Equipment Review and Discussion :: My NEW Filter!

[Cramer]

I'm new here, so let me tell ya now I love the mechanics of keeping an aquarium; especially water filtration! To be honest, filtering the water is more interesting to me than the actual turtles.

Anywho, I got my new Reaction 4 Stage filter with UV sterilizer today!
It's new to the market, so I took a risk getting something so early. I couldn't even find any reviews online. So, here's mine
-It's big. I ordered the biggest of the 3 and after measuring my stand I discovered it wouldn't fit. So, I cancelled that and got the next step down. It's still big. It barely fits under the stand! And is super heavy empty, let alone filled.

I'm using it in conjunction (running deuce-filtration!) with my fluval 405. I will probably rearrange the setup of both later to have the fluval doing mainly mechanical and a little biological and the new Reaction doing mainly biological with minimal mechanical/chemical. The media capacity in each tray is huge. The amount of ceramic cylinders it came with was a joke. Luckily I have two bags extra, which still doesn't fill one tray!

-It runs unbelievably quiet, to the point I can barely hear if it's on sitting next to the fluval.

-Only cons so far, is that the intake/output tubes are preformed plastic, so it limits how it can be arranged. I'm not using the typical outlet it came with now, because it doesn't reach below the surface and is too violently turbulant and noisy above.
I can easily use some extra tubing to extend it down, but for now I'm using the spraybar it came with, pointed almost down and besides how ugly it looks, I am impressed by the circulation it's causing in the tank. As soon as it was up and running I stirred up the bottom to cloud the tank with debris to see how it acts: It's doing a circular current towards the front glass, moving the water surface nicely, then spinning down over the bottom, back to the back where it gets sucked up.

I'll keep posted on it's operation and the UV, which I hope works well to kill bacteria and pathogens in the water before they get to my turtles as well as me.

[DocShay]

Nice setup! You're going to have lots of filteration out of all this, wow.

Question though, your little planet garden at the bottom of your tank - are those real or fake? Also, where did you get those plants? Been looking to make an artificial "plastic plant" setup at the bottom of my tank.

[Cramer]

Fake. They are plastic plant mats I got at Petsmart. 4 total, wired on to an undergravel filter plate. They look great, the turtle love to dig in em, there are a few little fishing living in somewhere in there and instead of vacuuming gravel, I pull it up.
Only thing I don't like is the turtles rip of a few pieces a week. They are reattachable, but I usually collect em until it looks so bare I do a partial water change and reattach them while the water is low. Also, the smaller turtle loves to bite the tips off and spit em out. She doesn't eat them, they float to the top and I have to net em and clean them out of the filter! Right now, with all this new water current, they are doing a cyclonic twirl through the tank.

Just to clear up, although the water current is great, it is still weak. The turles have no problems floating in place. It doesn't even have an effect on them.

[emma]

That looks great! The water is going to be very clear now! And I forget... what does the UV do exactly and how is it in the filter?

[Vivi]

the UV filter kill the bacteria. they usually use these kind of filters for reef or other delicate fish tanks. but i guess it good to have one now the water would be safer just in case it gets in your eye. it happens to me sometimes. lol

[Cramer]

Well, it will be 2 weeks tomorrow that I've been running the new filter and I've gotta say it is awesome so far. I waited this long to comment in case of any suprises, but it's nice.
First off, my water is a 'clear' that I never knew existed. I thought (and boasted) that my water was clear before...but this looks like a tank of Aquafina! Seriously, sitting and watching the water makes me thirsty. The UV sterilizer must be working; killing algae and bacteria.
2ndly, it's working perfectly with my Fluval O5. Now, I can clean them alternately, so as to keep one efficient and working while the other is out. And I'm using the spraybar, which goes across the whole tank and makes nice surface agitation that pushes the water down across the front glass-across the bottom to the back and then back up. This cyclonic current has all but eliminated all free floating debris.
Only con is the basket setup, which is like an XP and many other types. It's not bad, just not as nice as a Fluval. It tends to release everything back in the canister when I'm taking them out to clean.
Pictures don't do it justice, but here's one I took today.

[mikee]

Cram - How does that work? You have one that kills all the bacteria and one that uses bacteria to work. How many gph does the filter/pump pump? From the sounds of it you don't have to go throught the new tank syndrom.

[steve]

The sterilizer will zap free floating microorganisms, not the bacteria that has been established on surfaces and inside media.

The UV filter shouldn't be used before the tank has a chance to cycle.

[LOBO]

how big is your tank? i been planing on gettin a new more powerful filter for my tank, i havent set it up yet but i knw the one that came with it wont be enough.

[Cramer]

Steve's right, the UV should be off when first setup is being established.
That doesn't apply to my tank: I still have my old fluval going and I used a mature basket of rings for the new filter and placed the new rings that came with it in the old fluval above a basket of mature lava rock/ring combo to be seeded.

I use a UV sterilizer in my pond, but I'm still doing research about indoor effects. There are conflicting theories to say the least, but science supports it as beneficial.

[VelvetAlley]

Cramer, can you talk about the media? You said it's similar to the Xp series. Is this your basic square filtration media? Would Xp media fit in it? Do you buy the media from the manufacturer?

I want Aquafina water in my tank too. :-p

[Cramer]

The trays are large, so they can fit rings and such. I don't have an XP to compare, but it's much larger that my Fluval 4O5, so it should fit anything.

[VelvetAlley]

How about bulb replacement? I did a bit of research (15 minutes of browsing and reading) and most sites recommend replacing the bulb every 6 to 8 months. Is the bulb easy to get to? Do you need to use the manufacture's bulbs or are they standard sizes?

[Cramer]

From first inspection, it looks like every 5watt I've seen. And it's more like a year. I only turn the bulb on every other week though.