Habitat - Indoor :: First canister filter user

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Sat May 12, 2018 6:10 pm   First canister filter user

Ok first I know you are going to hate this but I was given a RES from a friend who could no longer take care of him it's a mature RES best I could do at the moment was a 20G tank :( I still will be getting a 75G tank for it but having said that this is my first time with a canister filter I have a Penn plax cascade 1000 coming in tomorrow being a little unsure I ordered the 2 pack of pro-carb filters and the pack of ceramic rings, I wonder after getting it set up how often would I have to change the water then?

I picked up a test strip today and my results were

Nitrate: 20 ppm
Nitrite: 5 ppm

I'm wondering how soon after using the filter would I notice the water to clear up?
MikeCL
 
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Post Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 4:54 am   Re: First canister filter user

If your filter and pump is good, you should be fine with changing the water every 2 weeks, but that depends on a lot of things. Just check your parameters regularly and you will know! We all have different routine that suits us better. :)

About your water clearing up, it also depends on your set up, turtle and tank. Ever since I've upgraded my tank, I never had nothing but clear water so I can't give you precise infos.
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PokePony
 
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Post Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 8:09 am   Re: First canister filter user

PokePony wrote:If your filter and pump is good, you should be fine with changing the water every 2 weeks, but that depends on a lot of things. Just check your parameters regularly and you will know! We all have different routine that suits us better. :)

About your water clearing up, it also depends on your set up, turtle and tank. Ever since I've upgraded my tank, I never had nothing but clear water so I can't give you precise infos.


So the media I have is fine? I wonder if my bio rings should be in the 2nd stage or the last stage or it dosen't matter?
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Post Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 4:54 pm   Re: First canister filter user

Well the filter is installed really easy to setup I'm sure it's going to take a few to get clear but it's clearing up as I can see so far.

I ended up using the directional spout
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Post Posted: Sun May 13, 2018 11:12 pm   Re: First canister filter user

Here's a setup recommendation: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145#p288938
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 7:53 am   Re: First canister filter user

Yeah that’s pretty much how I set mine up
MikeCL
 
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Post Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 7:36 pm   Re: First canister filter user

Great, I’m sure he will love it.
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steve
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Post Posted: Mon May 14, 2018 9:31 pm   Re: First canister filter user

I brought the wrong test strips for tank testing but after 24 hours of the filter running my Nitrte has went up from 0 ppm to 3.0 ppm I wonder if that's because of the bio rings don't have bacteria yet on them? I did add about 4-5 gallons more water due to the raise in water level with the new tank topper which might of had something to do with it?
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Post Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:11 am   Re: First canister filter user

I'd just give it more time, but test strip type kits aren't usually accurate. If you have a good municipal water supply, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 1:02 pm   Re: First canister filter user

What should you suggest I test with?
MikeCL
 
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Post Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:33 pm   Re: First canister filter user

I don't think it's necessary to test if things are running smoothly. If you feel a need to test, the API Freshwater test kit is pretty good.
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Post Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 5:25 pm   Re: First canister filter user

I have the same filter with the recommended media set up from this forum. And a 75 gallon tank. I’ve never even tested my water. It’s been a few months now and it’s always crystal clear. Love it. 1-2 week 25% changes and 50% every 1-1.5 months. I have kids so it’s basically when I get time haha. But never have I said “ew the tank needs cleaning”
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Post Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 9:54 am   Re: First canister filter user

How long until I need to change the filter? I just came back from my vaction my poor RES was scared of me at first every time I came over to the tank she tried to swim away right into the side of the tank :( but after awhile she got used to me again.. finally allows me to rub her head.
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Post Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 12:40 am   Re: First canister filter user

It depends on the media setup and filtration:turtle ratio. Usually a month is fine... maybe stretch it to six-eight weeks.
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Post Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 7:26 pm   Re: First canister filter user

That’s not bad I think I might switch to the spray bar do to the fact the tank is a little small so when feeding if she misses the food it gets knocked around by the water flow.
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