Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tanks and Equipment => Topic started by: Lellynelly on October 27, 2012, 06:50:58 PM
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I have just bought a Boyu ef-10 for my new aquarium set-up. but the instructions for fitting it are total gobbledegook. Hopefully we will work it out eventually although I can find nothing on the web. My question is this. is anyone familiar enough with this make and model to be able to tell me if there needs to be some kind of media added to the lower basket? and if so, what?
Thanks
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Hullo there!
Not had personal experience with this particular make and model but have you tried doing a search on the net for it ? More often than not, there are usually some similar questions posted if the guidance manuals are unclear and you should hopefully find an answer from another user.
Hope this helps.....
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How many baskets are there, and what media was supplied with the filter?
I've searched google but there seems to be no info out there whatsoever!
With externals in general, the water usually runs from the bottom to the top of the cannister. The bottom basket usually has something to remove the debris in the water - this is normally either a sponge or in the case of Eheim, ceramic tubes called Ehfi-mech - then comes the biomedia, which could be coarse sponges or ceramic noodles, balls, plastic balls etc. Last will be a pad like filter wool to remove the fine particles. Some filters include carbon, it is usually preferable to replace the carbon with more sponge/ceramics
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there are two baskets, one on top if the other. the bottom one is empty and the top one has a white fluffyish type of stuff in the bottom and a black kind of sponge on the top
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That sounds like a typical carbon sponge with a bit of filter wool attached. I've seen them in internal filters. You don't actually need carbon. One of the big advantages with externals is that you can alter the media to what you want. I'd be inclined to get different things from what it came with.
In the bottom (assuming the water flows upward through the baskets, so it goes through the bottom basket first) I'd put some coarse sponge. Have a look a pond filter media, see if there is a sponge just slightly bigger than you'd need and cut it down - you can use black sponge you have as a template.
In the upper basket, either another piece of sponge or ceramic noodles or even Eheim Substrat Pro. You could leave enough space on top to put a layer of filter wool to catch any tiny particles. Just buy a roll of that and cut to shape.
The filter wool would need to be changed regularly as it clogs easily and filter wool doesn't wash properly. But sponge and ceramics will last for years, they just need washing.
I should point out that I don't have any external filters, only internals, so if anyone with an external advises something else, go with what they say :)
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Thanks Sue. Also, any idea what will be best to stock when I eventually start stocking? as in shall I begin with the soft corals and then add fish a little way down the line or is it best to start with fish and then add corals later?
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Ah, I hadn't realised it was for a marine tank (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/marines/cost)!!!
In that case, I'd see what Julia has to say about filter media before doing anything. I have no idea if you use the same type of media as for freshwater tanks, or if you need anything extra.
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First question is, are you using live cured rock? Live rock adds to the filtration of the water. Secondly, what salinity are you keeping the water at as this will depend on what corals and or fish you are looking to keep. The tank doesn't look to be that big ? What volume of water are you keeping?
You can use sponge as your filter medium and ceramics....same as freshwater. Do you have have a skimmer as well ? Sorry for the questions but it then gives a better overall picture of your tank and what you want to achieve. :)
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Yes sorry it is for my marine tank (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/marines/cost). No the tank isn't very big. On my research it suggested that for marine 60 litres should be the absolute minimum. Unfortunately the only space we had has a funny shaped surface and we didn't think overhang would be a good idea, so we bought a 65 litre as it fits perfectly in the space. Yes I have put in some live rock (see the pic on the welcome page) but looking at it I think another bigger piece may be added. At the moment the water reading is 1.020 which I realise is perhaps slightly low but I did only set it up yesterday and am hoping to do a lot more research before adding anything at all. haven't found out yet whether I can just add salt to the tank, or whether I change a little water evr day for a slightly stronger solution until it stabilises? The man at the aquarium centre said a protein skimmer isn't totally necessary at this point but I assume I will need one once stocked. I am hoping eventually to have soft corals and a small amount of fish but currently I can find no books on setting up a marine tank (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/marines/cost) hence why I'm on here and have no intention of rushing things at all. I was imagining maybe having a fish or two in there by New Year, but it depends on my earlier question of whether it is better to get coral established first. I get a great deal of pleasure from my tropical tank so I want to get it right :)
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The salinity is quite low...most marines run to 1/25 or 1/26. Your tank is really too small perhaps for fish in a group but you may be able to find a species small enough and suitable or you could just have shrimps etc. Personally, I would just look at corals in a tank of that size, esp if you are not running a skimmer.
