Hit 'SHOW MORE' for full description, links and videos - Watch in HD. Link to the filter (Ebay): goo.gl/xwiAEg Link to filter (Amazon UK): geni.us/oLvMSrF Link to filter (Amazon US): geni.us/0cPE9 Link to pump: goo.gl/yFV8KH Link to 50 litre clear box (60cm): geni.us/WZg8h Link to 2 x 110 litre clear boxes (61cm): geni.us/wG5dU2 (both of the above boxes are within the tank size the filter will fit - 59cm to 70cm) Biohome filter media and foams: www.filterpro.co.uk Biohome & white pumice filter media (Ebay): goo.gl/AgG9qD Red 'lava rock' pumice: geni.us/daKf8n1 Alfagrog: geni.us/Xkf9 In this video I show an excellent shower filter for an aquarium - are DIY aquarium filters dead? At under £20 delivered for the 9 tray version (as shown here) this represents incredible value and exceptional filtration when filled with good quality media. Super-easy to set up and perfect for fish breeders, fry rearing tank, anyone with a fish house and also for pubs and bars who keep crayfish / lobsters as part of their menu. I forgot to mention in the video that this would also be suitable for marine systems too - use the new Biohome Ultimate Marine media which has added trace elements specific to the needs of marine bacteria or for a DIY option try the white pumice. The reason I recommend that the white pumice is only used for high pH loving fish (Malawis, Tanganyikans, livebearers, goldfish, koi, marine) is that the white pumice has a specific pH of around 8.0 and will help to buffer water and mineralise it for those species. Also, if you're worried about the small holes in the spray bar clogging up you can easily add a block of coarse foam on the pump inlet to prevent that happening - it would also give fry a feeding station if you were growing on fish in your tank. Are you adding a trickle filter to above the sump of a marine tank? Marine version of biohome ultimate here: goo.gl/cNsZvt This video has a run down of exactly how a shower filter works, shows options for filter media, a ramble about moving bed filters and also has other filtraton related information too. Check out the links below for the filter, pump, media and also to videos which contain useful information about filtration and fish keeping. USEFUL VIDEOS: Stainless steel koi shower filter: goo.gl/MPkUgr DIY pond shower filter: goo.gl/CLrcc0 Moving bed filters 101: goo.gl/u18ViI Biohome Q&A: goo.gl/FEpiaR Filtration & nitrogen cycle: goo.gl/UHoynR Correct way to set up a canister filter: goo.gl/Io9lWU 'Invisible' aquarium filter: goo.gl/hfcqJ9 Aquarium tips and advice playlist: goo.gl/0eB2te FILMING EQUIPMENT: Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE +Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL +Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e +Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24 Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3 Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7 Music by Stellardrone creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ www.last.fm/music/Stellardrone If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects. Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching. See you next time. Pondguru
hmm, the price just shot to 35 GBP, therefore it has become to expensive for it's own good, can make a better one for cheaper with what I've learned from your videos...media, filters and pump included ! Thank you mate !
There are numerous sellers so maybe some of the other ones have them at good prices? That's the problem with the stuff coming from China as the price can swing wildly from day to day with no real reason.
As Richard said there are at least 10 suppliers on Ebay, most are doing the 9 tray for under £30, put Aquarium Filter Trickle External Upper Fish Tank Rain Filters into Ebay's search.
I decided to try the Biohome Ultimate media after watching your videos. I bought 3 kg of it for an Eheim 2217 filter and it has been installed for a week. I'm sure the biological filtration hasn't established itself yet, but already the water in the tank is much clearer. Maybe it's because of the addition of a second, more powerful filter, but I'm already happy! Cheers!
Thanks for your comment. It would normally take 2-3 weeks for the aerobic bacteria (responsible for processing the ammonia and nitrite) to develop and 4-6 months for the anaerobic bacteria (responsible for reducing nitrate) to establish. I'm sure that the addition of a good sized filter has more to do with the clarity than the choice of media but the water will also be much healthier too and that will be down to the media. That should continue to improve and result in the reduction in nitrate as long as you have a suitable sized filter with plenty of media for the size of tank and stock / feeding. There is a guide to how much media is needed for different stocking situations (if you want to see the full cycle filtration associated with reduction nitrate) here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
mine turned up last night .loading it up now .hopefully pump for well too .can't wait .going to be sponges .2kg alphagrog and 2kg biohome in a ranchu tank
No filter is more safe and reliable than a trickle filter. You can build it yourself, cheap as dirt, with ordinary PVC parts and planters you can buy in any garden center. There is nothing complicated about them. Fill them up with a couple of pounds of volcanic rock or expanded clay pellets and some filter wool, and there you go.
Dear Ben, Do you mean the shower media we developed for pond showers? If so then Don from Greatwave Engineering (the US distributor of Biohome) has some. He gets a slightly different colored media and calls it 'super gravel' but it should be the same as the shower media I sell here. It would make much more sense for Don to send it out to you as it would arrive faster, save on international shipping and it's about time he sent media out to guys on TH-cam since it always seems to be me giving it away, lol Send me an email with your delivery details, phone number and the type or size of shower / compartment you need to fill and I will get in touch with Don for you no problem as you do a good job with your channel. I'm not interested in giving media to channels based on their popularity, just how helpful they are so you're well covered there. Regards, Richard sales@filterpro.co.uk
I bought this clear version. They also come in a tinted version. I would recommend the tinted version as the clear can be a pain to clean when algae starts growing.
I used to work at Neil Hardy Aquatica about 12 years ago (worked there for 13 years) they used to run loads of trickle towers on there main coldwater and tropical systems,they were about 6ft + tall x 3ft x 3ft,cant remember what media we used (may have been clays balls) but they used to work very well.
Probably was there,I used to work in the quarentine room most of the time .I remember the cardinal tetra room,one of the last times I was in there the float switch on a pump blew up and the steel ball shot out like a bullitt and wacked me in the leg(good job it hit me and not one of the tanks,Ha Ha)
Now that sounds dangerous. I never knew they could blow like that, lol One of the things I miss about having a shop was dealing with some of the suppliers and customers. Now I lock myself away like a hermit working from home and it is much less personal unless someone phones up (which I encourage) to get advice.
I love watching these videos as ive always kept tropical fish for years but not had one since we last decorated the living room but your making me want to get another one now lol cheers rich john :)
No worries, man. I have been banned from keeping fish in the house as my wife saw the progression of ponds into a lake and realised that same pattern would happen with fish tanks. Probably for the best as I'd have one you could swim about in, lol
So the first layer is coarse sponge to catch large muck and stop it clogging up other stages. But if large muck is coming wouldn't it clog up the pump first?
Here in Singapore, we've had these design of filter for years now. Almost everyone with 4-6 feet tanks use them. We mix all kinds of media in them, we can purchase new trays and stack them up as tall as we want. I think it's made by Mr. Aqua, I might be wrong though. Check it out!
That information doesn't surprise me as you guys always seem to have a good idea of what makes proper filtration. Here in the West we seem to be wrapped up in brand name fanboy behaviour and it really is to the detriment of the hobby. I'll search for Mr. Aqua - thanks very much.
Made one for my cousins pond which was pea like pea soup. We tried all sorts to get it clear so i made a cheap one from tubs in b&m that were 2 for £3 so i spent £6 all together. 2 weeks later was still pea green but clearing slightly and could just make out the outlines of the koi. then all of a sudden, literally overnight, the whole pond went crystal clear as if by magic. Only using lava rock and pea gravel as the media. Amazing
It probably has as much to do with boosting oxygen levels as it does with the choice of media but that news is great to hear. Shower filters are very easy to make and are super effective.
Hi... wonderful insight as always .... Power outrage, media will go dry and bacteria will die fast. Is there a ready made sump in the market that meets ur approval And which can fit below the aquarium with standing water over the bio media, preferably with oxygen bubbles going over it ( battery operated ) ? Could u pl guide . Thanks
That filter looks mint nut for what id use it for it would block in 30 minutes but my tank is a turtle tank but the filter I have dose wo turtles and they seem canny happy
You could easily add block of coarse foam on the pump inlet to prevent the spray bar from clogging - forgot to mention that in the video but have added the information to teh video description and pinned comment.
Using that pump, how did you connect it to the inlet tube? I ordered one of these and the same pump yet cannot connect the pump to the inlet pipe. Did you use another connector mate? The singular rubber connector that came with the filter is being used to connect the inlet pipe to the Y piece. This means the inlet pipe cannot connect to the pump without another adaptor.
