Pimp My Filter #1 - Oase BioPlus Thermo 200 Internal Filter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มี.ค. 2018
- Oase BioPlus Thermo 200: geni.us/Vx6L
Biohome products: www.filterpro.co.uk
Dremmel 3000: geni.us/4uMl
This series is all about trying to squeeze more efficiency out of internal and external aquarium filters which generally have a limited filtering capacity - If you have a filter you'd like me to feature in a video then please contact me on:
sales@filterpro.co.uk
07772848730 (Richard)
Anyone who sends a filter will have it upgraded and returned to them for free and the only cost you will pay is how much it costs to ship it to me - I'm helping to boost your filter and the resulting videos will hopefully be useful to viewers all over the world so it's a win/win.
Please do not send any filters without contacting me first as I want to try and cover every type of filter, not 20 of the same make and model
Oase video for Bioplus: goo.gl/gzSiYJ
Due to the high international shipping cost I am currently only taking filters from the UK but I'm hoping that as this series progresses a useful database of knowledge will be built up which will help viewers understand how their filters work, the limitations and the steps you could take to improve filtering capacity and efficiency.
The goal with any filter is to try and achieve FULL CYCLE filtration which is the reduction in ammonia, nitrite AND nitrate - if you look anywhere online you'll see people tell you that the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium ends with the production of nitrate which is removed by regular (often large) water changes.
That is HALF the cycle and is done by AEROBIC bacteria which favors highly oxygenated conditions and is very easy to grow on any surface.
The last part of the cycle (reduction in nitrate) is completed by ANAEROBIC bacteria which favors an environment which is very low or devoid of oxygen. It takes filter media with a very specific internal structure to support both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria to allow for full cycle filtration but a suitably sized, well set up filter, will allow the full cycle to complete which results in more stable water conditions and less water changes (typically 10% every 1-2 weeks). Canister filters will generally offer the best provision for filter media but even internals can be significantly improved to boost water quality and fish health.
The following videos will be useful to anyone interested in learning more about filtration, bacteria and making the conditions for your fish as good as possible:
Sizing a canister properly and filter set up: goo.gl/om19un
Looking INSIDE different filter media: goo.gl/hZWS6c
Bacteria and filter media: goo.gl/123gAF
How to clean an aquarium: goo.gl/bPMhvh
Aquarium tips / filtration playlist: goo.gl/pXgqVj
Check out my channel for hundreds of videos on a wide range of my hobbies - many of the videos have educational content so if you have enjoyed any give them the thumbs up and share anywhere you think others may benefit from viewing.
This channel is purely a hobby for me so I will never ask viewers to donate money for any of my projects or charge anyone for information - information should be shared freely and I certainly don't consider myself an 'expert' in anything I pursue as a hobby so please do your own research, never accept anything as 'fact', reject anyone claiming to be some sort of authority or 'expert' and make your own minds up about anything you wish to study.
We all are on a long path of learning.........
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INSTAGRAM: / pondguru_outdoors
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
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Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
See you next time.
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I'm delighted you're back with this terrific series! You taught me how to hot rod my aquaclear 110's and I'm forever grateful, I learned so much by watching your videos. Keep up the great work and Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I'll look forward to more!
No worries and I'm glad you enjoy the videos as I love making anything with some sort of educational content.
This was brilliant! I am planning an aquascape and this is one of the only filters that will work for the tank and tank location. The tank will be heavily planted so that will mitigate some of the filtration misses...but this really gives me much more confidence that my first adult aquarium will not be a complete failure!
I LOVE your Videos. It’s so easy to listen to you explain everything. You have loads of knowledge. Me and the family are about to start a 40-50 gallon aquarium. Also. I really miss your shooting videos. Keep doing what your doing. Look forward to seeing your videos on the playlist
lol, I have so many hobbies but so little time.
I really wanted to do this series as it will directly help so many viewers who have similar filters and I get by far teh most satisfaction from any video that has something educational as the content.
I've just fitted the FX Indy with a butler creek sling and its made a hell of a difference as it really does take the weight off. Now that it has had a few thousand pellets through it it really seems to have settled down and at 30 ft/lbs the groups have tightened right up but it definitely prefers one type of pellets over the rest.
Excellent video buddy looking forward to seeing the rest of the series
I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.
My new Oase Bioplus was a slow runner. I have not drilled any holes. What I have done is changed the filter pads and added filter media to two canisters. Runs really well now and does not block like before. Thanks
Nice to see u back to aquarium guides Sir. Please educate us more. You’re the reason why I am into aquarium hobby. loved bio media. Your office looks awesome by the way. Cheers from Buckinghamshire
No worries and I'm glad you enjoy the videos. I'm in the process of filming another one for this series and then I have a ridiculous 'invisible' filter to make and show - that one will really get people thinking as it gets a lot of media into it, certainly more than will be required to filter a good sized tank.
I don't have this type of filter but totally enjoyed it. Great to see you back.
No worries, I'm glad you found the video useful.
Excellent video Richard as usual, very informative keep up the good work from Australia.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.
awesome upgrade & new studio looking great man!!!
