Cp's Tank And Filtration Setup Options

[CP]

A belated Christmas to all.

I've had my current tank for the past 15 months now and over Christmas I did a total stripdown of the filter (yes,after 15 months!!).I thot it may be interesting to share with you guys the setup of my tank so the end result was a wet digicam.....

Here is a pic of my tank:


Its 7x2x2,the filter measures 7x10"x10".The tank capacity is abt 700litres,and the filter contains another 100l.Currently there are only 4 occupants, 2ranchus and 2 ryukins,so they now have the luxury of 200l per fish.I have another 9 ranchus currently on vacation in outdoor rental ponds.

The max no of fish I ever keep in this tank is 9,in which the nitrate levels will rise to 50ppm before my weekly water change.I perform 80% water changes weekly irrespective of the number of fishes,and currently with only these four buggers the nitrate levels hardly reaches 25ppm by end of the week.

The setup of my tank is fairly simple,with an Eheim 1260(2400l/hr) pumping up to the OHF and a RENA 400 airpump.



Notice that the airpump is housed under the tank.I find using a non return valve will reduce the output drastically so I have a loop above the water level before the hose turns back down into the pump,so that water is not drawn into the pump when turned off.

[CP]

Now for the filter.

There had been no outbreak of dieseases (touch wood) which was why I can wait before the cleaning.Here are two views of the filter from above.




It has 5 compartments.

[CP]

The first compartment,where water is fed in, contains Jap filter mats.


The second contains corals and Bio-home.




The third is oyster shells.

[CP]

The 4th contains zeolites.I see no purpose of using zeolites actually (unless during start up of tank to remove ammonia),their adsorbtion capacity has been used up long ago and I had not bothered to re-charge them.I am replacing this compartment with oyster shell after this spring cleaning.Any bros interested can PM me and I will give it away FOC,but you have to re-charge them yourself!
I have abt 5kg of these,and was told that these are with volcanic properties and are from Japan.



The last compartment is a has a piece of perforated plastic sheet where water is spread thinly before entering the bio-ball compartment.This to to max. surface contact with air for max. DO.A bag of activated carbon is slot before that.
I've heard of some products using bio-balls to reduce nitrates (I think they call it trickle filter).Though my setup is similiar the purpose is to max DO as I believe that nitrates cannot be reduced by this method.




Another view of the last compartment.

[CP]

Design of the filter compartments:

I always have crystal clear water without the use of fine (and disposable) filter mats or water clear additives.Suspended solids clouds the water so the key word for clear water is SEDIMENTATION.
The design of the filter its has to induce sedimentation.The trick is to "force the water to rise",and sedimentation will naturally occur.
Note how the compartments are designed in the sketch.The arrows represents water direction.




Here is a pic of the trapped sedimentation.


I have a gap of abt 20mm below and the build up is abt 5mm.So I reckon that it will take 4 years before the filter is choked.

[CP]

Some of the products that I use.

Anti-chlorine/chloramine.Dosage is 5ml per 80l of water.500ml bottle costs $10, 3.8l costs $62/=.The big bottle can last me a year.


Activated carbon.$35,contains 4 satchets inside.I replace 1 bag every 3 months,so one bottle of this can also last me a year.


Bacteria culture.I also see no need for this product,and after 1 year I still have more than one quarter left.Will not use anymore when this bottle is finished.


I use oyster shells to buffer the water.It is said to dissolve once the pH falls below 7.5.Generally the pH of my water will be raised by a few tenths (from 7.5 tap to 7.8) after abt a week.The coral shells also add to the alkalinity.
A bag of these costs $15, and I reckon these can last me 10 years.


Here you see a dissolved oyster shell which has been in use for the last 15 months.

[CP]

The fishes are transferred into my bathtub.




The filter materials are removed out.They almost fill 4 big pails.



The filter is then cleaned and tank refilled with water.Fishes are put back in.



The filter materials are then washed in the bathtub.My gosh!
Suprisingly,there is no foul smell.In fact,the smell is rather pleasant,like 'smell of garden soil after it rains.'

[CP]

Almost done!

The mesh,mat and filter materials goes back in.





The filter is clean,and now I can see right through to the other end.


There goes my Christmas,to be repeated again next Christmas.

[mountain]

usually i let my cleaned filters run in the tank for 1/2 hr before i put back some fish ..
but no definite way of doing OHF/IOS .. as long as washing things is convenient.

[CP]

Some of my fish pics,I use the Goldrush method to take the pics.
My hand is also shown to gauge the fish size.The tip of my middle finger to the base of my palm is 7 inches.I wish another part of my body is also 7 inches......












Thats all for now.Hope I did not waste too much board space.

[desireless]

My fishes will be SO ENVIOUS of your fishes!!!!!!

Can you please explain more on the 1st pictures on the filter compartmet? Why is the 1st and 2nd drawing impractical? So for sedimentation to occur, you force the water up quicker? If you allow sedimentation, won't you need to clean the compartments more often to ensure clear water? Please enlighten, thanks!

[CP]

My fishes will be SO ENVIOUS of your fishes!!!!!! 

Can you please explain more on the 1st pictures on the filter? Why is the 1st and 2nd drawing impractical?

In the 1st pic there is not much resistance.The sediments simply follow the flow of the water,in and out.
The 2nd and 3rd pic are very similiar but the water flow is totally different.In the 2nd pic,the water direction in the filter compartment is downwards.As the sediments flow downwards with the water,once they reach the bottom they will be carried by the water back up to the next compartment.
In the 3rd pic,the water flow in the compartment is upwards.As water travels up thru the filter mat,sediments will have to defy gravity and will tend to settle.The water overflows into the next compartment.
Catch the ball?

[CP]

I dont know how to groom fish,so this is what i do to groom a fish - NATURE.Algae and sunlight.



Visited them today,some pics.

[CP]

Does this piece look familiar?

[LASERGUY]

I dont know how to groom fish,so this is what i do to groom a fish - NATURE.Algae and sunlight.

Ah, think I kind of recognised the setup and place......