I used the rubbery adaptor to fit the pump to the vertical pipe and the vertical pipe slotted straight into the Y piece. The rubber connector shouldn't be needed for the Y piece as the vertical pipe fits in there nicely.
Ah yes I see I had a mare moment with it. Was using the wrong plastic pipe as had some already. Cheers Richard. Did you bother with the plumbers tape? I will be cutting down the PVC pipe soon to size. Thinking PVC cutters or hacksaw, what do you advise?
I didn't use the plumbers tape but it was nice for them to include it. I used a junior hacksaw to cut the PVC pipe as I thought it may chatter if I use a knife.
Speaking as a person with a wet dry filter that functions similarly. this type of system is great for converting ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, and extremely effective at oxygenating water, to a fault, it pushes out CO2 for O2. in a pond, this would work great due to the surface area and the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere above it. , on an aquarium it's not good for plants at all. And no, you aren't getting zero nitrates with fish and waste in there, in fact, trickle filters are nitrate factories, due to the heavy oxygenation of the water and the bacteria colony size that sets up shop in the filter. But this is where the fault is on a small size aquarium, you can't get an anoxic zone for denitrifiers in the filter, you more than likely have an anoxic zone in your pond. But in a filter the denitrifying bacteria will move to the oxygen and take the easy O2 instead of breaking nitrates. I know this because I use a wet dry for 30 years. There's some new products every year based on old tech, polishing a turd to make a buck. 100% this on a tank is going to push out CO2, and it's going to crank out nitrates. I agree though it does work fine on a pond. And you know, I can't trust you if you want to claim this type of filtration will run zero nitrate, it's clearly not true. At best anaerobic denitrifiers can only function at about 30% rate of all nitrates being broken, because of how the process works and how they will every time go for the O2 directly, Just like plants will go for ammonia directly, it's the easier way to get what they need. they have to be in an oxygen starved environment for them to want to take nitrates and break them into Nitrogen and Oxygen to take the Oxygen to survive, they also don't grow in colony size like you would expect, as nitrate breakers, it's not about reproduction, it's about survival. I appreciate the video, there is a clear benefit on the pond, but your pond is doing the denitrification, not the filter. Anyone with a wet/dry filter has been down this road and knows the downsides to trickle filtration, I would be interested to see an update on you with this system on an aquarium with fish, or an update 6 years later on how the pond is doing.
I'm glad you find the videos useful as I make them purely to help viewers. The studio should allow me to film aquarium / filtration videos at any time of the day or night and I have so many planned as well as re-shooting many of my older videos since I wasn't very good in front of the camera when I made most of them.
Can someone share a link where you can buy this now on ebay, aliexpress or similar? How to even search for them? I treid "trickle", "shower" etc but no luck
If there are bubbles on the water surface then there may be too much protein in the water (from fish food). If you try a small skimmer like the one in this video: th-cam.com/video/6UpJfJTExBQ/w-d-xo.html It skims all the oils and protein from the water surface and helps to keep the surface layer healthy. Usually if much of the food going into the tank is dried food you can get problems with protein causing the surface layer of water to thicken which results in bubbles which take an age to pop. Bubbles should pop in under a second when the surface layer of water is thin enough (and healthy)
First thing that comes to mind for me is the weight of this system with media installed. How can one determine the safe amount of weight that a tank can handle before the plastic frame or glass fails? I don't know what a system like this weighs, but it gives me pause for concern.!!!
Fully filled the one in this video was only about 4kg which is easily held by a suitable sized tank. As the water only showers through it the total weight is not made up of much water.
Hey buddy, I somehow lost all the Biohome Ultimate media I bought a while back, I'm going to get some more, my question is how can I jump start it? I have my 40 gal breeder set up with convicts and my sunsun canister filter running with lava rock as bio media, should I just put the biohome in one of trays along with the lava rock?
Yes if you just add it in with the mature media it will quickly set up with bacteria so no worries there. Media will always mature faster in a mature system compared to a new set up.
Any of the videos I did on pond shower filters will have media suitable for sumps and the most suitable types would either be biohome ultra or maxi ultimate as they are the largest sizes we do but any type of biohome will work. We make it bigger / smaller for different sized filters but essentially it is all very similar with tweaks made to porosity and structure to be suited to a higher / lower flow rate and different water pressures in the different size filters. The largest types of biohome (ultra / maxi ultimate) are the most porous so best suited to a low water pressure environment like a sump.
A video that advertised wet dry sumps suggested that a system without it is risky and delicate, but he was advertising a wet dry sump so I would expect to hear him tout it. I know the wet dry system is superior but how much stress would you put on having it vs just a large supply of submerged media such as Biohome in a properly set up canister or small sump?
A properly set up filter of a suitable size will work properly to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate no matter what type of filter it is so I wouldn't worry if you do not have a wet/dry filter. When the biohome mini ultra or ultimate are used at a sensible amount in a well set up canister it is quite easy to achieve full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate) and while that process may be more efficient in a trickle filter the choice of media and how the filter is set up is way more important than the type of filter used.
Great vid as always, as you pointed out tho this could not sit in the front room lol. I would however like to see that filter broken down to a side by side system instead of stacked...so 3 trays next to each other spanning an aquarium. So one compartment could over flow into the next and the flow being controlled so it's still a trickle filter....would that be possible I wonder? That way it could be put on display tanks with minimal visual impact.
The 12 tray and 18 tray versions are still only 3 trays high and span longer tanks but are all fed from a suitable length spray bar. It is extremely quiet.
all ponds seem legit got a big canister for my 600 ltr oscar tank and it kicks ass had a fluval fx5 and it was an amazing filter but the power head burned out and the replacement cost more than the all ponds filter that was the same size was a no brainer really thinking of supplementing the all ponds canister with a custom build internal tank sump or a corner love you're videos m8 loads of info and love for our wet sleeved hobby
I'm glad you enjoy the videos and the APS filters are indeed excellent value for the money. The 2000 is only £65 on Amazon with free delivery: geni.us/2LnO and it holds as much media as the FX6 (5kg of biohome ultimate). 2 of them for a 600 litre oscar tank would have a good chance of achieving full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate)
One concern I have is Gnats. Does this wet dry system breed Gnats? If it is not 100% water tight, I could see this turning into a high rise Motel 6 for bugs. I had a sump filter no longer made called a TidePool II that fit under an aquarium, that worked much the same as this. It was a buggy nightmare. It also splashed water all over the place.
This one has no way of leaking unless pipes come loose as it has overflows built into the structure and insects should not get into it bu I know what you mean about filters which are accessible - my outdoor shower filter is crawling with bugs.
I'll buy this for my future 125 gallon aquarium. I'm sick of my canister filter and cleaning it. This seems so easy to just lift the filter floss and put down a new one. How do I size this for a 125 gallon or even a 180 gallon? I love your bio home ultimate
The link has different options for the shower filter (9 tray, 12 tray and 18 tray) and they are suitable for different lengths of tanks. It would be a matter of measuring your tank and selecting the suitable filter. Each tray will take approx. 800g of biohome ultimate or around 1kg of biogravel - each will work very well. As far as how much media is needed to complete the nitrogen cycle (reduce nitrates) there is a guide here as well as other useful information: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
Instead of using a pump could I attach the input of the shower filter to an external cannister filter? I was thinking of loading up my Ehiem 2217 with filter foam and then attaching it to the shower filter. I would set up the shower filter like you did in your video. Thanks for the great video. Would this work ?
That sounds like a great plan although you may need to regulate the flow into the shower filter with an inline tap since most canister filters have a fairly high flow rate.
I totally agree that this way of filtration is one of the best. The only down side I can see to this type of filtration is in a power outage and if you have no back up power then the media could dry up within a few hours killing off all that fantastic bacteria which would mean you'd be back to cycling your tank all over again. Would you agree?
Any filter will suffer when the pump goes off but how long the bacteria survives depends on the quality of media as the water retention will dictate how long bacteria survives when the water flow stops. As the pumice and biohome takes a very long time to dry out (many days in an English summer) the bacteria does not die off as quick as you may think. Once it starts getting on towards a week then the media may well be just about dry and bacteria will be mostly dead. On plastic it will only have a few hours before the whole colony dies. In a traditional filter (full of water) it goes anaerobic very quickly and the water turns nasty after only a day or so but a shower filter will last much longer without the associated problems (when good media is used).