I'll get you down here for a look around no worries man - it is really good but cost about 6x more than I originally guessed it would, lol
Nice to see you back on the tools! "Studio is looking great" and that filter is now supercharged! 👍😀
I'm just waiting for a sign to go behind me to be finished and then I'll film a few more videos. Next aquarium related video will probably be a invisible filter and it is made in something which looks very good.
Looking forward to it.👍😀
Hi Richard, just an update on my 'Pimped Filter'. Working an absolute treat. By far working 100 times better than the sponges. Looking like will be less maintenance intervals also having the bio gravel in aswell compared to the sponges. Water clarity is gin clear, cant ask for more than that really. Many thanks again for everything, Ian :-)
Dear Ian,
That is awesome to hear and thanks for sending me the filter to make the video. I've got a few other people saying that they are sending filters and one guy is apparently sending 3!
Damn, he's going to save some money on filter media, lol.
I've filmed another video using a superfish filter but I want that to be part 3 or 4 since it uses the same media as your filter and I want to mix things up a bit.
I'm glad you're pleased with the results and keep an eye on the nitrate over the next few months as I'd be interested to learn if the changes have allowed the filter to achieve a full cycle.
Regards,
Richard
Pondguru Look forward to the rest of your videos. I to have a Superfish filter so will be interesting to see that 'Pimped'. Yes will be monitoring the parameters closely and will keep you updated. All the best with the projects... :-D
Groovy - the superfish one I did was an XL and it holds a surprising amount of media and foams - really quite good for such a cheap filter.
Ian, do you mind giving a quick 4 year update on how this filter has held up? I'm in the market, and the integrated heater aspect seems pretty compelling. thanks
@@StegLrrr hi, the filter itself was ok once upgraded. The selling point to me was the hidden integrated heater which worked well. I have now got an APS hob 500 which i love as it free's up more space and only a heater in the tank. As for the performance of that internal it did the job but on a very light stocked community tank.
Cheers, it's improved the flow
Good day to you Richard !! 👍👍😁😁 Thanks for sharing your thoughts, knowledge and experiences with us all today !! i'm going to really like this series as i'm making my own filter for my fish pond in all the info i can get the better 😁😁👍👍
Sounds good to me and best of luck with that.
Hi there Richard,
Good work mate, thanks for it and best regards from Down Under, Tony.
Groovy, I never know what I'm going to be making videos about on this channel, lol
LIKED after 30 seconds. I'v e been waiting for this since it was announced - I bet this will go semi viral being such a specific pound/fish stuff.
really enjoyed it - but can you demonstrate it next time please.
As this particular filter does not belong to me and this series relies on me getting filters and sending them back quite quickly I will not be showing them running (as you can't see inside once they are put back together and I don't want to send someone a box back full of soggy foams and wet media).
I do have a couple of videos planned which will show filters I have created running in a tank, no worries - just waiting for an overhead led lighting system to arrive for the tank.
many thanks buddy since i changed my set up with the new filters and bio water seems so clear now and the cleaning process has been cut in half amazing product many thanks
No worries, if you are the Ian who sent me the filter then I have the guarantees - just found them on a shelf so I will send them out on Monday.
sorry not the same ian who sent filter just happy buyer of your product and advice on set up
Nicely explained, got my mind racing over possibilities. Although I don't have this filter available here and don't need a heater as I live in temperate climate (actually need a fan for the aquarium) but still will try to apply these concepts to something else like a sponge power filter.
There will be a wide range of different filters coming up in this series so no worries there.
As ever, a richly informative and educational vid, Richard. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with hobbyists like myself. I’d very much like to hear / view your thoughts and comments and ideas on upgrading an anoxic filter basket for greater efficiency. Thank you again. Warm regards, Paul
That is a system which can work well and I first heard of it around 30 years ago for pond use. It is a safer way of culturing anaerobic bacteria than a deep sand or gravel bed which can turn bad quite fast and badly affect pH and possibly even poison the tank if left long enough.
so happy to see you back at the filtration explanations. great idea showing us how to make better use out of the filters we have rather than reinventing the wheel. most of the filters are really good but are usually not fitted for our needs. Recycle reuse and remake.
Yes, I love making something useful out of a product which falls well short of its potential and I've got another one done as well as a few people who want to send filters - one guy is sending 3 so he's going to save some cash on filter media and foams, lol
you are so kind to do this for them. i wish i could send one but i am in america. but i got some inspiration from this to do my own.
Go for it, man - you got good skills to make something groovy.
thank you for the support and keep doing what you do.
Richard great video , we have missed you
Glad you enjoyed the video and I have many more in this series coming as well as whatever else I feel like putting on the channel, lol
Nice one Richard. Couple of ideas for filters to upgrade from me. The fluval hob that came with those Edge tanks. I've got one on a planted 5 gallon with biohome in the media basket with a fairly coarse intake sponge (medium just ruins flow!)
I've also got one of those allpondsolutions cannisters. Got it packed with alfagrog e25 with sponges in the bottom and one on the intake but I'd be interested to see what you can do with that one, I know it's fairly popular here in the UK.
