Used this tank for years and just rinsed the filters once a week with high pressure water, worked a treat; have now put in some new fish after another year empty. Again, rinsed the filters and we're sweet..... I have really enjoyed your vids they have helped enormously. I will take up your method of filtering as the carbon will no doubt be clogged.
If you get new sponges etc, get some of your fish tank water, get your old sponges, sit them in about two litres of your old water and old cartridges and soak them for ten minutes, instant cycle and bacteria in.
I agree the filter media clogs up very quickly, to the point where the 'sealed' units have no benefit. I am currently looking at changing my setup as well.
Hey Copatikus Yeah it clogs very quickly. I didn't even have any fish (poo) or decaying plants that would get trapped in the filter and it clogged already! Let me know what you end up doing with the filter. At the moment I think I will leave it to how I have it now (bottom of cartridge cut out + seachem matrix above and below) as the flow seems to be much better and it seems to work alright. I think the ideal set-up would have some sort of flat grid at the bottom where the cartridges sit, with biological media above that followed by the sponges. That way, a lot more biological media could be put into the filter. I think stainless steel mesh would work well, but you would need a high grade to ensure it doesn't rust, and this seems a little difficult to find.
Hello I don’t have the thing at the end of the pipe will that make a difference I’ve just been given the tank yesterday was trying to clean it and set it up and don’t have the thing on the end of the pipe and think I’ve set up filter wrong as can’t close the lid when it’s on 🥲 any help please
Hello can you help me please, I just brought me this fish tank and filter, the water is not going through the filter body and isn’t coming out of the outlet duckbill? But I can hear that it is on??? Please help asap
Phil's Planted Tanks Hi, so I got it sorted I pulled the filter apart and blew into it and then put it back together and it worked 😅 thank god. Thank you heaps for your reply!
Did you find the filter made a very loud splashing noise? I got this tank second hand the other day and the spout part has the water flowing out over the sponges so hard
My one does make a bit of noise but it is not too loud. Looking over this video, my flow rate has slowed quite a bit so maybe it was louder before but I'm not sure.
Mine also does this but i have no sponges only water going to the charcoal filters and it does sound loud need some sponges tho but its a great tank and have many fish babies and happy fish in there :)
Hi I do have the same problem at first I tried double up the cartrages and leave the cover off instead of putting them side by side it worked for noise reduction but the water only filters through one place. So I cut up lots of carbon sponge and stuck it in the filters cover but it still sound like a tap but the cartrages are in correctly now and gonna try a few of those media balls. To try break up the noise of the flow but I'm sure I'll have to keep an eye out for blockages.
I solved this by putting some cut filter sponge above then hole where it makes noise with thr water coming through and boom no noise at all now!! But the water can still flow through.....any questions just ask and i will send some pics over so you can see what i did
Hello Phill from land down under! I have a Aqua one Eco style 42 (28l) anyway making sounds out of the filters replace? It brand new and really makes loud sound to point it's really noises.
hmmm, my one is fairly quiet, something definitely doesn't seem right if it is really loud. Have you tried checking if there is something stuck in the impeller?
Can you remove the filter that comes with the tank and replace it with a sponge filter and add the bio media on top and some sponges to hold them down?
Do you mean the whole filter or just the filter cartridge? If you meant the whole filter, yes, you can remove the whole unit, it rests of the edges of the tank. If you mean just the filter media, you can remove that too and replace with your own media. Just make sure you don't block the place where the water flows out. I currently have seachem matrix in mine, with the original sponges on top.
Phil's Planted Tanks Thanks for your quick reply! And yes the whole filter.. If I wanna do that .. Will I need the inflow? Should I keep it for the tank circulation? Or nah?
For a fish only tank, or only a lightly planted one, I think a sponge filter should be fine by itself. You would probably want more flow for a heavily planted aquarium
Hi, algae can be cause by a number of reasons such as too much light, too long a photoperiod, too much dissolved organics or waste in the tank etc. But sometimes you can feel like you are doing everything right and still have algae, so it is not always so simple. If your tank is not a planted one, I would suggest trying to reduce the lighting period first, manually removing as much of the algae as you can and maybe do some more frequent water changes to see if that helps
Thanks for the video. I'm being given one of these tanks(coming tomorrow!) and it's really handy to see how the filter works and to start planning how I'm going to change it all, lol. I had pretty much the same idea when you mentioned the dreaded carbon cartridges. I'll stick a layer of ceramic bio rings in the bottom(with a small wedge of coarse sponge creating space for the hole where the water flows out so it doesn't get blocked) and sponge over the top. I've got a very well established HOB/waterfall style filter on the tank this one is replacing so that's handy, I can use that media, pre-filter sponge and all :D How are the lights on this kit for the plants? I'm hoping to continue with my low-ish maintenance setup and move my plants over from the old tank. Just standard common plants in that selection; anubias, mosses, mini pellia, dwarf sag, Ludwigia palustris, Rotala rotundifolia, and crypts.