Yes it's one of those things that just never really caught on over here - probably because manufacturers realise that people can easily make their own.
Pondguru hope it catches on though. I'm using a 6 ft 15 tray system and it's quite a beast. Each tray can hold 3-5 kg of media. The only problem with this kind of filter is if your aquarium dosent have a brace around the top perimeter of the tank and supporting piece of glass in the middle running from tonback for support.
I've never been anywhere and that's part of the problem, lol I've been super busy with work but have more aquarium related videos planned, including a give away coming this week.
Each compartment is 160mm x 120mm x 70mm high - most of that space is available for media and you can get around 600g biohome ultimate or 800g biogravel (both shown in the video) in each compartment.
I purchased a clear one (was lucky enough to be in time before they sold out) and this video doesn't do the filter enough justice. Just an awesome filter and a good vid. BTW; if it wasn't for this video I wouldn't have ever heard of this filter. Now it replaces my SunSun canister filter. Works great.
Unfortunately I can't keep on top of all the links in the various videos - on ebay and amazon they come and go so links may be active in the future. Someone told me the other day that they have bought one from Alibaba recently and it arrived no problem. That's a site I haven't used but they seem to be reputable from what people tell me.
I got one of these thanks to this vid. I really want to make a simple and relatively aesthetically pleasing DIY aquarium/aquaponic setup and this makes it so simple. Really top notch kit.
I'd go with biological media in all trays under the foams but if you wanted to use chemical media then carbon or activated charcoal would do as good a job as anything more expensive. As long as it was the last thing the water hit it will be in the cleanest water and effective for 7-8 weeks before it needed replacing.
Yes it would go under the coarse and medium foams. Water should always hit coarse, medium than fine foams if you have space for all 3 in that order, then hit the media.
Hydroton is a decent DIY media. Not sure about the structure of it being suitable for the balance of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria necessary to complete the cycle (reduce nitrate) but as the filter will most likely be hugely over sized for the tank (as far as weight of media per volume of water goes) even the Hyrdroton does have a chance of achieving the full cycle in that situation. If after 6 months you still have high nitrates you know its not doing a proper job but it does have a chance and I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it.
Could this be used with an overflow and gravity fed so it's beneath the tank in a sump and then water pumped back up to tank ? I think it would work if the spray bar inlet could be turned the other way, what do you think Richard ? cheers
I'm not sure how the water would flow down into it properly as the pipe is so small but a few people have used them over a sump as extra filtration, housing a small water pump in the sump specifically for feeding the shower filter.
That's a gd idea to add to a sump, thanks for reply. Purchased 4 kilo of your bio media 4 months ago and now nitrates are starting to drop, great media !
If you already have a mature sump there wouldn't be much point changing it unless you were struggling to control nitrates and needed the shower to do that. We have forms of biohome (Ultra and Maxi Ultimate) which are well suited to sumps and a guide as to how much is needed per 100 litres to provide full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate) for a variety of situations can be found here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp (If you're talking US gallons you have approx. 456 litres and if your're talking UK gallons you have approx. 545 litres)
Also I have been following your advice for the last 2 years and would recommend starting aquarist should watch all of your how to videos! I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you use to help us become better hobbyists.
No worries, I just throw the information out there for the benefit of others as there is already way too much nonsense on TH-cam. I used a 750 litre per hour pump for the 9 tray system so you'd be looking for a 1200 - 1500 lph pump for the 15 tray filter. The link for the pump in the video description takes you to ebay and there 3 size options for the pump, one of which is the 1500: goo.gl/yFV8KH Regards, Richard
Another one more question !!! Lol. I’ve got my 18 tray shower filter set up and ready. The question is is there any specific things I need to do to take off my HOB filters and replace with the shower filter ? Thanks in advance. Do I need to take some of the foam from the HOB filters and place in the shower filter sense it’s an established tank ? Regards. Mark
Yes if you're looking to maintain what little biological filtration the HOB offers while the shower matures you would move as much of the foam and media from the HOB as you could and put that into the shower for a couple of weeks. The biohome will mature extremely fast, especially in a mature aquarium system so don't worry about that. Only plastic and cheap smooth ceramic media takes and age to mature.
Just bought one of these ...it has been running for three days..and I am really happy with it....I am going to buy a couple more...and was extremely well packed like pondguru said....well worth the $$$...I bought a powerhead (1600Litre) to go with it and the water is crystal clear...I have polyfilter in top row and lava rock and noodles in next two rows.
All sounds good to me and I will be interested to see if you get any nitrate reduction from those media types after 4-6 months since they are mostly going to support anaerobic bacteria - I know some people do get the full cycle from trickle filters where they're using rings and / or lava rock (the reddish colored one) but the flow is extremely slow in those situations.
I did a video about a DIY filter for a pond here so that may be of use: th-cam.com/video/7eyoDB91Ps4/w-d-xo.html Its only a matter of time before a pond company realises that a ready made tiered shower system can be made cheaply from plastic and puts them into production I reckon (or hope) as they work great for ponds.
I watched a video of yours the other day on Eheim canister filter setup . I just purchased a 100 gal tank and it has Eheim pro 2 . The reading I have done indicates this filter is no longer made . I had tanks over 16 years ago but life took me away from them BUT now ready to give it another try. Thinking about goldfish in this tank . Any types and ideas will be appreciated .
As long as you go for a filter which promises to treat 'up to' twice the volume of your tank, or maybe even 3x the volume of the tank if you have goldfish and set it up properly it should hold enough media to properly filter the water. e.g. for a 100 gallon (US?) tank you'd be looking for a filter which is for 'up to' 200 gallons (for a normal community tank) or 'up to' 300 gallons for a 100 gallon goldfish tank. That is because goldfish are very polluting fish. Above figures are based on using the biohome ultimate and the end goal being full cycle filtration, reduction in nitrate (proper filtration).
Some media types are better than others - ceramic rings have little to no chance of supporting anaerobic bacteria unless the flow rate is unbelievably slow (to de-oxygenate the water) like you'd have in a nitrate reactor. Pumice can also reduce nitrate if you get a good grade of stone but most is way too dense and has too much inaccessible surface area or seals up quickly (e.g. 'matrix'). Even good porous pumice is variable from piece to piece so it may take 2kg per 100 litres, 3kg, or 5kg per 100 litres to achieve a full cycle. This video may be of interest as it looks inside filter media and shows the structure of popular types: th-cam.com/video/QTtAUYR67Eg/w-d-xo.html
Pondguru that video was very detailed and helpful.. Can i buy bio home from India? Also should it be placed inside a canister filter or can it be placed inside the tank like a substrate? To support anaerobic bacteria where should we place the media to be effective?
Filter media is really designed to be used inside a filter of some sort and all tanks will need to be filtered. I send out from UK to India but shipping can be quite costly www.filterpro.co.uk
Pondguru yes everything is so costly here for customs price... Anyways i have a mini swimming pool (intex mini pool) bought for my daughter and later converted for a koi aquarium.. i have around 20 koi and goldfish medium sized fishes and i have only 4 large sponge filters ... Nothing else.. Bare bottom with some pebbles and kept in direct sunlight for the past two years.. the nitrates are always zero and fishes are growing like crazy... How's that possible without any media? Is sunlight doing some magic to the water? Or Is it the long duration that caused anaerobic grow in those sponges?
I contacted the guy who import pumice for garden and pond filter use and he said it had a neutral PH and wouldn't effect the water chemistry much as it's inert.
I'm sure there are many people who import many types and grades of pumice but the white pumice which is used for water purification has a relatively high pH and mineralises the water - that makes it great for hard water fish but not good for 90% of tropical fish which prefer soft water from S. America / Asia.
