Replacing my aging Fluval external filter.

Hello all - I can see you're all as passionate as me about your fish, conditions etc. As par for the course I like to replace kikt well before it fails - my heater is changed yearly for example.

I have a large external fluval filter which has been running for some considerable time - the pipework is begining to wear out (become brittle and snap). It also suffers from a design issue in that the piping is corrugated so it attracts brown alagae. And (as I will repeat later) the priming system is primordial and a pain in the rear. I would like to replace it with a new external filter of similar capacity (in other words I have a 100 litre tank so I would buy the next size up filter).

Three things I'd like your advice on :

1. This will mean I rip out the old pipework and filter - so I have a few hours before water degrades.

2. I have a stable tank with great water. So I'm thinking the hour or two won't matter. I can transfer the existing filter media to the new one and as I have an existing cycled tank the new filter should be fine from the off. I'll add some stability and monitor the levels obviously.

Am I wrong in either of these ?

3. What to go for. I'd like something with a smooth pipe system that isn't a pain to start (like the Fluval - you have to prime it which takes an age). What's a good system to be looking at ?

Cheers chaps and chapesses.

im running a fluval 405 on a four foot tank with the easy start never had a problem with it after i got it started for the first time. but the coricated pipes are a bad idea i must admit.
on the new six footer im running the eheim fillters easy to get going and smooth pipes and you cannot here it running. bonus all round.

I don't think issues 1&2 will be a problem, you'd be looking at 24hrs for your water parameters to swaying
so if your going to change it out in a few hours you'll be right + using your old filter media will have the new filter working straight away.
As for what to buy, you couldn't go wrong spending a little bit more cash straight off the bat,
look for a brand with "warranties" , easy to source spare parts and something relatively easy to repair if you have to.
J

Thanks guys. I'm looking at an Eheim so will be googling and might be asking for some more advice. I might take the opportunity to change the lid and lighting - I've got an old fashion style lighting set up (standard 25w flourescent tube) and the lid is awful for allowing easy access to pipes, cables etc. Just put in CO2 diffuser for the plants this mormning and it was an epic involving wire cutters, stress and swearing

Hi guys - I went with an Aqua One in the end after spending some time talking to the guys at my LFS. Eheim are problematic here for supplies - and they're all running Aqua One systems both in shop - I had a good look at one of the staff's Milawi setups at home so I plumped for a filter which offers me about 1/5 times the capacity so plenty of filtration.

I've been buffering with coral sand over the last month - I have a consitent pH, minimal Nitrates, no ammonia etc so I think I'm going to take the plunge and try cories in with Apisto's & Ancistrus. I've kept loosing them over the years due to fluctuating pH - but now I have a stable pH and more filtration than you can shake a stick at I'm going to give these little catfish another shot.

My tank's currently running a pair of Ancistrus as you know, A. Agazzi pair, A. Panduro pair, A. Macmasterii pair so I think a busy little school of cories should finish it off nicely. I've got more bogwood at the moment and I've been busily attaching the dozen or so Java fern plantlets that I've got to it.

Phosphates are low (they're high in my tap water) thanks to using Phosguard and also having mad amounts of plant growth. Look forward to sharing the updated pictures and hopefully my cories with you all.

good choice on the filter. The aquaone range is much better than the price would indicate. IMO i think they are nearing par with the fluval and ehiem range on everything apart from price.

Buffering with coral sand? coral buffers to a high pH. its used for african tanks, Bristlenose, apistos are american fish, they like pH of about 6.5-7.

I would buffer using something like the american gravels or driftwood. these will drop the pH to between 6-7 and keep it there. Either that or try using RO water, that will take out the nasties in the water, including the phospahte, and drop the pH to 7, then its easy to buffer the water to where you want it.

I was definitely sceptical about the AquaOne range but its been a pleasant surprise.

Intersting point about the coral sand - my LFS advocates this so the fish are used to that environment. It would explain why all of my Apisto's spwan regularly but the eggs never hatch. This isn't a problem as I'm not interested in breeding aside from having happy, interesting fish - plus I don't have any fish buddies to pass them onto down here. I suspect the eggs aren't being fertilised due to high pH.

I have a lot of bogwood in for cover - is that the same as driftwood in terms of phosphate and pH buffering ? Not come across american gravels either. Phosphate and pH variation are my only issues so you've piqued my interest

bogwood and drif wood are pretty much the same. bogwood is darker as it typically comes from a bog where as driftwood is lighter as it comes from either the ocean or a river or even just a bit of wood that had been put in a tank. They both have the same effect on pH and hardness once the initial tannins are leached out.

The American soils are made for planted tanks as they contain lots of stuff for the plants, however they also buffer the pH. Not sure how they do it exactly. The issue is the soils are quite expensive.

I think ADA do one, and i think there is an eco-complete one as well.

Phosphate is a bugger! i have high phospahte in my tap water so it is always high in my tanks. I have started using RO water to help drop it down a bit but its a long road as once the phosphate get high it leaches into the gravel, wood etc and even though you drop it in the water, it will leach back in. can take months to get it back down