Sorry hamneggwich , for some reason I never got a notification for your comment so haven't seen it until now. I've got an exams at the moment so will type up a proper reply soon.
FishyPhil No worries, mate! Hope your exams go well c: I've had the tank(mine's actually the ecostyle 42) up and running for 2 weeks now and I'm liking it. I pretty much went with the filter plan I mentioned above, ditched everything it came with and used established filter material(I also didn't use the spray bar thing). The plants seem to be growing, the water is lovely and clear, and my betta and his snail minions are enjoying the new digs so it's all good so far. Here's a pic from the day after I set it up, excuse the water marks xD: i.imgur.com/ItlCGqa.jpg Since then, the anubias nana already has a new leaf opening up, the moss is filling in slowly, and the in vitro ludwigia has some nice new pink growth.
Woot my exams are all done!hamneggwich Your tank's looking good! I used to have a red betta just like that and I think I will get another one. I bought a filter today, so once that is all cycled I will move the white clouds over to the new tank and will buy a betta for the ecostyle. Regarding the lights, yep, I have also found that it does ok for lowlight plants. The LEDs are a little more blue than lights designed for planted tanks though. I've been getting a lot of algae lately (mostly BGA) but that is mostly my fault as I haven't been keeping up with the water changes too well. I've changed the stem plants at the back to rotala rotundifolia and they have been growing really well with a lot of new growth already.
FishyPhil Congrats! And cheers. Bettas are probably my favourite fish xD I've had Lister here for 3 years now and he's got a lot of personality for a little fish. I'll be gutted when he eventually goes. I'll be looking out for a betta update now :) And yeah I was a bit overzealous with how long I had the lights on before and was getting a nice coating of green dust algae, bleh. Messed with the timer and they're on for 7 hours now and the snails keep up with whatever does grow in that time. I was thinking about adding the tiniest bit of ferts/excel each week but it's only a maybe, and after the plants are far more settled in. I use those on my other tank with T5HO lighting madness. Glad to hear the rotala is working for you, it's a beast when it does get going and I love how it goes orangey pink towards the surface(in lower light setups).
Sorry for the super late reply. You can twist the output to face the glass which reduces the flow around the tank. That is what I did when I had a betta in this tank and it makes it ok for the fish
Generally, you should have mechanical filtration at the top so that all the gunk/poop doesn't get stuck in the biological media, but as long as there is still enough room for the spray bar thingy (you will probably have to use small sized ceramic noodles) then you should have no problems putting ceramic cylinders there.
@@philsplantedtanks3573 I'm pretty sure my carbon part of the filter is clogged I was just wondering if you could explain how to replace it with biological media properly. Thanks
Hi Abhiram, I cut open and removed the white part of the cartridge and removed all the carbon parts. Then in the filter I placed some biomedia (Seachem matrix) on the bottom of the filter box, placed the empty cartridge back on top and then placed some more biomedia on the top. Then I placed the original sponge back on top. The key is just to make sure you don't block the slot at the bottom of the filter box, otherwise it may overflow. You could probably do without the filter cartridges if you use a biological media that still allows the water to flow freely, like the noodle type with the hole in the middle.
No worries. Also, I forgot to mention but when you change out the filter media, don't do it all at once otherwise you are removing a lot of the beneficial bacteria. I would suggest changing out one cartridge first and then waiting a bit before doing the other one.
Great vid man, good explanation about bacteria and both your own natural upgrade vs the original intended capitalist motive
Great idea. The manual was lost by the previous owner so I watched how the filter works. Thanks for posting this.
No problem, glad it helped
Used this tank for years and just rinsed the filters once a week with high pressure water, worked a treat; have now put in some new fish after another year empty. Again, rinsed the filters and we're sweet..... I have really enjoyed your vids they have helped enormously. I will take up your method of filtering as the carbon will no doubt be clogged.
Mik Mad good tip
If you get new sponges etc, get some of your fish tank water, get your old sponges, sit them in about two litres of your old water and old cartridges and soak them for ten minutes, instant cycle and bacteria in.
+Peter MOORE Yep, good tip!