When I ordered the first 500kg I requested an analysis (composition) report which listed all the elements present in the pumice and also the specific pH which was 8.0 - that is why it is used for water treatment facilities in areas of low pH (e.g. peaty water in Scotland highlands) to buffer the pH up and mineralise the soft water. There are all sorts of volcanic rocks which could be classed as pumice and generally the darker it is the lower the pH. If you have neutral or low pH species in the tank it is best to go with a form of volcanic rock called 'scoria' which is commonly used in BBQ and is what many people in the US use as a DIY filter media as it does not have a high specific pH. Generally the lighter the pumice is in colour the higher the pH will be so the stuff I get is 8.0 (almost pure white) but lesser quality pumice which contains grey or black rocks (e.g. seachem 'matrix') may have an average pH of nearer 7.5 which most sellers would class as 'inert' since most aquariums end up around 7.5 due to the choice of substrate generally being gravel which tends to set the pH at 7.5 / 7.6. Hope that makes sense - not all pumice has the same composition and so not all will have the same specific pH. Therefore your source of pumice may well be classed as 'inert'.
my tomato garden does a marvelous job of filtering my aquarium they love the nitrates and I get free tomato's. I haven't changed the water in months though the plants take the same volume as the tank
Shalom how are you have the price for the trickle filters gone up I can not find them for about £20 can you give me the links to everything I need like filter material ect.
All the relevant links are in the video description and in the pinned comment - if you are watching on a mobile phone you will need to click to see the description and comments.
It would be very easy to add a block of coarse foam on the pump inlet - thanks for drawing my attention to that and I will add the information to the video description.
hi pondguru,this filter is not for sale on amazon anymore and the ebay one has many complaints.are you thinking of bringing it to the uk,if yes can you update through your youtube channel.thanks
hi Pondguru, does Lava Rock produces anaerobic bacteria activities ? I have K1 moving beds underneath my tank setup but I would like to clear out nitrate in a static motion setup you mentioned, which I have some Lava Rocks now with me, or I certainly need some BioHome Ultimate ?
I have a sump filter underneath my 235gallons aquarium so I have a powerhead under there to push water up. Before the water are rushing back into the 235gallons aquarium, can I have my static motion setup to clear nitrate installed in that way ? Because the powerhead underneath is connected with PVC piping to the 235g aquarium, it is really quite a strong power current which creates huge water flows when it goes back into tank now.
I also have like 6kg of bio-rings and 3kg corals sitting in the sump for like over 4 years in the same sump as k1, separated compartment from the k1, does it produces anaerobic bacteria from there? But it is soaked in the sump tank instead of water dripping onto it.
Each one takes approx. 800g of biohome ultimate so 6 trays would require 4.8kg. There was definitely a bit of spare room when I set this one up so it would easily take 5kg.
Hi Is there any rule of thumb regarding how much biological media or surface area that is needed per gallon of aquarium? I can't seem to find a definitive answer so perhaps you can help? Thank you Sarah
Dear Sarah, Yes there is a guide explaining how much is needed here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp It is given in litres and I don't know what country you are in working in gallons but 1 UK gallon = 4.54 litres and 1 US gallon = 3.8 litres so you can convert your tank volume to litres and work from there. Regards, Richard
Would you recommend I get your"*FRESHWATER* EXTERNAL FILTER UPGRADE KIT- 3Kg MEDIA, FOAMS + FILTER START BALLS" for this filter? I already have high PH so i wont need anything that makes it higher.
Hi Richard, i love that, would love it for my fry tank...but it's just a little tank, can u take the boxes off each other so u can just use 3 of them ? Thanks.. great video as always ☺
Pondguru Outdoors, r great richard, i would like to have the 3 high up one, the little one i have in me fry tank with the round black sponges at the side with the one that u have to put an air pump to with the bubbles comein out of the tube is grap of keepin me water clean, i've got an Aqua one AR-510 tank with the trickle filter that i love...In i have the biohome ultimate in the trys that i bought off u is absolutely fab love it, in i use poly filter floss to, in my water is always crystal clear, so definitely have to have one of them for my fry tank, ps is it ok to massage u the mora or ring ? thanks
Not sure what my wife would say if you massage me, lol - spellcheck not working there.... Sounds like you have it well set up there. Yes just ring no problem in 07772848730 - phone always on 9-5
It takes anywhere from around 1kg to 2kg per 100 litres (38 US gal) to achieve a full cycle with the 1kg figure being normally stocked community tank and the 2kg figure being a heavily stocked / predator / goldfish / marine tank. As 55 US gallons is around 200 litres that would require from 2kg to 4kg of biohome ultimate - say 3kg if stock is somewhere between normal and heavy. Each tray holds around 500g of biohome ultimate so 3kg would fill 6 trays.
Great detailed video! I’m definitely going to purchase this system for my 40 gallon saltwater set up. My question is, would I need a protein skimmer if I have excellent filtration like this?
How quickly it dies really depends on how long the power is out and what type of media is used. Plastic media dries out so fast you only have a couple of hours before a sizeable proportion of bacteria dies off but as media porosity increases with ceramic and sintered glass media that gives you longer before real harm is done - with good quality media which is very porous it takes many days to die off so you could get anything from a few days to a week or so without much harm to the bacteria in the filter. There isn't really a way of preventing a power outage but some people have generators / battery back ups for their homes which would provide power to a fish tank - biggest problem would be the heater as they consume more electric than the pumps and filters.
Pondguru thank you. I’m going to use yours. The ultimate. But I’m not sure if I should use the large pieces or a combination of both. Sense I’m not going to use any chemical filter Medea such as carbon. Oh. And by the way. I just got the 18 try shower filter you are showing here. Absolutely love it. It’s built just right. And thanks to you. You have made it very understanding about the filtration part of ponds and aquariums. If people would listen to your videos and apply the methods in which you describe. Water quality would sore ! Well anyway. Thank you again and I’ll be making another post on this thread about how things are going with my new filter. ✌️ Mark.
Pondguru one more question. What is the best way to keep all my small shrimp and fish out of the pump feeding the shower filter ? I’ve thought about using a pre filter of some sort on the pump intake. Thoughts ? Thank you.
Hi Guys could you help me out will it be ok to use dead corals as filter media, they are very porous and its calcium how can i use it wet dry or sump style will it be om to use on any type of fish thanks in advance
Crushed coral can be used as a filter media in any situation as it has decent porosity but it has a high pH so is only suitable for fish which like water mineralised and pH above 7.5.
Not sure where you will find the powerhead although the link in video description and pinned comment should be worldwide if possible. The media would be from Greatwave engineering (website) or from Happyfishonline (ebay.com)
Thank you for the video btw.. I was considering a sump with all the bells and whistles...the price of this filter on the video is incredible and not expensive at all. I’m considering using this for Discus which are sensitive to nitrate.
Yes there are a few people I have known used it for discus and water quality is perfect. Like all filters the choice of media is critical for water quality so as long as you don't fill it with plastic balls it should work very well.
how about a rack, where all the trays are standing free from the construction, so when the mechanical filtration looks like it needs cleaning (because of the transparent trays). you simply just take it out, its a standalone box that can be removed. this most likely exist i think, but damn that would make life easy i think. unless the open air in and around it would make it work less effectively?
Pondguru would hooking up the outlet of my marineland magniflow 360 canister to the inlet of this filter (larger 18 compartment version) work? My current set up for 60 gallon: Sunsun hw-603 pre filter (just foams) Marineland Magniflow 360 (all trays biohome ultimate) Hydor 300w inline heater Sera Flora CO2 Reactor I'm concerned my GPH will be diminished to low for my tank size.
Unfortunately I have no idea - at the time of making a video I put the relevant links into the video description and pinned comment but the links can change within a few days or weeks of upload - and I can't keep up with all the changes on 1000+ videos which is a real bummer as I like to be as relevant as possible. I can't find these filters anywhere online from UK sellers but some of the Chinese sites (e.g. AliExpress) have them on there.
@@pondguru thanks for taking the time to answer my question it is greatly appreciated! Love your videos mate they have helped me out more times than I can say.
The choice of filter depends on so many factors that I can't really answer that. A planted tank doesn't generally require the level of filtration that a fully stocked fish tank would and this filter really does hold way more media than would ever be needed for a planted tank.
Not really - as shrimp tanks generally have a low bio-load a simple filter with good filter media should process all their waste - even a decent air driven sponge filter would do the trick.
I can't say for sure as there are so many different hood types on aquariums. On many of the Aqua One aquariums the back part which generally contains the standard filter could be removed in favour of this type of stackable trickle filter.
hi mate, I received mine last week , it's great but I'm having a problem with the spray bars, the water is hardly coming out of the last section, did you find this or was yours fine?
I was only using a 750 litre per hour pump so there wasn't much water coming out but once I got the filter level it came out of the whole spray bar - it could be that the spray bar isn't sitting level or needs lifting / dropping at one end to make the water flow out properly.