Really the canister filter would just be swapped to run on biohome ultimate if you already have the foams in the right place although a booster could be added AFTER the min canister filter - the 2.3 litre booster will hold 1.5kg of biohome ultimate if you ever need to boost the biological side of filtration.
Alfagrog is a good media and I just recommended that to someone yesterday who wanted to use a good media in a standard pond filter it works great in dirty conditions like pond filters and also in cleaner conditions like canister filters but as the vast majority of its surface area is external it seldom supports anaerobic bacteria (for full cycle filtration) unless the flow is greatly reduced (to de-oxygenate the water)
With regard to the HOB, maybe adding a coarse foam to the intake and a bag of biogravel in the filter and maybe alternate foams in the cartridge would be the way forward but if you can do without the filter for a week or so feel free to send an email (details in video description / pinned comment) and I will take a look no problem.
Biohome... the best purchase I made for my tank. Cheers fella.
Groovy, sounds good to me.
the new studio is looking nice
Yes it is really good and I will do a video specifically about that building as it is 100% finished now.
Hi Richard. I see you got your studio finished, very nice! I wish you all the best on your new series!
Yes, I'm just waiting for a sign the same as the intro / outro picture to be finished so I can have that behind me when filming and I need to get a white board so I can draw things to illustrate what I am saying in videos.
I reckon this series will be a real winner since so many people around the world should benefit from the variety of filters featured.
Brilliant and very clever.
I tuned the 50 version of this kind of Filter without drilling a single hole and using Biohome Plus (ca. 200 g) . Update on how it runs hopefully this weekend on my channel, but in german. Will you do updates on how the filter is running after some weeks?
The filter has been sent back to Ian who sent it to me and he has put a comment on above saying he's very pleased with it so far but it has only been a few days and improved clarity of water.
It's a shame your videos are in German as you have a good variety on your channel and they deserve more views.
I'm glad your back on the filters.. Please pimp the fluval 206.. And if u can fluval u3
If someone has either of those to send me then they will get done, no worries.
Would love to see one on Laguna Pressure Flo pond filter - particularly the 6000 model.
I've recently set up my very first tank approx 4.4x2.5x1.5, and I've gone really heavy duty on filtration, as the water needs to be good for both fish, and the lizards in the vivarium the aquarium is inside of - as it's the lizard's primary drinking water.
I'm using 2200L Laguna pond pump, and the 6000L filter, which has 4 coarse foams, and 2L of matrix I've added. I'm wondering if it's a good idea to put some filter wool, below the bottom coarse foam.... Would have to squeeze it in, but would then be between the coarse foam and the matrix media.
Hi Pondguru. Thanks for the videos. My first DIY filter I made was an invisible filter with a decoration rock inspired on a old video of yours. It would be interesting to see upgrades on small filters for nano tanks, like the Dennerle nano corner filter or the JP series of SunSun. Thaks in advance. Looking foward for more videos like this one.
I've just shot an insane filter video which uses a hollow rock and has foams, fine pads, 2.5kg of media in as well as an oxygenating water pump and an outlet which rotates slowly to deliver random flow patterns so look out for that one coming in the next week or so.
Thanks for the video, dude! I got this filter today, and it leaves me confused as i disassembled it. The first i thought was "why the fxxx is the foam stuff in "dead" chambers???" I drilled the holes like you, to get more water flowing through the foam. i think now they do the job good like my beloved (but noisy) JBL i80.
Great video well done.
hello, how do you go about cleaning it all? replace foam and gravel? or just clean the gravel, foam and media and put it back in? how often should this be done?
Missed ya man :). Loving my biohome,. Just ordered 10 more lbs. Don't stay away so much
Groovy - sounds good to me and now that the studio is finished I can make videos any time of the day or night.
Hi Richard, awesome info as usual, fluval 206 upgrade would be great to see please!
If someone sends one I will do it no worries.
Nice video :-) I would love to see you upgrade the internal Juwel filters, many people have them. I set mine up with coarse-medium-fine sponges, like you showed us, and only that small upgrade was a massive improvement :-)
I have just filmed the upgrade of a medium juwel internal filter yesterday so will be editing that down over the next week or so. There are currently 5 or 6 new videos filmed which need editing down into something watchable. The juwel one came out very well as I kept it simple with no holes or slits drilled anywhere, just the various parts laid out in the proper places.
Another great informative video!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.
Great video! These are great tips! Thank you!
No worries, I'm glad you found the video useful.
Thank you so much for this video! I will definitely be making these adjustments to my filter.
Any chance you would do this kind of video on one of the stringray internal filters? They're pretty small and crappy 😂 so will probably never make a full cycle but I bet you can do something to improve them. Paula
Thank you very much. I will be carrying out this mod (eyes open) at the weekend.
Any ideas on modifying the eheim 200 pickup?
Cheers for the Vid. Done mine and it has made a noticeable difference.
Good one - I'm glad the video helped.