I agree the filter media clogs up very quickly, to the point where the 'sealed' units have no benefit. I am currently looking at changing my setup as well.
Hey Copatikus Yeah it clogs very quickly. I didn't even have any fish (poo) or decaying plants that would get trapped in the filter and it clogged already! Let me know what you end up doing with the filter. At the moment I think I will leave it to how I have it now (bottom of cartridge cut out + seachem matrix above and below) as the flow seems to be much better and it seems to work alright. I think the ideal set-up would have some sort of flat grid at the bottom where the cartridges sit, with biological media above that followed by the sponges. That way, a lot more biological media could be put into the filter. I think stainless steel mesh would work well, but you would need a high grade to ensure it doesn't rust, and this seems a little difficult to find.
Phil's Planted Tanks is the tank worth buying looking for a 10gallon
Hello I don’t have the thing at the end of the pipe will that make a difference I’ve just been given the tank yesterday was trying to clean it and set it up and don’t have the thing on the end of the pipe and think I’ve set up filter wrong as can’t close the lid when it’s on 🥲 any help please
i have the same sentiments about my AR380.
Hello can you help me please, I just brought me this fish tank and filter, the water is not going through the filter body and isn’t coming out of the outlet duckbill? But I can hear that it is on??? Please help asap
How high is the water level in the tank? Have you got it high enough?
Did you just buy the fish tank new or was it second hand? You might want to check the impeller to make sure it isn't stuck/broken.
Phil's Planted Tanks Hi, so I got it sorted I pulled the filter apart and blew into it and then put it back together and it worked 😅 thank god. Thank you heaps for your reply!
@@shyneka9993 Haha good to hear you fixed it
Did you find the filter made a very loud splashing noise? I got this tank second hand the other day and the spout part has the water flowing out over the sponges so hard
My one does make a bit of noise but it is not too loud. Looking over this video, my flow rate has slowed quite a bit so maybe it was louder before but I'm not sure.
Mine also does this but i have no sponges only water going to the charcoal filters and it does sound loud need some sponges tho but its a great tank and have many fish babies and happy fish in there :)
Hi I do have the same problem at first I tried double up the cartrages and leave the cover off instead of putting them side by side it worked for noise reduction but the water only filters through one place. So I cut up lots of carbon sponge and stuck it in the filters cover but it still sound like a tap but the cartrages are in correctly now and gonna try a few of those media balls. To try break up the noise of the flow but I'm sure I'll have to keep an eye out for blockages.
I solved this by putting some cut filter sponge above then hole where it makes noise with thr water coming through and boom no noise at all now!! But the water can still flow through.....any questions just ask and i will send some pics over so you can see what i did
Hello Phill from land down under! I have a Aqua one Eco style 42 (28l) anyway making sounds out of the filters replace? It brand new and really makes loud sound to point it's really noises.
hmmm, my one is fairly quiet, something definitely doesn't seem right if it is really loud. Have you tried checking if there is something stuck in the impeller?
I've got this tank and I am wondering if is there any way to control the flow of water?
what mesh bag did u buy i live in au and i need one probably
I didn't end up using one, but if you are after some, most shops have the aqua one branded one. Otherwise there's some cheap ones available on ebay
Can you remove the filter that comes with the tank and replace it with a sponge filter and add the bio media on top and some sponges to hold them down?
Do you mean the whole filter or just the filter cartridge? If you meant the whole filter, yes, you can remove the whole unit, it rests of the edges of the tank. If you mean just the filter media, you can remove that too and replace with your own media. Just make sure you don't block the place where the water flows out. I currently have seachem matrix in mine, with the original sponges on top.
Phil's Planted Tanks Thanks for your quick reply! And yes the whole filter.. If I wanna do that .. Will I need the inflow? Should I keep it for the tank circulation? Or nah?
For a fish only tank, or only a lightly planted one, I think a sponge filter should be fine by itself. You would probably want more flow for a heavily planted aquarium
Do I have to use this filter it’s too lounge for my liking
You can take out the whole unit and use another one if you like.
Hi, do you know anything on how elgae forms in this fish tank please.