Even if the spray bar / filter is not sitting level a 1500 lph pump should easily deliver enough water to completely fill the spray bar and spread out the flow properly.
@@nitehawkpearl8304 there is no place to install sponge at pump. I use this type of pump. smile.amazon.com/Winkeyes-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponic/dp/B07CVXBRK6/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=aquarium+water+pump&qid=1557055218&s=gateway&sr=8-9
i just ordered one of these and just wanted to know can i swap everything from my canister filter into this and just use this right out of the box. i have biohome in the canister and its been going for 3 years. thanks for the vids from Minnesota
I'm sure there will be one in a suitable size available for that tank as it doesn't look very big - just compare sizes of available filters and pick the one which fits best.
Awesome Share! Definitely going to pick one if not two up. What would you recommend in a canister filter? Coarse, Fine, the. just bio media with nothing else before it returns? And your reasoning as to why it is more effective?
This video goes into great detail about the workings if a canister and what happens in the different zones: th-cam.com/video/lsAmSD3wVbg/w-d-xo.html and there is also useful information here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp Feel free to ring me any time 9-5 weekdays on 07772848730 as phone is always on then no worries.
There is a link in video description and pinned comment to the pump I used (with various size options) and you really do need something similar with inlet on bottom / outlet on top. It was the 750 I used in this video.
@@greasysteve9105 The ones under £20 are just one single black box on a plastic tray, nothing like these which are 6,9,12,15 or 18 boxes on an adjustable metal frame with clear boxes. If you have found this exact filter for £19 please send me the link because I will be buying all of them.
thank you for doing this video! nice to see a new type of filter bridging the pond with the aquarium. As always your information about filtration was the real gem. I learned about pumas being a filtration media suitable for live bearers and ciclids. And i have used your media for my tanks and really love the stuff. BioHome Rock!!!!
Great to hear, man and yes this filter is a really good one. Not very aesthetically pleasing for most people but I love to see the filtration process happening.
i think it is very mesmerizing watching the water flow through its cycle of filtration. being able to watch it helps me understand how it works and in turn will make us better fish keepers. thank you for sharing your knowledge with us
As the link is to a UK based seller there will obviously be added costs associated with shipping to different countries but £40 is excessive, maybe nearer £25 is more realistic with an international courier.
Hit 'SHOW MORE' for full description, links and videos - Watch in HD.
Link to the filter (Ebay): goo.gl/xwiAEg
Link to filter (Amazon UK): geni.us/oLvMSrF
Link to filter (Amazon US): geni.us/0cPE9
Link to pump: goo.gl/yFV8KH
Link to 50 litre clear box (60cm): geni.us/WZg8h
Link to 2 x 110 litre clear boxes (61cm): geni.us/wG5dU2
(both of the above boxes are within the tank size the filter will fit - 59cm to 70cm)
Biohome filter media and foams: www.filterpro.co.uk
Biohome & white pumice filter media (Ebay): goo.gl/AgG9qD
Red 'lava rock' pumice: geni.us/daKf8n1
Alfagrog: geni.us/Xkf9
In this video I show an excellent shower filter for an aquarium - are DIY aquarium filters dead?
At under £20 delivered for the 9 tray version (as shown here) this represents incredible value and exceptional filtration when filled with good quality media. Super-easy to set up and perfect for fish breeders, fry rearing tank, anyone with a fish house and also for pubs and bars who keep crayfish / lobsters as part of their menu.
I forgot to mention in the video that this would also be suitable for marine systems too - use the new Biohome Ultimate Marine media which has added trace elements specific to the needs of marine bacteria or for a DIY option try the white pumice.
The reason I recommend that the white pumice is only used for high pH loving fish (Malawis, Tanganyikans, livebearers, goldfish, koi, marine) is that the white pumice has a specific pH of around 8.0 and will help to buffer water and mineralise it for those species.
Also, if you're worried about the small holes in the spray bar clogging up you can easily add a block of coarse foam on the pump inlet to prevent that happening - it would also give fry a feeding station if you were growing on fish in your tank.
Are you adding a trickle filter to above the sump of a marine tank?
Marine version of biohome ultimate here: goo.gl/cNsZvt
This video has a run down of exactly how a shower filter works, shows options for filter media, a ramble about moving bed filters and also has other filtraton related information too.
Check out the links below for the filter, pump, media and also to videos which contain useful information about filtration and fish keeping.
USEFUL VIDEOS:
Stainless steel koi shower filter: goo.gl/MPkUgr
DIY pond shower filter: goo.gl/CLrcc0
Moving bed filters 101: goo.gl/u18ViI
Biohome Q&A: goo.gl/FEpiaR
Filtration & nitrogen cycle: goo.gl/UHoynR
Correct way to set up a canister filter: goo.gl/Io9lWU
'Invisible' aquarium filter: goo.gl/hfcqJ9
Aquarium tips and advice playlist: goo.gl/0eB2te
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
+Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn
JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24
Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
Music by Stellardrone
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
www.last.fm/music/Stellardrone
If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects.
Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching.
See you next time.
Pondguru
hmm, the price just shot to 35 GBP, therefore it has become to expensive for it's own good, can make a better one for cheaper with what I've learned from your videos...media, filters and pump included ! Thank you mate !
There are numerous sellers so maybe some of the other ones have them at good prices? That's the problem with the stuff coming from China as the price can swing wildly from day to day with no real reason.
As Richard said there are at least 10 suppliers on Ebay, most are doing the 9 tray for under £30, put Aquarium Filter Trickle External Upper Fish Tank Rain Filters into Ebay's search.
Sadly, no longer available on Amazon.com. Ebay only.
@Larry M you really should give it a try, It saves me alot of time to change the water. My nitrate is always less then 5ppm.
I decided to try the Biohome Ultimate media after watching your videos. I bought 3 kg of it for an Eheim 2217 filter and it has been installed for a week. I'm sure the biological filtration hasn't established itself yet, but already the water in the tank is much clearer. Maybe it's because of the addition of a second, more powerful filter, but I'm already happy! Cheers!
Thanks for your comment.
It would normally take 2-3 weeks for the aerobic bacteria (responsible for processing the ammonia and nitrite) to develop and 4-6 months for the anaerobic bacteria (responsible for reducing nitrate) to establish.
I'm sure that the addition of a good sized filter has more to do with the clarity than the choice of media but the water will also be much healthier too and that will be down to the media. That should continue to improve and result in the reduction in nitrate as long as you have a suitable sized filter with plenty of media for the size of tank and stock / feeding.
There is a guide to how much media is needed for different stocking situations (if you want to see the full cycle filtration associated with reduction nitrate) here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
mine turned up last night .loading it up now .hopefully pump for well too .can't wait .going to be sponges .2kg alphagrog and 2kg biohome in a ranchu tank
No filter is more safe and reliable than a trickle filter. You can build it yourself, cheap as dirt, with ordinary PVC parts and planters you can buy in any garden center. There is nothing complicated about them. Fill them up with a couple of pounds of volcanic rock or expanded clay pellets and some filter wool, and there you go.
I’ve set up a large wet dry trickle. If you have the final product I’ll be happy to do a video and include in my system 😀😉
Dear Ben,
Do you mean the shower media we developed for pond showers? If so then Don from Greatwave Engineering (the US distributor of Biohome) has some. He gets a slightly different colored media and calls it 'super gravel' but it should be the same as the shower media I sell here. It would make much more sense for Don to send it out to you as it would arrive faster, save on international shipping and it's about time he sent media out to guys on TH-cam since it always seems to be me giving it away, lol
Send me an email with your delivery details, phone number and the type or size of shower / compartment you need to fill and I will get in touch with Don for you no problem as you do a good job with your channel. I'm not interested in giving media to channels based on their popularity, just how helpful they are so you're well covered there.
Regards,
Richard
sales@filterpro.co.uk
Thank you Richard. I will jump right on it!
I bought this clear version. They also come in a tinted version. I would recommend the tinted version as the clear can be a pain to clean when algae starts growing.
I used to work at Neil Hardy Aquatica about 12 years ago (worked there for 13 years) they used to run loads of trickle towers on there main coldwater and tropical systems,they were about 6ft + tall x 3ft x 3ft,cant remember what media we used (may have been clays balls) but they used to work very well.
I visited Neil Hardy about 15 years ago so may have sen you there. They had a great set up and the room for all the cardinal tetras was awesome.