Corals need feeding, the same as fish and there are two different sorts of food that we use. Leather or mushrooms corals are recommended as good for beginners. These are realtively hardy and can tolerate different water fluctuations. If you want to go down the coral route there is a very good book available which I can give the title of.
Before adding corals, I recommend running your tank for a good period of time, checking water salinity and all the other parameters you need. Corals are a living thing as well as fish which a lot of people forget ;D
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As a follow up to my previous post, please be aware some species of fish will happily eat your corals.....just something to take into consideration when stocking your tank....
;)
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thanks Julie. 2 more questions relating to your last comment. How long is 'a good period of time' ? and what's the name of the book? Thanks
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Firstly, can I suggest that you get a good basic book on marine fish keeping ? There are loads available on the market these days but get one of where it's easy to digest. Some of the books can be a little high brow and that's not what you need in the beginning.
The rules of marine keeping are basically the same as tropicals-get the water correct and most things will be fine. Unfortunately you will not be able to use the same test kits for a marine as a tropical as there are some different things you will need to consider.
Ammonia, nitrates and nitrites come into play, but you will also need to consider things like phosphates and calcium and the KH as well. This is why I'm suggesting getting a book.
The same rules apply....once your water parameters are stable with no fluctuations, then you can start to add corals. Corals do sulk if something is not quite right and you will notice this and more importantly, corals are expensive to buy so if you do lose them, it will really dent your wallet or purse strings!
Have you a refractometer? Best and easiest way to test your salinity. Are you using RO water and what sort of salt (please note you cannot use house or table salt for marines. Doesn't work that way.)
Each tank is different and with yours being smaller it may move quicker but do your water testing and all should be fine.
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I may be telling you to suck eggs here but please do your water testing. Corals and shrimps etc are very susceptible to iffy water conditions, more so than fish. If the water isn't correct, then you will lose them and quickly.
The book I mentioned is on loan to a friend at the moment but will get the title and author for you. I know you can get it on Amazon for a reasonable price.
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At the moment I don't have any kind of testing kit apart from the item that tests the salinity. Also after reading the info on here I think I may have been mis-informed - which surprises me because my local aquarist has a very good reputation for knowing his stuff and not over-selling. He asked whether I was going to buy the water from him or use tap water. I said I was hoping to use tap water and he replied that's fine as long as I add the sea salt and I can use the same chemical for dechlorinating as I use for my tropical tank. (Nutrafin Aqua plus - removes Chlorine and Chloromine). I have since found out that I should be using RO water - I don't even know what that is, but I do know we don't have enough electric sockets to run a system for doing it, especially if I will need a protein skimmer. Please can you enlighten me? and tell me whether I actually need to buy any other testing kits or whether getting the water tested regularly at my local stockist is adequate?
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That's a tough question to answer re the water testing ::)
Most people prefer to do testing themselves, however if you feel happy for the lfs to do it then go with that but make sure they test for everything in the marines.
RO is reverse osmosis water. This means the water has been stripped of all the chemicals and minerals contained in tap water so you do not need to use a declorinater in this instance. We get our salt water pre made up from our local lfs of a salinity of 1/20 so we then add more salt accordingly. The salt water is made from ro water with the salt then added.
You can get master test kits for marine but they are not cheap. Worthwhile if you are going to test water weekly but if you are going to use your lfs on a regular basis......?
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So RO water bought from the shop can just go in with the seasalt but nothing else added? What if I use sea water? - my local source is the North Sea which is often murky. would I need to add anything to that?
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Yes, that's right.....
Sea water from the North Sea.....not tried it and to be honest, I wouldn't. Bearing in mind the fish and corals are from the tropics, I would imagine that the water constitution would be very different. If you were looking to keep native marines then possibly yes.