Equipment Review and Discussion :: What kind of filter media should I use ?

[yankeefan]

I'm almost done with our first real aquarium upgrade. We started out with a 10 gallon tank for our young RES that we suddenly aquired back in Feb. At that time we (my daughter and I) knew nothing about turtles. Thanks to this awesome site, we're much more in tune with the needs of our new friend.

Fast forward to present time. We now have our RES in a 70 gallon tank with all of the correct temps, lights and ATBA. We just got our FX5 yesterday and it will be installed soon. I'm pretty sure I should be using the Biomax pellets and maybe some of Fluval Prefilter stuff. Correct?? If not, please feel free to set me staight here.

I also have some type of Fluval brand nitrate remover (came with the filter) which I thought would be helpful. Again, please correct me if I'm wrong. Lastly, I believe I've read somewhere that the use of charcoal would be a waste of time and $$. Why is that ??

I'm totally new to having a turtle as a pet, so any advice would really be helpful and greatly appreciated.

[steve]

You don't need prefilter and I'm not sure if you can stack extra mechanical media (foam pads) in there but the rest can be bio media. You can also use chemical media like carbon but that would need replacement. There's been a lot of talk about Purigen as an adsorbent and it's renewable.

[yankeefan]

Ok thanks for the info Steve. I guess I'll try and trade the package of prefilter for some more bio media. I do have some foam pads on the way as well. Once I get them I think I'll set up the new filter.

[VeipaCray]

from one yankee fan to another... see the link to the build thread in my signature. I explain in detail how to setup an FX5 filter (and theres lots of yankee stuff in the background of the photos)

[VeipaCray]

or i could spare you the reading and searching...

Top basket: One box Fluval BioMax, One 250mL bottle of Seachem Purigen in a Fluval Media bag, One Fluval FX5 blue fine filter pad on top

Middle basket: Two boxes Fluval BioMax

Bottom basket: Two boxes Fluval BioMax

[yankeefan]

VeipaCray - Thank you for the setup advice for the FX5. I've not got it set up just yet but I do have 4 packages of Fluval BioMax. I exchanged the 2 packages of Prefilter for BioMax. I've also got some of the blue filter pads on the way.

I did a little reading on the Seachem Purigen. That really seems like a great product, as long as it works as good as advertised. Treating the ammonia buildup was something I was concerned with, I think I'll give that stuff a try.

Have you had good luck with it?

I really enjoyed checking out your build thread, quite impressive. I like your ATBA, I might make one kinda like that.

[VeipaCray]

I started using Purigen about 8 or so years ago on all of my aquariums and now the turtle tank... been working great ever since.

I've gotten a few others on this forum to try it, so ask around if you'd like a second opinion. I believe it's a really great product and much more cost effective than carbon.

Thanks for the kind words on my build thread. It's a work in progress. I was thinking of doing a few videos on cleaning, taking apart, and setting up the FX5. Maybe I'll add those this weekend.

[yankeefan]

I just got done setting up our new Fluval FX5 and everything seems to be working just fine. I returned the prefilter a few days ago and got some more BioMax(4 boxes total). I then took the advice of VeipaCray and ordered some Seachem Purigen and a fine mesh bag to hold it. I also ordered a large package of the blue foam filter pads for the FX5. Then, all I had to do was wait for the Postal Service to deliver everything.

Today was the day! Everything I needed was here so I got right down to business right after work. After all of the media and foam pads were thoroughly rinsed, I cut the hoses to length, tightened the connections, put in the required 2 gallons of water, closed the lid and we fired that bad boy up! I won't bore anyone with too many details but I must say that the whole process was a piece of cake. The filter seems pretty quiet to me, so far I'm happy.

Our little slider, Robinson, who my daughter named after the Yankee's second baseman, seems to be enjoying his new home and new filter. Believe it or not, he is at this very moment using the filters inlet strainer to scratch his itchy shell. He's shedding and it must feel good to rub up against the hard plastic. It's really pretty damn funny to watch, I wish you all could see this.

Thanks to Steve and VeipaCray for the help. There's a happier RES and a happy Yankee fan in NY.

[VeipaCray]

yankeefan > glad to be of help. My 5 month old son (pictured in my build thread) is named Derek. Go Yankees!

[steve]

I'm glad it worked out too. Do keep a close eye the inlet strainer, several people have had drowned turtles caught in ones that have come off.

[yankeefan]

Believe me, I was keeping a very close eye on the strainer. I've read some of the stories and I really don't want to have that happen. The strainer on the FX5 is very big so I think the suction is dispersed rather well. Even the small guppies swim right near it with no problem. I do appreciate your concern and I thank you for the warning.

[savage Rock]

hi,

if you're interested in saving $ with filter media, i use foam sponges that i cut out and squish together for my 1st level of mech filtration and then polyester fibre for 2nd level- and then plastic scrubbies (lots) for bio media.
i buy the sponges and scrubbies both from my local dollar store and i spend about 10 bucks for that. this will last me for about 6 months.
for the polyester fibre i bought a big roll from my local fabric store for 10 bucks as well. thats going to last me 6 months too.

sav

[VeipaCray]

The ceramic and spun glass bio media have much much more surface area for bacteria colonization than pot scrubbies. Proper bio media will last you many many years if you maintain it. Aquatraders.com has 1L of generic Biomedia for $7. That one container of Biomedia will have more surface area than if you filled your fx5 to the brim with silly pot scrubbies.

So, if you want to save some money...buy the generic ceramic bio rings. They last longer AND have more surface area.

[yankeefan]

After two months of running the new FX5 on our 75 gallon turtle tank, I decided to disassemble the filter and give it a cleaning. I originally intended to do this nearly a month ago but the tank was still looking good and it was too easy to put off.

To my surprise, the inside of the filter wasn't too dirty. I expected much more crud to be hiding in the foam filters. They washed out very easily, along with the blue filter pad which I reused as well. I rinsed the ceramic bio media (in aquarium water), and replaced the used bag of Purigen with a fresh one. I'll regenerate the first bag of Purigen so it'll be ready for next time.

I'd like to thank VeipaCray for the help he gave me while setting up the new filter and especially for turning me on to Purigen. This stuff works great and it's reusable. After two months of service in the FX5, the Purigen was still working great and our ammonia levels were still at 0 ppm. What a great product. I'd recommend it to anyone with an aquarium.

[VeipaCray]

Glad I could help. Sounds like we have the exact same setup now... Fx5 setup the same way with a 75 gallon tank. Post some pictures if you can. We would all love to see them.