Probably was there,I used to work in the quarentine room most of the time .I remember the cardinal tetra room,one of the last times I was in there the float switch on a pump blew up and the steel ball shot out like a bullitt and wacked me in the leg(good job it hit me and not one of the tanks,Ha Ha)
Now that sounds dangerous. I never knew they could blow like that, lol
One of the things I miss about having a shop was dealing with some of the suppliers and customers. Now I lock myself away like a hermit working from home and it is much less personal unless someone phones up (which I encourage) to get advice.
I love watching these videos as ive always kept tropical fish for years but not had one since we last decorated the living room but your making me want to get another one now lol
cheers rich
john :)
No worries, man. I have been banned from keeping fish in the house as my wife saw the progression of ponds into a lake and realised that same pattern would happen with fish tanks. Probably for the best as I'd have one you could swim about in, lol
just got mine, and love it. Have also planted mine up with hydrocotyle species to help hide it once it all grows in.
Sounds awesome, man.
So the first layer is coarse sponge to catch large muck and stop it clogging up other stages. But if large muck is coming wouldn't it clog up the pump first?
Here in Singapore, we've had these design of filter for years now. Almost everyone with 4-6 feet tanks use them. We mix all kinds of media in them, we can purchase new trays and stack them up as tall as we want. I think it's made by Mr. Aqua, I might be wrong though. Check it out!
That information doesn't surprise me as you guys always seem to have a good idea of what makes proper filtration. Here in the West we seem to be wrapped up in brand name fanboy behaviour and it really is to the detriment of the hobby. I'll search for Mr. Aqua - thanks very much.
Made one for my cousins pond which was pea like pea soup. We tried all sorts to get it clear so i made a cheap one from tubs in b&m that were 2 for £3 so i spent £6 all together. 2 weeks later was still pea green but clearing slightly and could just make out the outlines of the koi. then all of a sudden, literally overnight, the whole pond went crystal clear as if by magic. Only using lava rock and pea gravel as the media. Amazing
It probably has as much to do with boosting oxygen levels as it does with the choice of media but that news is great to hear. Shower filters are very easy to make and are super effective.
In this filter media are not sink so how bacteria can born?
It would be great if you sell a complete set up. Like the one you are displaying.
Yes that would be cool but I'm just happy to explain what the filter does and give people the links.
Comparing with overhead sump filter with it.. which one will be best...????
As size and surface area of both can be increased..
Hi... wonderful insight as always .... Power outrage, media will go dry and bacteria will die fast. Is there a ready made sump in the market that meets ur approval And which can fit below the aquarium with standing water over the bio media, preferably with oxygen bubbles going over it ( battery operated ) ? Could u pl guide . Thanks
Hello sir! Can you please suggest a pump strong enough for a trickle filter with 18 boxes . I’m using filter in a 75 gallon tank .
That filter looks mint nut for what id use it for it would block in 30 minutes but my tank is a turtle tank but the filter I have dose wo turtles and they seem canny happy
You could easily add block of coarse foam on the pump inlet to prevent the spray bar from clogging - forgot to mention that in the video but have added the information to teh video description and pinned comment.
Using that pump, how did you connect it to the inlet tube? I ordered one of these and the same pump yet cannot connect the pump to the inlet pipe. Did you use another connector mate? The singular rubber connector that came with the filter is being used to connect the inlet pipe to the Y piece. This means the inlet pipe cannot connect to the pump without another adaptor.
I used the rubbery adaptor to fit the pump to the vertical pipe and the vertical pipe slotted straight into the Y piece. The rubber connector shouldn't be needed for the Y piece as the vertical pipe fits in there nicely.
Ah yes I see I had a mare moment with it. Was using the wrong plastic pipe as had some already. Cheers Richard. Did you bother with the plumbers tape? I will be cutting down the PVC pipe soon to size. Thinking PVC cutters or hacksaw, what do you advise?
I didn't use the plumbers tape but it was nice for them to include it. I used a junior hacksaw to cut the PVC pipe as I thought it may chatter if I use a knife.
Is there enough "held" water the say middle or bottom compartment to hold freshwater clams in sand to filter?
Speaking as a person with a wet dry filter that functions similarly. this type of system is great for converting ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, and extremely effective at oxygenating water, to a fault, it pushes out CO2 for O2. in a pond, this would work great due to the surface area and the absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere above it. , on an aquarium it's not good for plants at all.
And no, you aren't getting zero nitrates with fish and waste in there, in fact, trickle filters are nitrate factories, due to the heavy oxygenation of the water and the bacteria colony size that sets up shop in the filter. But this is where the fault is on a small size aquarium, you can't get an anoxic zone for denitrifiers in the filter, you more than likely have an anoxic zone in your pond.
But in a filter the denitrifying bacteria will move to the oxygen and take the easy O2 instead of breaking nitrates.
I know this because I use a wet dry for 30 years.
There's some new products every year based on old tech, polishing a turd to make a buck. 100% this on a tank is going to push out CO2, and it's going to crank out nitrates. I agree though it does work fine on a pond.
And you know, I can't trust you if you want to claim this type of filtration will run zero nitrate, it's clearly not true.
At best anaerobic denitrifiers can only function at about 30% rate of all nitrates being broken, because of how the process works and how they will every time go for the O2 directly, Just like plants will go for ammonia directly, it's the easier way to get what they need. they have to be in an oxygen starved environment for them to want to take nitrates and break them into Nitrogen and Oxygen to take the Oxygen to survive, they also don't grow in colony size like you would expect, as nitrate breakers, it's not about reproduction, it's about survival.
I appreciate the video, there is a clear benefit on the pond, but your pond is doing the denitrification, not the filter. Anyone with a wet/dry filter has been down this road and knows the downsides to trickle filtration,
I would be interested to see an update on you with this system on an aquarium with fish, or an update 6 years later on how the pond is doing.
Could you do a demo video on how you would preform maintenance on this filter?
I will at some point but it won't be until I get my studio built in my new shed.
Pondguru thanks! I will be looking forward to it. Your channel has been an incredible help. Keep up the excellent work.
I'm glad you find the videos useful as I make them purely to help viewers. The studio should allow me to film aquarium / filtration videos at any time of the day or night and I have so many planned as well as re-shooting many of my older videos since I wasn't very good in front of the camera when I made most of them.
Can someone share a link where you can buy this now on ebay, aliexpress or similar? How to even search for them? I treid "trickle", "shower" etc but no luck
I'd love to use this on my tank, can't seem to find em now though. Anyone have a link?
I am using this tickle filter but I ran into an issue. Lots of bubbles coming out from output. Any suggestions to get rid of those bubbles.
If there are bubbles on the water surface then there may be too much protein in the water (from fish food). If you try a small skimmer like the one in this video: th-cam.com/video/6UpJfJTExBQ/w-d-xo.html
It skims all the oils and protein from the water surface and helps to keep the surface layer healthy. Usually if much of the food going into the tank is dried food you can get problems with protein causing the surface layer of water to thicken which results in bubbles which take an age to pop. Bubbles should pop in under a second when the surface layer of water is thin enough (and healthy)
First thing that comes to mind for me is the weight of this system with media installed. How can one determine the safe amount of weight that a tank can handle before the plastic frame or glass fails? I don't know what a system like this weighs, but it gives me pause for concern.!!!
Fully filled the one in this video was only about 4kg which is easily held by a suitable sized tank. As the water only showers through it the total weight is not made up of much water.
How is it you get 0 nitrate with this compared to similar types of filter units?
Very nice filtration mate, really efficient and can hold alot of bio media 👍
Hey buddy, I somehow lost all the Biohome Ultimate media I bought a while back, I'm going to get some more, my question is how can I jump start it? I have my 40 gal breeder set up with convicts and my sunsun canister filter running with lava rock as bio media, should I just put the biohome in one of trays along with the lava rock?
Yes if you just add it in with the mature media it will quickly set up with bacteria so no worries there. Media will always mature faster in a mature system compared to a new set up.
Great thanks, I just ordered twice as much as I did last time, I need some in my daughter's tank also.