Hello, thank you for this great video. I just ordered Oase Bioplus 50 for my 35 liters. How to put the filter media since there is only one box. I'm going to use Matrix Seachem and probably buy the ceramic noodles and the foam plate. thank you for your reply. Excuse the mistakes but I made with the translator
Brilliant Sir 👏
Hello and Thank You--I'm glad your back-I looked through my past video's that you've done and I could not find your phone number - i could swear you put it on one of your vids - anyway I bought a pond boss pump and low and behold you do this vid--Oh Well----My Best to You and Yours'
My phone number is in all (or most) of the video descriptions and pinned comments on anything aquarium / pond related - 07772848730
I know this one was done a while ago but just seen this video and I have the smaller model of this one with the two trays and the top small space so would I just put bio home gravel in the one tray and the top small space and use the ceramic rings in the bottom and sponges, this is in a 50ltr tank with shrimp in, thank you
Richard, love this sort of video on how to maximise the performance of what area are often quite expensive filters. I don't have this filter but the concept as you say can be applied to many similar ones. My only ( minor ) question is with the increased weight how well would the original suckers hold it on the glass post modification? Also and I might be wrong with the additional holes has this increased the volume of water per hour the filter will process. Guess would be good to see a before and after with each filter running that you are planning to do 😊
Unfortunately the suckers weren't included when Ian sent me the filter but the weight was only about 450g more than when I started - as the filter is attached on two different sides of tank and weight isn't so much of a factor underwater it should be fine.
As the filter was not mine I didn't want to send a box full of soggy foams and wet media back so didn't run it (as you can't see through the sides anyway) but as there is so much bypass possible with the standard filter I can't see the alterations improving flow noticeably.
I want to mention to whoever has this filter, to make sure to also add coarse sponges to the sides and the base plate (you can see it at 4:30, in this video).
I found 1 ember tetra and 2 green neons, dead in the filter. There was also a live green neon stuck inside the base plate.
I used a 2cm thick coarse sponge foam and cut it to shape for the base plate, then cut it again on the middle to make a 1cm thick pad. For the sides, just cut a 2x2.5 cm strip and cut 2 of the corners to make a prism.
Thank you for mentioning this I have just bought this filter I am wondering how the heater works as it is completely encased
@@emmahope3572 The heater has space around it, when placed in chamber, and the water will flow around it and into the cartridges.
I'm not liking the filter after 2 months of use, I think it's too inefficient when it comes to size and how the water flows through it.
Right now, I ordered an Aquael Turbo 500 which looks to be a lot simple, efficient and also has expansion cartridges. The price is also much much lower.
Thanks man. Intresting video.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.
Hi Richard,
I like this filter, but I have 2 small tanks, one is a 10 gallon betta tank and the other is a 5 gallon betta tank. I would need to use the smallest oase corner filter available with only 1 compartment. Would it be worthwhile to section the single compartment with maybe biohome and a filter pad, or is there a better alternative for a sleek hidden corner filter with build in heater. Also, what are your thoughts on the very old economy corner filters with the clear plastic made by Jardin? Maybe a future pimp my filter? Thanks for all the great content!
Hi Richard, great video as always. Any chance you could do a video on upgrading a Fluval 406? It'd would be great if you then sold the 'kit' for viewers that wanted to follow your advice. Cheers, John.
The 406 takes 3kg so the 3kg kit I do would be suited to that but if anyone has one to send then I'll make a video on it no worries.
I use my oase as it comes and it works like a charm:)
Have the same same just the 100. Do you you need to mod it? Or is it good from factory?
Brilliant Sir Danke sehr.
Seachem makes a HOB Tidal.. If you can get those filters there that would be a good one to upgrade.
That would be a good one to take a look at since it is a reasonable size so unlike most HOB filters it could actually do a good job of filtering the tank. If anyone has one to send then I'll do it no worries.
Are there any openings at all on the internal sides of a compartment?
Before you drilled in the side slots with the round bit in the bottom compartment, how did the water get in?
(I dont quite understand how the water is sucked in with the original design because the internal sides of a compartment do not seem to have any holes for the water to come through to the sponge).
Oase is the most well done filter i had come across and i think you should leave it as it comes, but of course you can put for example eheim substrat pro or bio home in one or two containers!
Honestly do u need to drill holes etc?
yes you do I ran this before the mods it works a whole lot better with these mods, it keeps all the muck in the lower section and by the time it gets to the biohome its clean so no clogging of bio sections@@martinboyse5775
Does the water still flow past the heating element after this modification? Can the filter unit be removed after the modification without the dirt getting into the aquarium?
Hi Richard. Thanks for sharing. Was just wondering about the mechanics of this filter. If the water enters the holes on the tops of each container from the back and exits from the holes on the top of the container on the other side and the containers are closed on the bottom, won't the water simply flow over the media or sponge or whatever is in the container without actually being forced through the media?
Channel is growing nicely 👀
It continues to grow in spite of my lax release schedule for videos and the wildly various subjects I make videos about, lol
Great video. I'm currently putting together a list for an aquascaped tank and was considering the Oase biomaster themo 600 but tbh I'm not convinced the pre-filtration stage is up to it as all the sponges look the same and not graded from course to fine. My tank will only be 108 Litres but as I'll be using a C02 setup it'll need a good 1000lph turnover to circulate the co2, So I'm thinking of going for the Eheim Prof 4 600 now instead and a Hydor 300w external heater.
