New Filtration

[ceruleanwildfire]

Hi,

I have an AquaOne AR510 with a trickle filter that I am considering upgrading to a Fluval Protein Skimmer and 206 External Canister Filter later this year.

I pretty much love your products so far and am currently using Matrix, Purigen, MatrixCarbon and PhosGuard together with the standard coarse and fine filters in the trickle filter unit.

What would be the best combination of filtration media for the external canister filter? Would it be worth it to replace the use of Matrix with de.Nitrate, considering it is no longer in an aerobic environment or would a combination of the two be preferable?

I was also thinking of placing the biological media in four bags (The Bag maybe?) to make for easier replacement once a year to replace/prevent against clogged media (to be changed a bag at a time to prevent any major cycles due to loss of beneficial bacteria and while new bacteria establishes itself). Is this advisable?

Sorry for all the questions and a preemptive thanks for all the answers.

Cheers
CWF

[Tech Support DG]

Re: New Filtration

Hi CWF,

Thanks for your questions. It sounds like you have a pretty good plan. The combination of filtration media which you are currently using seems like a good arrangement. With the high flow of a canister filter, I would still use Matrix, though it certainly wouldn't hurt to use a combination of Matrix and de*nitrate. Keeping the bio media in a filter bag does make it easy to handle.

[Happy Fishkeeping]

Re: New Filtration

Perhaps I could add something having had experience with the 206.

Although The Bag is an excellent product, I would not use this for your filter media. The 206 has convenient baskets for the media & I would only use The Bag for additional chemical media such as Purigen or Coral Gravel (if you use this). The ceramic nodules (& Matrix) last a very long time & I have never had to replace them. Every 12 weeks, I gently swirl a handful of the nodules in old tank water to clear any sediment. The 206 fine filter I find gets clogged very easily, reducing the filter flow. I would discard this fine filter pad, along with the carbon pad. I would retain your Matrix & not use De-Nitrate in your filter.

[Tech Support DG]

Re: New Filtration

Thanks for your input, Happy Fishkeeping.