You can never have too much filtration - don't lose this lot of media, lol
I have a old 20 gallon tank that was converted to a hangover sump pump looking to maximize it with media. Do you have a video on sump pump media
Any of the videos I did on pond shower filters will have media suitable for sumps and the most suitable types would either be biohome ultra or maxi ultimate as they are the largest sizes we do but any type of biohome will work. We make it bigger / smaller for different sized filters but essentially it is all very similar with tweaks made to porosity and structure to be suited to a higher / lower flow rate and different water pressures in the different size filters. The largest types of biohome (ultra / maxi ultimate) are the most porous so best suited to a low water pressure environment like a sump.
how much does it weigh and how would one utilize this for glass aquarium
A video that advertised wet dry sumps suggested that a system without it is risky and delicate, but he was advertising a wet dry sump so I would expect to hear him tout it. I know the wet dry system is superior but how much stress would you put on having it vs just a large supply of submerged media such as Biohome in a properly set up canister or small sump?
A properly set up filter of a suitable size will work properly to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate no matter what type of filter it is so I wouldn't worry if you do not have a wet/dry filter. When the biohome mini ultra or ultimate are used at a sensible amount in a well set up canister it is quite easy to achieve full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate) and while that process may be more efficient in a trickle filter the choice of media and how the filter is set up is way more important than the type of filter used.
Great vid as always, as you pointed out tho this could not sit in the front room lol.
I would however like to see that filter broken down to a side by side system instead of stacked...so 3 trays next to each other spanning an aquarium. So one compartment could over flow into the next and the flow being controlled so it's still a trickle filter....would that be possible I wonder? That way it could be put on display tanks with minimal visual impact.
The 12 tray and 18 tray versions are still only 3 trays high and span longer tanks but are all fed from a suitable length spray bar. It is extremely quiet.
all ponds seem legit got a big canister for my 600 ltr oscar tank and it kicks ass had a fluval fx5 and it was an amazing filter but the power head burned out and the replacement cost more than the all ponds filter that was the same size was a no brainer really thinking of supplementing the all ponds canister with a custom build internal tank sump or a corner love you're videos m8 loads of info and love for our wet sleeved hobby
I'm glad you enjoy the videos and the APS filters are indeed excellent value for the money. The 2000 is only £65 on Amazon with free delivery: geni.us/2LnO and it holds as much media as the FX6 (5kg of biohome ultimate). 2 of them for a 600 litre oscar tank would have a good chance of achieving full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate)
One concern I have is Gnats. Does this wet dry system breed Gnats? If it is not 100% water tight, I could see this turning into a high rise Motel 6 for bugs. I had a sump filter no longer made called a TidePool II that fit under an aquarium, that worked much the same as this. It was a buggy nightmare. It also splashed water all over the place.
This one has no way of leaking unless pipes come loose as it has overflows built into the structure and insects should not get into it bu I know what you mean about filters which are accessible - my outdoor shower filter is crawling with bugs.
I'll buy this for my future 125 gallon aquarium. I'm sick of my canister filter and cleaning it. This seems so easy to just lift the filter floss and put down a new one. How do I size this for a 125 gallon or even a 180 gallon? I love your bio home ultimate
The link has different options for the shower filter (9 tray, 12 tray and 18 tray) and they are suitable for different lengths of tanks. It would be a matter of measuring your tank and selecting the suitable filter. Each tray will take approx. 800g of biohome ultimate or around 1kg of biogravel - each will work very well.
As far as how much media is needed to complete the nitrogen cycle (reduce nitrates) there is a guide here as well as other useful information: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
Instead of using a pump could I attach the input of the shower filter to an external cannister filter? I was thinking of loading up my Ehiem 2217 with filter foam and then attaching it to the shower filter. I would set up the shower filter like you did in your video.
Thanks for the great video. Would this work ?
That sounds like a great plan although you may need to regulate the flow into the shower filter with an inline tap since most canister filters have a fairly high flow rate.
I totally agree that this way of filtration is one of the best. The only down side I can see to this type of filtration is in a power outage and if you have no back up power then the media could dry up within a few hours killing off all that fantastic bacteria which would mean you'd be back to cycling your tank all over again. Would you agree?
Any filter will suffer when the pump goes off but how long the bacteria survives depends on the quality of media as the water retention will dictate how long bacteria survives when the water flow stops. As the pumice and biohome takes a very long time to dry out (many days in an English summer) the bacteria does not die off as quick as you may think. Once it starts getting on towards a week then the media may well be just about dry and bacteria will be mostly dead. On plastic it will only have a few hours before the whole colony dies.
In a traditional filter (full of water) it goes anaerobic very quickly and the water turns nasty after only a day or so but a shower filter will last much longer without the associated problems (when good media is used).
Anyone know if this filter is still available?
Awesome filter! Glad to see an aquarium vid from ya Richard! :D
Yes its definitely a great one and the price is crazy low too.
This actually been a very popular filter design in asia for decades. I have no idea why they aren't popular in America or in Europe.
Yes it's one of those things that just never really caught on over here - probably because manufacturers realise that people can easily make their own.
Pondguru hope it catches on though. I'm using a 6 ft 15 tray system and it's quite a beast. Each tray can hold 3-5 kg of media. The only problem with this kind of filter is if your aquarium dosent have a brace around the top perimeter of the tank and supporting piece of glass in the middle running from tonback for support.
Yes if it is relying on the sides of the tank supporting all that weight it is a concern but that is a mighty filter - groovy.
nice to see you back pondie
I've never been anywhere and that's part of the problem, lol
I've been super busy with work but have more aquarium related videos planned, including a give away coming this week.
I like this unit. Ive seen them on ebay. however while you have one, could you tell me the size of the compartments as they look quiet small.
Each compartment is 160mm x 120mm x 70mm high - most of that space is available for media and you can get around 600g biohome ultimate or 800g biogravel (both shown in the video) in each compartment.
yeah I have 2 of them.. there for sale on amazon now to
I just saw these on Ebay. They are already sold out of the clear housing filter, which is what I wanted. These look great!
I'm sure they will be in stock soon so if you hang on a week or two they should be back in stock.
I purchased a clear one (was lucky enough to be in time before they sold out) and this video doesn't do the filter enough justice. Just an awesome filter and a good vid. BTW; if it wasn't for this video I wouldn't have ever heard of this filter. Now it replaces my SunSun canister filter. Works great.
Awesome, it's great to hear that you appreciate this filter as it is indeed really good for the cost of it.
Yes the clear one is the coolest.
UK Amazon link broken, EBay Link broken, Amazon US currently unavailable, I would love to have one of these
Unfortunately I can't keep on top of all the links in the various videos - on ebay and amazon they come and go so links may be active in the future.
Someone told me the other day that they have bought one from Alibaba recently and it arrived no problem. That's a site I haven't used but they seem to be reputable from what people tell me.
These filters have been around for a long time surprised that you recently found it.
In Asia they have been used for years but over here they are only recently appearing (about 20 years too late...)
I got one of these thanks to this vid. I really want to make a simple and relatively aesthetically pleasing DIY aquarium/aquaponic setup and this makes it so simple. Really top notch kit.
Glad you enjoy the video and yes, this filter offers lots of filtration capacity and saves the hassle (and expense) of making a DIY version.
I'm disappointed. That BOYU pump isn't available in United States.
is it noisy ? . if less than an aquaclear . I'm byuing !
Any suggestions for the lower trays...the chemical media?
I'd go with biological media in all trays under the foams but if you wanted to use chemical media then carbon or activated charcoal would do as good a job as anything more expensive. As long as it was the last thing the water hit it will be in the cleanest water and effective for 7-8 weeks before it needed replacing.
Pondguru Outdoors do you recommend the the fine polishing pad on the first level?
Yes it would go under the coarse and medium foams. Water should always hit coarse, medium than fine foams if you have space for all 3 in that order, then hit the media.
could i use alot of hydroton with sponges and be the same,,i have lots and if it will work the same ima make thjs for my fish tank
Hydroton is a decent DIY media. Not sure about the structure of it being suitable for the balance of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria necessary to complete the cycle (reduce nitrate) but as the filter will most likely be hugely over sized for the tank (as far as weight of media per volume of water goes) even the Hyrdroton does have a chance of achieving the full cycle in that situation. If after 6 months you still have high nitrates you know its not doing a proper job but it does have a chance and I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it.
Could this be used with an overflow and gravity fed so it's beneath the tank in a sump and then water pumped back up to tank ? I think it would work if the spray bar inlet could be turned the other way, what do you think Richard ? cheers
I'm not sure how the water would flow down into it properly as the pipe is so small but a few people have used them over a sump as extra filtration, housing a small water pump in the sump specifically for feeding the shower filter.