The Oase filter has good foams on the pre-filter and it can be removed without taking the filter lid off which is very useful. Bottom tray would still be used for coarse, medium and fine foams just like it would in the Eheim filter so it's a toss-up between the two.
I would love to get one of the Oase filters to make a video on as they are very good.
Pondguru I had changed my mind to getting an eheim, now I'm undecided between the 2 again lol
Hi Richard,
Great DIY! Im wondering, does this filter has an oxygen/air "extrution" ? Or its just a direct pump filtration. (I cant see any tube for air flow)
All the best! Nick
canister filters are just direct flow. if you want to aerate(oxygenate) the water, the output in the tank needs to be a rain bar above the water. the breaking of the tank water surface area is what oxygenates the water. the same can be achieved with an airstone or air curtain in the tank. coupled with some plants the tank will be healthy.
Great video.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.
Great new series pondy like it 👍
It will hep a lot of people so I hope it goes well.
Awesome 👏 now you are back and more educational in sink with your title pondguru is back
This will be a really useful series for fishkeepers and I love making any educational videos. Now that the studio part of my new building is finished it will allow me to film any day or night with good sound (hopefully)
Pondguru
Thanks for the video and keep up the good work
Hi, given the cost of all the other bits you have to buy to make this filter work effectivly, would you reccomend getting a differnt filter? I have a 90L tropical tank, with Mollys and tertra with a few plants. Thank tank came with a Interpet internal cartridge filter, wich seems next to useless, so I'm looking to upgrade to the best filter. thanks!
hi i did everything but the dirt is concentrated in the small top filter. The 2 input slots at the top and rear of segment 2 and 3 do not need to be covered? So the flow go from bodem to top and passed to all the filter substances
great info as always guru... I'd like to see what you would do to upgrade a fluvial 70 HOB..
If anyone has one they want to send then I'll do it, no worries.
Hi, what a great video. I'm looking at buying two of these filters for my Malawi tank which is around 100 gallons. I want to get away from the two canister filters I have because I worry about them leaking, not that they have yet. Do you think that two of these modified as in this video would be sufficient. I guess I could put more internal filtration in the tank if required. The tank has 14 fish in it and is 6ft long and 30" deep and 1ft from front to back. Many thanks.
Bio gravel looks interesting. Useful for small internals. Can it be used in trickle filters, or in air fed moving bed home made bottle filters.. but not actually moving around if you get my meaning. Cheers and looking forward to the series.
Yes one of the previous videos I did on an overhead trickle filter had one of the trays filled with biogravel and it packed it out perfectly. It is very good when you want to get a very porous media and as much surface area as possible fitted into a small space.
You should've put PVC tape over the areas in level 2 and 3 where you didn't want water to go through. The reason why water WONT want to go through the third level even though you didn't put a pad in the intake section is because, even though you didn't, the back pressure created in level 2 and 3 from the additional foam pads add up to create a heavy amount of restriction by level 3. The water will go through level 1 first until it clogs, then level 2, then finally level 3 once everything is clogged. Adding PVC tape in the areas where you don't necessarily want it to go through is the only way to force water to go through level 3 first. Trust me, I'm an engineer and I do a lot of DIY-ing on my aquarium filtration.
I sent the video to my colleague who is a hydraulic engineer and he agreed. The water will go primarily through the top section (path of least resistance) until it's completely backed up then to the lower sections unless the extra intakes in the top and middle level are blocked (by tape) forcing the bottom compartment to be used first then the flow would pass through the holes you drilled to the pump. This method would also require less foam (if any) which means, less nitrate + less maintenance.
Good points and that was part of the thinking behind putting fine pads on the 2 top main trays to discourage flow through the gaps at the back.
Yes it would have made sense to force all the water in through the bottom tray and up through the other trays but I didn't want to do anything which was not a permanent fix.
Pondguru I don't think you understand what I'm saying.. to sum it up, by adding those fine pads to the top two stages, you made it considerably LESS LIKELY for water to be sucked through the bottom level because of an increase of the differential back pressure in the lower level VS. the upper levels. It is EXPONENTIALLY harder for water to go through the bottom chamber (if at all) because of the fine pads. Just because there is no sponge or pad in front of the bottom intake (that you drilled extra holes into for no reason) doesn't make it more likely that water will pass through those holes. Unless tape is added to close the gaps on the top level and mid level, virtually no water will pass through the bottom level. I know you think that by adding the fine pad in front of the entrance of level 1 and 2, it will limit the intake of water at those levels, but it is still the path of least resistance to the pump => More than 90% of the water will flow through the top chamber alone, rendering the rest of the filter, inefficient.
but what about the heater then,....
Great vid. I'm looking to upgrade my aquarium over time so will be watching these video's closely. It's currently running an under gravel filter. I'm.also looking to change over to better lighting as the fluorescent tubes are ready to be replaced. How about a diy LED lighting video. I'm sure with the availability of various LED units you could come up with a cost effective alternative to some of the over priced aquarium lights on the market.
ATB Steve.
LED bulbs are available to fit most conventional fittings now and the range of overhead LED colour changing lights is madness. I've just bought an overhead LED unit for under £30 which seems quite good so will probably do a review video on that.
