Internal or external filter.

[Ken Wilson]

Sorry for two q's.

I have an internal fluval 3+ filter that came with my 120litre tank. It
comes with two coarse filter pads and fine one and you can buy v expensive
carbon pads.

Do the bacteria colonise the fine pad, both or are some doing their gobble,
gobble bit from the sand and rocks?

Secondly i see the advantages of something like the external fluval 305 as
1 The "bacteria house" is a set of ceramic modules which seems a better
bet than changing the filter every year or so when they disintegrate
2 there are separate compartments to take options like carbon or peat
(i'm on v hard limestone water here)
3 Its easier to rinse the filter - turn off the taps and remove unit
4 Flow is controlled without disturbing the critters.
5 Its easier to get the aesthetics right - just two pipes to conceal
rather than a largish black unit.
6 Flow trhough the unit seems more organised - it must go though each of
the chambers and not just the path of least resistance.

But
1 Got to find somewhere to put it - presumably I can shorten a drawer on
the base its on and put it behind that.
2 If the unit springs a leak or the pipes aren't refitted properly then it
ruins my wooden floor and syphons the tank out....

Any other considerations?

Ken
Hamsphire UK

[[email protected]]

The internal and externals are both great filters. The internal filter
will practically never drain the tank or spring a leak that gets onto
your floor. Generally when an external springs a leak it is small at
first (and to my knowledge I have never heard of one springing a leak
but it seems like a possibility) so you would get proper warning most
likely. You could use a device called a "screamer" which is powered
with a 9 volt battery (sorry but in order for it to work reliably you
need to replace the battery every 9 or so months like a smoke alarm,
even when using an alkaline battery) and if it detects water across 2
points on it it "screams" a very loud sound to alert you to the first
signs of water leakage. Other than that I don't know what to say except
your questions pretty much need to be answered by yourself and your
preferences. There are pros and cons to both types of filters. Good
luck, and later!

[Ken Wilson]

videoman

You could use a device called a "screamer" which is powered
> with a 9 volt battery (sorry but in order for it to work reliably you
> need to replace the battery every 9 or so months like a smoke alarm,
> even when using an alkaline battery) and if it detects water across 2
> points on it it "screams" a very loud sound to alert you to the first
> signs of water leakage.


Ahh. i hadn't heard of this before. I am an habitue of the coffee
newsgroup and one of the problems about plumbing in a permanaent water
supply to keep the boiler topped up is if the supply leaks and floods the
kitchen - apparently in that case there is can be an auto off device which
cuts in and seals the pipe if the flow exceeds more than the dribble
required for the odd espresso. i ducked it and bought a tank fill version

That gives me confidence - thanks.

[bassett]

I think the main advantage of external Canister filters, is you get a larger
filter media area, and you can move the filter from tank to tank.
Which is not very practical with an in-tank filter, and regardless of how
careful you are, you could get leakage, and disruption when removing //
replacing the unit.
bassett


"Ken Wilson" > wrote in message
...
> videoman
>
> You could use a device called a "screamer" which is powered
>> with a 9 volt battery (sorry but in order for it to work reliably you
>> need to replace the battery every 9 or so months like a smoke alarm,
>> even when using an alkaline battery) and if it detects water across 2
>> points on it it "screams" a very loud sound to alert you to the first
>> signs of water leakage.
>
>
> Ahh. i hadn't heard of this before. I am an habitue of the coffee
> newsgroup and one of the problems about plumbing in a permanaent water
> supply to keep the boiler topped up is if the supply leaks and floods the
> kitchen - apparently in that case there is can be an auto off device which
> cuts in and seals the pipe if the flow exceeds more than the dribble
> required for the odd espresso. i ducked it and bought a tank fill version
>
> That gives me confidence - thanks.
>
>

[Bill]

On 2005-04-23, Ken Wilson > wrote:
> Do the bacteria colonise the fine pad, both or are some doing their gobble,
> gobble bit from the sand and rocks?

Yes. :-)

Bacteria colonize practically every surface in the aquarium, including
substrate, decorations, plants, and filter media. (There are
comparatively very few in the water itself.) The bacteria will
accumulate in the greatest numbers in locations that have a large
surface area and a good flow of well-oxygenated water. Following from
this, the most attractive places for the bacteria to multiply are the
filter media, and they will be present there in greatest numbers
(*possibly* moreso in the finer pad, since it presumably has a greater
surface area (if the volumes of the respective pads are equal)), but you
will find them everywhere in the tank -- the gravel and/or sand will
probably have the second-highest concentration of them since there is a
high surface area (behind the filter media).

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