less cleanings...Thanks for your video..oh my question is why dont you use the carbon and zeolite? To each his own but I really find that this really works for me. thanks for all of your videos..they are very professional and I just love all of them!! BTW...I have 2 sun sun 304B canister filters and they have been running now for 3 years non stop and I am very pleased with this product which I only paid like $60 bucks for each..

This video was wonderfully informative. Showed me foam all belongs at bottom. thanks!!

It has very little surface area per volume and filtration in an external filter is all about having a protected filter media which has maximum available surface area per volume so that the bacterial colony is as big as possible in there.

I couldn't agree more with your advice on how to set up the filtration process. I've used the same principle for external canisters and sumps and always noticed how much more efficient the biological filtration system works and increases the lifespan of the media material of your choice. The only downside IMHO is that one has to be more on-top of basic maintenance as the pads at the bottom tend to get clogged up quicker and slow flow rates. However its worth the extra effort.

I'm sure I say the make and model in the video. It is an Eheim professionel 2 (not sure what model) but most externals are very similar in their operation.

Biohome will work well in any filter designed to hold filter media. As I'm not familiar with those hang on back filters I can't say more than that but if it has enough space for filter media then I'd wager swapping to biohome will do a better job than the media which is in there.

Yes it can be used in any filter which takes biological filter media. The two most popular types are biohome mini and the new biohome ultimate which outsell the rest 3:1

You would need a liner to be 21' x 24' and that allows for 1' overlap on all sides. I'd go with 1mm firestone rubber - I use that on all my jobs. It is laid over good quality polyester underlay to protect it. With regard to pump and filter it depends on budget but I always go for Oase pumps for the 5 year guarantee and low running costs. There are so many filters on the market it will depend on the fish stock but I'd size it for koi.

Sounds like a decent plan. As I've not done that myself I can't say it would work but it would be good to find out.

The principles of filtration still apply no matter what the filter lay-out. Water must go through coarse, medium then fine foam followed by biological media.

I bought a load of biohome ultra and it is excellent,Rich really knows his stuff...

There is a link in the video description and that should bring up all the media I sell and post worldwide. Failing that go onto ebay and search for 'Biohome filter media' then 'see sellers other items' and they all should come up. I pay extra for visibility on ebay.com and ebay.ca so it should show.

Ah ha! Even though we've had goldfish for a very long time it's only in the last few years that we've had an external canister filter. For the life of me I had this suspicion that the foams should work in concert -- that's only common sense -- but it's only now, since we just purchased a new unit where the manufacturer claims one should have the fine foam just before the water returns to the tank that I decided to look further into the situation and am very pleased to see your video. Thanks!

I just ordered the biohome media. Your video was very helpful. I have been doing lots of water changes and still have ammonia readings that I can't get under control. I hope this helps.

Eheim Professional 2 and the model is 2228 I think. There are loads of similar models but the names are not important. What is important is ensuring that they are set up properly to be effective.

The two most popular ones I sell are biohome mini ultra and biohome ultimate. The ultimate is a new filter media which is exactly the same structure as the mini ultra but has added trace elements which are essential for bacteria. It honestly is the best media you can buy.

No worries, man. The mini ultra is an awesome media.

Whatever filter you use the process needs to be the same. Water needs to hit graded foams then media on way out. I have sold biohome ultra, biohome mini ultra and biohome ultimate for use in FX5 and FX6.

The water in that filter goes from bottom to top so should be set up just as simply as the one in this video. You could leave the blue prefilter foam in the top if you like. Uaru Joey has done a video on that model of filter: I tend to set things up differently so whatever makes sense to you is fine.

This is advice so logical and clearly efficient that it may just start a profound revolution. Thank goodness these aquarium product manufacturers are not large multi-national corporations that guard their revenue streams with drastic measures. We'd probably see a sudden stoppage of these videos being produced if they were. You would quickly receive cease and desist letters, followed by strange men in black suits at your shop, your phone would suddenly stop working, they might even decide to "off" you like they did with the guy that created the diesel engine. But thanks for the healthy advice and wisdom. I am setting up an aquarium for the first time. It is a brood tank for Tilapia. Hopefully, come Spring, I will have bread some fingerlings for my aquaponics system where I will also apply the same principles to the aquaponics filtration. Just want to say, I am really lucky I found your videos.

pond guru ! cheers from Pensacola, FLORIDA!! thanks for the info, very helpful!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I've been using a prefilter sponge on my filter intakes for quite some time and it saves me some maintenance on my canisters I think I just needed some reassurance that I was doing the right thing again thank you so much and have a great New Year

getting a canister soon and this is the most informative video ive seen! Subbed.