Pondguru Yea seen a lot of different LED options to plug into fluorescent fittings. The downside is the light outputs on led units are actually lower. For instance say you have a fluorescent fitting rated at say 30w an equivalent LED lamp to fit may only be 10w saving on power but the light outputs are a lot lower too. We had problems at work when all our fluorescent units were converted to LED. The lighting in the shop and workshop is a lot dimmer so we had to have extra units installed. I've been looking and am thinking of mounting 2x 10w LED floodlights above my aquarium in cool white around 6000k. Hopefully this will be enough light for plants to grow. Be interested to see the unit you have.
I'm not sure how good the unit I have would be for plants as it was quite cheap but it does a great job of mood lighting the tank. As long as the plants had low light requirements I reckon it wold be fine.
Would be great if you would show us how to upgrade a matten filter. Love that you think outside the box! Where can one get bio gravel in Canada?
Matten is basically just foam so simply placing media behind it will provide the environment for a greater amount of anaerobic bacteria to complete the cycle.
The distributor in CA - link on my website www.filterpro.co.uk (CA flag) may have biogravel but I do not deal directly with international suppliers.
I have the exact same filter and I have to say I am so disappointed in the lack of filtration. So sad. I would love to get what you did with this one done with mine.
The amount of changes I did here is ridiculous and it's easier just to buy a decent filter unfortunately.
This is the filter I was going to buy today (now not at all sure about that). thank you very much. I wonder if a JBL Cristalprofi or Fluval U filter would be a better buy..
They're all reasonably similar as far as cleaning water goes as they lack the space to hold much media and rely mostly on foams. Fluval U4 has a decent cartridge system which can be replaced easily with foams and also has a cartridge of media which can be opened up and packed out with biogravel / crushed lava rock but even that is a token gesture as far as biological media goes.
I am thinking how adapt the 50l version of this with one compartment - could possibly place the sponges on each side by the slots, and the bio gravel in the middle, wirh the finer sponge on top?
I still dont quite understand the water path in the 3 compartment model. It looks like there is least suction from the pump in the bottom section (where you drilled more wholes at the side). So the muck will still be drawn in with the water in the middle and top compartments.
It gets drawn in through all the sections at the same time, hence the foams in all sections - that's not ideal.
Check out the Dennerle Scapers Flow HOB canister filter I took a look at in a later video in this series as it is a great one for a 50 litre tank and doesn't waste space in the tank.
The original design of the sponge chambers are such that when you take the chambers out for cleaning the gunk doesn't fall down in the aquarium
That's a decent feature but the overall design and function of this filter is awful. When people contact me about this one now I just tell them to keep it as a spare and buy a proper filter.
Very informative.
How would this apply to the Oase Thermo 50?
Hi, I've made these modifications to my filter. Though I have found smaller MINI ceramic bio gravel (2mm balls), Would these be better as I could potentially fit more in?
Nice !
Hi guru, any chance of doing a pimp my filter on the fluval flex tanks please? Cheers
Hey ponguru I was thinking of getting the oase external with the heater inside to hide it or should I stick with a APS and add one of the external heaters to the pipe which heats it as it runs back in? Malawi cichilds tank 5x2x2. You can upgrade a juwel internal filter on my rio180 if you fancy it? I even have a spare if you bugger it up 😂
The oase filters are quite good an it keeps everything out of the tank but an in-line heater will do the same job.
If your current filter is big enough for the tank and stock (I'm assuming it is the 2000 lph APS filter) then there is no point changing it.
If you want to hack the fitted juwel filter off the back of your tank and send it up no worries, lol
Pondguru I have the 1400 APS but the fish are small at the moment so will run a second external at some point for extra media and water turn over and also the added bonus of a hidden heater
Awesome video
No worries, I'm glad you found the video useful.
Pondguru glad to see you doing fish videos again.
Richard , can you do a video on the Oase filtosmart 200 please , be interesting to see just how this filter works and how it could be upgraded if it can . Thanks .
Yes if I get one sent I will do it no problem. I've got about 20 more videos shot which need editing - one of those is an oase filter but it is the oase biomaster thermo 600.
If I send a filter from the US, will it be a lot of money? and when you put the media inside, do I keep that media that you used to pimp it out? I have the Fluval 207
I have the 100 version of this filter would it work with exact same set up minus the top section? So rings-course then medium-media-fine then media in little tray at top
@Pondguru same question from me
Cool vide Rich, and are those the Edifier W830BT headphones I see ;)
Yup, I have them on for about 12 hours a day and love them - way more than I've ever spent on headphones but I'd buy them again if I had to.
Pondguru yep, I love them too, I reviewed them on my channel, I did a test on the battery life and got 87 hours!
That's where I saw them first and after that it was probably a couple of weeks before I finally took the plunge and bought them as I already had a nation of sports type bluetooth headphones which were fine (and way cheaper). Yes the battery life is almost otherworldly, lol
hi
any chance of doing a juwel internal filter for a rio 180. or a quick list of a decent setupas these are fixed in the corner of the tank. i have one of these oase 200!corner filter which i will be upgrading also. great vids. very informative. thanks
I may have a guy sending me a filter from a 180 as he got a replacement. He is also sending an external and internal filter hopefully (can't remember what types).