Hi, algae can be cause by a number of reasons such as too much light, too long a photoperiod, too much dissolved organics or waste in the tank etc. But sometimes you can feel like you are doing everything right and still have algae, so it is not always so simple. If your tank is not a planted one, I would suggest trying to reduce the lighting period first, manually removing as much of the algae as you can and maybe do some more frequent water changes to see if that helps
Help! The filter isnt working, water isnt being sucked up
Thanks for the video. I'm being given one of these tanks(coming tomorrow!) and it's really handy to see how the filter works and to start planning how I'm going to change it all, lol. I had pretty much the same idea when you mentioned the dreaded carbon cartridges. I'll stick a layer of ceramic bio rings in the bottom(with a small wedge of coarse sponge creating space for the hole where the water flows out so it doesn't get blocked) and sponge over the top. I've got a very well established HOB/waterfall style filter on the tank this one is replacing so that's handy, I can use that media, pre-filter sponge and all :D
How are the lights on this kit for the plants? I'm hoping to continue with my low-ish maintenance setup and move my plants over from the old tank. Just standard common plants in that selection; anubias, mosses, mini pellia, dwarf sag, Ludwigia palustris, Rotala rotundifolia, and crypts.
Sorry hamneggwich , for some reason I never got a notification for your comment so haven't seen it until now. I've got an exams at the moment so will type up a proper reply soon.
FishyPhil No worries, mate! Hope your exams go well c:
I've had the tank(mine's actually the ecostyle 42) up and running for 2 weeks now and I'm liking it. I pretty much went with the filter plan I mentioned above, ditched everything it came with and used established filter material(I also didn't use the spray bar thing). The plants seem to be growing, the water is lovely and clear, and my betta and his snail minions are enjoying the new digs so it's all good so far. Here's a pic from the day after I set it up, excuse the water marks xD: i.imgur.com/ItlCGqa.jpg Since then, the anubias nana already has a new leaf opening up, the moss is filling in slowly, and the in vitro ludwigia has some nice new pink growth.
Woot my exams are all done!hamneggwich Your tank's looking good! I used to have a red betta just like that and I think I will get another one. I bought a filter today, so once that is all cycled I will move the white clouds over to the new tank and will buy a betta for the ecostyle. Regarding the lights, yep, I have also found that it does ok for lowlight plants. The LEDs are a little more blue than lights designed for planted tanks though. I've been getting a lot of algae lately (mostly BGA) but that is mostly my fault as I haven't been keeping up with the water changes too well. I've changed the stem plants at the back to rotala rotundifolia and they have been growing really well with a lot of new growth already.
FishyPhil Congrats! And cheers. Bettas are probably my favourite fish xD I've had Lister here for 3 years now and he's got a lot of personality for a little fish. I'll be gutted when he eventually goes. I'll be looking out for a betta update now :)
And yeah I was a bit overzealous with how long I had the lights on before and was getting a nice coating of green dust algae, bleh. Messed with the timer and they're on for 7 hours now and the snails keep up with whatever does grow in that time. I was thinking about adding the tiniest bit of ferts/excel each week but it's only a maybe, and after the plants are far more settled in. I use those on my other tank with T5HO lighting madness.
Glad to hear the rotala is working for you, it's a beast when it does get going and I love how it goes orangey pink towards the surface(in lower light setups).
How strong is the water flow i have a betta fish btw
Sorry for the super late reply. You can twist the output to face the glass which reduces the flow around the tank. That is what I did when I had a betta in this tank and it makes it ok for the fish
where do u put the bio media
You can put it below the carbon filters
My EcoStyle 47 just leaked a lot of water on to my carpet. So very annoying. This design is flawed.
Oh no, that's not good!
if i put filter media, such as ceramic cyclinders on top of the sponge; will this cause a overflow? anyone tried this?
Generally, you should have mechanical filtration at the top so that all the gunk/poop doesn't get stuck in the biological media, but as long as there is still enough room for the spray bar thingy (you will probably have to use small sized ceramic noodles) then you should have no problems putting ceramic cylinders there.
Like the video it helps
Cheers
Hey could you help me out
Sure, what do you need help with?
@@philsplantedtanks3573 I'm pretty sure my carbon part of the filter is clogged I was just wondering if you could explain how to replace it with biological media properly. Thanks
Hi Abhiram, I cut open and removed the white part of the cartridge and removed all the carbon parts. Then in the filter I placed some biomedia (Seachem matrix) on the bottom of the filter box, placed the empty cartridge back on top and then placed some more biomedia on the top. Then I placed the original sponge back on top. The key is just to make sure you don't block the slot at the bottom of the filter box, otherwise it may overflow. You could probably do without the filter cartridges if you use a biological media that still allows the water to flow freely, like the noodle type with the hole in the middle.
@@philsplantedtanks3573 Thank you so much ^_^
No worries. Also, I forgot to mention but when you change out the filter media, don't do it all at once otherwise you are removing a lot of the beneficial bacteria. I would suggest changing out one cartridge first and then waiting a bit before doing the other one.