+Raihen Khan The external set up like in this video will be easily enough to keep the water sweet, no worries. You could run the internal too as a failsafe but the tank will be fine without it.

+Dibyendu Sharma Mondal I can't reply to your comment for some reason and your channel does not have the option to send a message - here is what I tried to post: Most of the cichlids you have prefer hard water at around 8.2 and would benefit from mineralisation from coral sand and ocean rock. That may be part of the problem. There is no filter seen in the video but as long it is of suitable size (i.e. a 300 litre filter for a 150 litre tank) and it is set up with foams in bottom tray and media in tray above it should be fine. The problems with white poop could be a digestion problem or internal parasite so you need to treat for internal parasites (worms) and make sure the water is suitable quality for the fish.

Very new to this hobby (tropical fresh fish) but man i learnt more stuff in a few days from PONDGURU than any other place, thanks for pure gold infomation, its guys like you make the world spin man keep it up :)

I'm sure there will be some out there where the water goes from top down but in general the water goes from bottom up through the trays so should hit the foams in the following order: Coarse Medium Fine Then travel through the media having been mechanically cleaned of the vast majority of suspended muck in the water before hitting the media to prevent media clogging..

Great information, and very well presented..... he is a friendly guy, and I just love the northern accent

? There is a direct link in the video description. Just click 'show more' and the full video description will come up. Failing that just go on ebay and search for biohome mini ultra and it will come up.

The Juwel Rio 180? They are decent filters and can be made better by following the same pattern of foams and media layout as you would in an external like the one in this video. Buying the official foams and replacing them as often as the manufacturer tells you is a seriously expensive thing to do when you can cut your own foams and fine particle matting from pond product suppliers at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks so much Pondguru! I just got rid of an overhead filter (which came with my tank) and set up a canister filter as per your advice. What a difference! My canister filter has only 2 trays so I put the (uselesss) ceramic noodles on the bottom of the canister, 3 grades of sponge in the bottom basket (as well as some of my old sponges) and really good bio filter media in the top basket with a layer of filter wool on top for that extra "polish". An hour after turning the filter on the water is crystal clear and my tank looks amazing. Thank you so much for your video. Just one question though, how often should I clean out the canister filter? I have goldfish which I know are messy.

Any quantity could be sent but the postage would reflect the weight. For example 10kg to Netherlands would be £30 delivery and £100 for the media.

Fantastic video mate. I'm setting up a 320 litre tropical community tank in a couple months, so I'm researching canister filters beforehand. This video is super informative & exactly what I was looking for. Now I've found a supplier for the filter media in Australia, so am all set. 😀

I also have the Two Little Fishies PhosBan Reactor 150 with SeaChem De-Nitrate Remover on the back of the tank. I also put it to work with the foams at the bottom.

Thank you for the tutorial on how to set up a canister filter, and for turning me on to Biohome Ultimate.

I have just changed over today to a canister filter. I have put it together, and have it running side by side with my little internal Eheim 60L filter. Ugh. So, now I get to source ALL the things again (I did it for the Biorb), and sort out my new canister.

Thanks PondGuru you're the best. just received my media and installed in my fx6! within hours Ive noticed a difference..cheers mate

Just search 'Pond filter replacement foams' and they should pop up on Google shopping search. They cost very little compared to 'proper' manufacturers foams. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

That should be easily big enough yes. The biohome will last many years if well protected by graded foams as in this video. If you do choose to wash it then use some of the water drained off your tank, not tap water.

There are so many reasons why water may be cloudy but usually it is from residual dust on sand or gravel. The fine particle pad / floss in the filter should remove the muck but a treatment which clumps it will help e.g. filter aid.

Thanks for replying Richard. I will just go with the 3 foams and bio home as my media in both baskets. I didn't really want to add carbon/chemical filtration products. You can't be absolutely sure what chemicals you are putting in the tank. Cheers.

No worries and thanks for watching and appreciating the video. This seems to have been quite a popular one. Maybe it has been shared between people who realise they've had their external filters set up wrong for years, lol

All the best yourself, man. I don't mind going against the general way of doing things if I think that the way most have followed is wrong. This is a case in point. The manufacturers should know how to set up their own gear so why don't they recommend the sensible way to do it? To sell you more media when it becomes quickly clogged up? Maybe... Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

Not sure how well they would do in a canister but maybe if the bottom had the heavy small ceramic media they would have a more suitable environment?