I have shot another video in this series plus one where I make the ultimate hidden filter with loads of unique features so look out for those videos coming up - thanks for watching.
Great Video! I have a small internal filter (I know, not ideal). I've tried to do what I could with it based on your instructional videos. My question is: Because my filter is so small, there is not much room for a lot of different media. I've added 3 different foams ranging in density and some absorbent bio media. Which is more important to have more of--more layers of sponges or more bio media? Thanks!
That is a really good question and in all my years on TH-cam nobody has ever asked me that so thanks for that.
If the filter is too small to get a decent amount of proper biological media into (say for example 500g / 100 litres) then I would concentrate on the foams and fine pad as they will still support bacteria responsible for reduction in ammonia and nitrite (aerobic) and without them the water will not be as clear.
If you can get both graded foams (and fine pad) and good filter media then that is great but ultimately the foams are more important if the filter is very small - hope that makes sense.
It takes quite a large filter to get enough media into to achieve full cycle filtration (normally around 1kg of biohome per 100 litres for a normal community tank to 2kg per 100 litres for heavily stocked tanks / marine / cichlid tanks) and an internal filter will rarely hold enough media for a full unless it is really over-sized based on manufacturers recommendations.
Regards,
Richard
Thanks for the reply! So if one has no choice but to use an internal filter with mostly sponge, would it be useful or pointless to put a bag of bio media at the bottom of the tank?
Unless water was flowing over (and through) the media it wouldn't do much in a bag. We are currently working on a new type of filter to boost biological action and be fitted to any internal filter but that is a bit of a secret project and will not be in production until at least the end of the year.
A smaller version of this idea in the video link may be an option if you fancy a bit of DIY: th-cam.com/video/b5Z_excXxRw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much! looking forward to the filter reveal:)
Still alive 😉 ? How should this filter be maintained / cleaned with this medias in?
Great vid and would love to try these out in my tank, but unfortunately, they are not sold in the US !! :(
Don't worry, I will be doing a whole series on different filters so I'm sure that one day there will be something very similar to what you have cropping up in a video.
The biogravel should be available from US suppliers and there are an increasing number of them showing up online now.
Pondguru I´ve watched almost all of your videos which I totally loved by the way (cleared every doubt I had from previous not so good information). My question is, does the type of pump matters? in your "why your filter is too small and not cycled" you mentioned the importance of biological filtration and the ratio between kgs of media per liters of water. If I were to build a DIY filter just how much power would I need to suck that much water through all the layers of media to properly clean a 50 liter turtle tank with 4 little turtles in it?
For turtles you need a very good filter system but I think there is a digit missing from your tank measurement - 50 litres is way too small - is it 150 litres, 500 litres? Please confirm size of tank.
Yes, it is a 50 liter tank. I intend to buy a much bigger one but this is just to begin with since they are hatchlings
Thanks for the confirmation - yes they will definitely need a much larger environment but for a small tank like that having a 450 - 600 lph pump should be big enough for an internal DIY filter but the size of pump depends on tank size and where water is to be moved to. If you have an overhead filter the pump may need to be 1000, 1200 or more to lift and move enough water from a small turtle tank.
Greetings, Richard! Glad to see you back in the fishkeeping world! Lol. Is this the studio that was built ino your new shop? Very nice with great acoustics. Well done!
I don't have a shop as such but it is in the back of the new cabin / shed where I work from and hold stock for my online business, yes.
I'm still waiting for a nice sign I'm having made to go behind me for filming purposes then I will film the whole building.
Excellent! I guess it's just a matter of semantics, but here in the States a "shop" can be anywhere, say, in your garage, front bedroom, etc.; not necessarily a storefront. I'm looking forward to the filming of the completed cabin/shed as the last I saw it was dried in and you were pulling wiring for the different areas. Cheers!
You're not wrong there but in our country we have to be careful what we call things as it could cost us - mine isn't classed as a shop as I'd be charged an extra tax by the local government if it was advertised as open for certain hours and although I work in there 7 days a week, couriers collect daily and people can come any time as long as they ring first (to check I'm in) it's down as a 'home office', lol
Being a 'home office' allows me to write off a portion of household expenses against earnings and also do improvements like the drive, retaining walls and build the place I work from and write all of that expense off too.
The big downside with that is that there are many companies in the UK which will not deal with people who don't have set opening hours or a pet shop license (I don't have one now as I don't sell fish). It's a very backward way of thinking but it is slowly changing.
I can certainly emphasize with you about about tax structure. (I believe the Beatles wrote a song about it! .. LOL) I don't know about the tax policy in the UK, but here in the States it's about clear as mud. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is sometimes referred to as the American version of the Gestapo! We also have write-offs for having a "home office". However, you must be very careful as to what you write off. They calculate your percentage of write offs based on the square footage that you actually use for business. It's crazy! ... Licensing here is random, at best, for pet shops . It depends on the local government. But, most communities have licensing as another form of tax. In addition, we have monstrous chain pet supply stores (PetSmart, Petco) that the "LIttle Guy" has to compete against. Capitalism at its finest. Cheers!
