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View Full Version : AO Aquarium crap



AgentOrange
06-19-2014, 08:43 PM
I don't want people to think I disapprove of pressure filters because of my last Pond post.
http://yardcraphome.com/showthread.php?492-One-way-to-set-up-a-pond&p=18247&viewfull=1#post18247

I have owned many examples of these over the last 40 years.
In fact, in the last 15 years only use those, sorta:strawberry:.

Way back when aquariums were the #2 hobby, I let a clerk sell me a Magnum 300 filter he claimed would do it all:tears_of_joy:.
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In the day the best at mechanical filtering were Diatomus Earth filters. The better aquarium stores moved them daily form tank to tank to produce flawless clear water that looks like fish in air. Clear water and healthy water are not the same, but you can have both.

A mechanical filter and a biological filter can be the same but maybe not as in this case.

This Mag filter used a cartridge that filtered to one micron but had a packet of Diatomus Earth to dump in for the purest that was not actually needed.

I have been using them ever since. I now use it as an after thought, not really needed, but WTF? I have a few of them, would not be with out one as they do the best mechanical job possible and do it cheaply. They are good for about two weeks on a clean aquarium and about a day on yours:disgust:.

With a different insert and the time tested wheel additions they can do biological also. If you don't have one and have an aquarium, just buy one.
This is the best bang for buck out there for the last 30 years.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-PC0350PSB-Magnum-100-Gallon-350GPH/dp/B00025YURM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403224313&sr=8-1&keywords=magnum+350

I just run one of these now and refresh it about every two months or when I think about it:mask:. These actually filter some disease from the tank. As a mechanical filter, it has no equal. With the wheels, will keep your tank happy.


Mechanical filtration keeps the viewer happy, but the fish need biological filtration to thrive or to survive. Volume in filtration is the key. A tiny filter is a tiny filter. Match filter volume to tank size understanding that too much is never too much.:fat:

My system is a large rubber made tub I got for about $10. I filled with the best of the best bio available in 2001 when I set it up. I have never gone back in there for any maintenance since, nor should I. it is mounted higher than my tank. I squirt water into it from the tank, and gravity takes it to back to the tank.

I only pump filtered water into it. Originally I fed the tub with three of the Mag filters above and still augment with one.
For the last ten years I have used this huge Fluval to send filtered water to my tub.
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http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Fx6-Aquarium-Canister-Filter/dp/B00BJQ50HC/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1403221093&sr=1-1&keywords=fluval

It don't clean water as well as the Magnum, but does an excellent job and moves filtered water into the home made tub at around 900gph which is enough for my tank. I don't need an air pump due to the water splashing into the tub, just like the system in my outdoor pond. It actually empties from time to time each day for a wet/dry effect which I don't need from it.

Twice a year I clean the big filter and pack it with Chemi-Pure which I have been using with success for decades.

I designed my house with a narrow "fish room" with a sink where all this is located. I cut holes through the wall for the inlet and outlet. In the room is the just the tank and behind the wall is all the crap.
Maybe I am kinda "anal" about my hobbies, but they provide me never ending interest.