Yup, small independent stores often don't have a chance and the best they can hope for is to be bought out by the big ones, lol
Everything we buy has crazy tax on it and we need a license for everything (even marriage and that goes back to the racist days where the powers that be were trying to prevent interracial unions - crazy stuff).
We're all in the matrix for sure...
Have you noticed any change since these mods
Could you possibly take a look at the bombaster thermo 600, I have got one and am really disappointed with the flow it generates. also It leaks often with mine, usually after cleaning (I put everything correctly) it starts to leak where the pipes connect (while all seals look fine)
I have shot a video on the biomaster 600 a few weeks ago but haven't had a chance to edit it yet.
Yes, the flow is a common complaint with these filters so what I did to try and counteract that was the following:
-The clear tube which comes down in the pre-filter had loads more holes drilled in it since it only had a few holes to take water in (18 I think) - when I had drilled holes it had close to 50 holes.
- I used the coarse blue sponges from the trays to cut circular coarse blue sponge for the pre-filter since the ones supplied with the filter are quite fine (and quickly clog, reducing flow). The filter from manufacturer has fine sponge followed by coarse sponge followed by coarse sponge followed by fine sponge which makes no sense so I altered trays too.
- Bottom tray had coarse, medium and fine foams followed by (5?) trays above that filled with biohome ultimate.
The guy I did that for says the flow is fine and the maintenance times have been extended - water is great quality too.
The biomaster 600 is a good filter but the parts where water flows through the pre-filter are quite restricted. If they made the intake pipe in there fit on the outside of the part where it currently fits inside and drilled more holes in it (and used coarse foam there) the flow restriction would not be an issue but I doubt they will change the design even through it would be easy to do so without changing any of the tooling procedures at the manufacturing plant - once a manufacturer has made something they rarely tweak it to make it more efficient.
Thanks for your response, I will definitely look into making more holes in the pre-filter!
I would love to see you super charge a Jebo Ap2100f Internal Filter For Aquariums & Small Ponds.
I have another very similar one which I have and was planning to do something with so that will probably come soon although due to the design of them there doesn't seem like much useful could be done with them.
Hi Richard, i'm please you have getting your cabin finished, i was wondering if you got it finished with all this horrible cold weather we've had, it looks fab..nice & bright :) i will give u a ring on Monday if that's ok, as i don't like to ring u on a weekend as it's family time :) as i want to upgrade my trickle filter on a aqua one AR 980 to which i have not set up yet, in if u want to use it in a video u can ? i don't know if u going to do trickle filters or not specially on big ones lol, in if so i will bring the filter up to yours as we don't live far from u, good video as per :)
Yes I could do that no problem as you're local so could drop it off / pick up no problem. I wouldn't like to send a trickle filter back through the post as ideally I want to send something back with all the media fitted in place.
Pondguru fab, is it ok to give u a ring on Monday or when it is suitable for you, to sort out when to bring the filter up.
Richard i just thought..do u know what would be nice set up behind u in the corner ? A nice fish tank if that's possible 🐠🐡🐟 & i'm sure your 2 bairns will love it 😆
I have this exact filter and choose it because of it's integrated spray bar at the top which is an amazing feature! However I am disappointed with the way it diverts water through the chambers/the amount of media. Will you be selling this as part of one your 'Filter kits'?
I won't be doing any specific kits for most of the filters I will be showing in this series as there will (hopefully) be so much variation. This one took approx. 450g of biogravel plus the foams and I have the biogravel from amounts of 250g up on ebay and from 1kg up on www.filterpro.co.uk
I'm not sure if you will reply on a video that is 5 years old, but I have this filter and it is a nightmare to get clean and get the tank to a nice state. Would you say blocking off the Intake holes on the 2nd and 3rd canisters and the out on the 1st one and forcing all the water up though the baskets would be beneficial? I have a 3d printer so could quite easily mock up some blanking plugs.
I'd say give it a go if you have the means to do so and see how it goes. Best of luck.
Can you pimp a Juwel BioFlow One 80Ltr internal filter please i'd be interested to see how you would setup carbon, fine, coarse and media in this one
New office is in business!
Pimp boss in the house! LOL
Yes the new office is quite a sight to behold - I'll do a video on it soon.
thanks for your quivk reaplnse.
can you tell me would you be using the same sort of media then i can order more from you for better price ?
thanks again
chris
I'm not sure what you're asking as the first part of your comment doesn't read properly?
hi again
sorry but i was typing blind (blind drunk 😂)
i have a juwel rio 180 but also have an oase 200 filter. i am going to be buying ghe bio gravel and sponges from you but am waiting for the rio 180 filter upgrade. will you be using the same bio gravel as i will purchase more and wait for the review video. any info appreciatec
thanks
chris
I have someone supposedly sending me a filter for a 180 but it hasn't arrived yet. Just got a Tetra internal filter through the post and it is the worst filter I have ever seen.
Hi mate could you please tell me the best reasonable priced filter
Can I do this to the Oase Bioplus 100 filter