That's a gd idea to add to a sump, thanks for reply. Purchased 4 kilo of your bio media 4 months ago and now nitrates are starting to drop, great media !
That is great to hear and I'm glad it works well for you.
would this be a good filtration to replace a sump for a 120g african cichlid tank.
If you already have a mature sump there wouldn't be much point changing it unless you were struggling to control nitrates and needed the shower to do that. We have forms of biohome (Ultra and Maxi Ultimate) which are well suited to sumps and a guide as to how much is needed per 100 litres to provide full cycle filtration (reduction in nitrate) for a variety of situations can be found here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
(If you're talking US gallons you have approx. 456 litres and if your're talking UK gallons you have approx. 545 litres)
I'm getting my 120g soon and I was just wondering would that be a good filtration system for my African cichlids. Thank u
I see what u are saying, I meant to say for a 120g. I haven't gotten it yet
I have been trying to find a submersible pump for the unit I purchased...could you tell me how many LPH a filter w/15 chambers would need?
Also I have been following your advice for the last 2 years and would recommend starting aquarist should watch all of your how to videos! I can't thank you enough for the time and effort you use to help us become better hobbyists.
No worries, I just throw the information out there for the benefit of others as there is already way too much nonsense on TH-cam.
I used a 750 litre per hour pump for the 9 tray system so you'd be looking for a 1200 - 1500 lph pump for the 15 tray filter.
The link for the pump in the video description takes you to ebay and there 3 size options for the pump, one of which is the 1500: goo.gl/yFV8KH
Regards,
Richard
Another one more question !!! Lol. I’ve got my 18 tray shower filter set up and ready. The question is is there any specific things I need to do to take off my HOB filters and replace with the shower filter ? Thanks in advance.
Do I need to take some of the foam from the HOB filters and place in the shower filter sense it’s an established tank ?
Regards. Mark
Yes if you're looking to maintain what little biological filtration the HOB offers while the shower matures you would move as much of the foam and media from the HOB as you could and put that into the shower for a couple of weeks.
The biohome will mature extremely fast, especially in a mature aquarium system so don't worry about that. Only plastic and cheap smooth ceramic media takes and age to mature.
Pondguru thank you very much. It will be placed on my tank today. I will update progress soon.
Just bought one of these ...it has been running for three days..and I am really happy with it....I am going to buy a couple more...and was extremely well packed like pondguru said....well worth the $$$...I bought a powerhead (1600Litre) to go with it and the water is crystal clear...I have polyfilter in top row and lava rock and noodles in next two rows.
All sounds good to me and I will be interested to see if you get any nitrate reduction from those media types after 4-6 months since they are mostly going to support anaerobic bacteria - I know some people do get the full cycle from trickle filters where they're using rings and / or lava rock (the reddish colored one) but the flow is extremely slow in those situations.
MELODY MUNRO won't the live bacteria die if power goes off as the bio media will dry off?
Does anyone know where to buy these from currently in the uk? Everywhere i've looked is out of stock
Hi can i use purigen in the last tray as a chemical filtration?
Well that's interesting at an astonishingly good price Richard. I may make something similar for my pond. Cheers again.
I did a video about a DIY filter for a pond here so that may be of use: th-cam.com/video/7eyoDB91Ps4/w-d-xo.html
Its only a matter of time before a pond company realises that a ready made tiered shower system can be made cheaply from plastic and puts them into production I reckon (or hope) as they work great for ponds.
I watched a video of yours the other day on Eheim canister filter setup . I just purchased a 100 gal tank and it has Eheim pro 2 .
The reading I have done indicates this filter is no longer made .
I had tanks over 16 years ago but life took me away from them BUT now ready to give it another try.
Thinking about goldfish in this tank .
Any types and ideas will be appreciated .
As long as you go for a filter which promises to treat 'up to' twice the volume of your tank, or maybe even 3x the volume of the tank if you have goldfish and set it up properly it should hold enough media to properly filter the water. e.g. for a 100 gallon (US?) tank you'd be looking for a filter which is for 'up to' 200 gallons (for a normal community tank) or 'up to' 300 gallons for a 100 gallon goldfish tank. That is because goldfish are very polluting fish.
Above figures are based on using the biohome ultimate and the end goal being full cycle filtration, reduction in nitrate (proper filtration).
Can you please tell if there are other bio media like "Biohome ultimate" which reduces nitrates too? Can ceramic rings reduces nitrates too?
Some media types are better than others - ceramic rings have little to no chance of supporting anaerobic bacteria unless the flow rate is unbelievably slow (to de-oxygenate the water) like you'd have in a nitrate reactor.
Pumice can also reduce nitrate if you get a good grade of stone but most is way too dense and has too much inaccessible surface area or seals up quickly (e.g. 'matrix'). Even good porous pumice is variable from piece to piece so it may take 2kg per 100 litres, 3kg, or 5kg per 100 litres to achieve a full cycle.
This video may be of interest as it looks inside filter media and shows the structure of popular types: th-cam.com/video/QTtAUYR67Eg/w-d-xo.html
Pondguru that video was very detailed and helpful.. Can i buy bio home from India? Also should it be placed inside a canister filter or can it be placed inside the tank like a substrate? To support anaerobic bacteria where should we place the media to be effective?
Filter media is really designed to be used inside a filter of some sort and all tanks will need to be filtered.
I send out from UK to India but shipping can be quite costly
www.filterpro.co.uk
Pondguru yes everything is so costly here for customs price... Anyways i have a mini swimming pool (intex mini pool) bought for my daughter and later converted for a koi aquarium.. i have around 20 koi and goldfish medium sized fishes and i have only 4 large sponge filters ... Nothing else.. Bare bottom with some pebbles and kept in direct sunlight for the past two years.. the nitrates are always zero and fishes are growing like crazy... How's that possible without any media? Is sunlight doing some magic to the water? Or Is it the long duration that caused anaerobic grow in those sponges?
It could be the sunlight - is the pond green? if so then the algae will be using up the nitrate.
I contacted the guy who import pumice for garden and pond filter use and he said it had a neutral PH and wouldn't effect the water chemistry much as it's inert.
I'm sure there are many people who import many types and grades of pumice but the white pumice which is used for water purification has a relatively high pH and mineralises the water - that makes it great for hard water fish but not good for 90% of tropical fish which prefer soft water from S. America / Asia.
Where is your source for high PH of pumice?
When I ordered the first 500kg I requested an analysis (composition) report which listed all the elements present in the pumice and also the specific pH which was 8.0 - that is why it is used for water treatment facilities in areas of low pH (e.g. peaty water in Scotland highlands) to buffer the pH up and mineralise the soft water.
There are all sorts of volcanic rocks which could be classed as pumice and generally the darker it is the lower the pH. If you have neutral or low pH species in the tank it is best to go with a form of volcanic rock called 'scoria' which is commonly used in BBQ and is what many people in the US use as a DIY filter media as it does not have a high specific pH. Generally the lighter the pumice is in colour the higher the pH will be so the stuff I get is 8.0 (almost pure white) but lesser quality pumice which contains grey or black rocks (e.g. seachem 'matrix') may have an average pH of nearer 7.5 which most sellers would class as 'inert' since most aquariums end up around 7.5 due to the choice of substrate generally being gravel which tends to set the pH at 7.5 / 7.6.
Hope that makes sense - not all pumice has the same composition and so not all will have the same specific pH. Therefore your source of pumice may well be classed as 'inert'.
my tomato garden does a marvelous job of filtering my aquarium they love the nitrates and I get free tomato's.
I haven't changed the water in months though the plants take the same volume as the tank
That sounds like a very good system and you can't get more natural than that.
Pondguru Outdoors its rather a shame that the best filtering plants die through winter, though in your case you would need a small orchard I'd think
Pondguru Outdoors its rather a shame that the best filtering plants die through winter, though in your case you would need a small orchard I'd think
Yup, I reckon so, lol
Hi, are this trickle filter need a UV sterilizer ?
Shalom how are you have the price for the trickle filters gone up I can not find them for about £20 can you give me the links to everything I need like filter material ect.
All the relevant links are in the video description and in the pinned comment - if you are watching on a mobile phone you will need to click to see the description and comments.
Looks great but wouldn't the tiny holes in the spray bars get blocked regularly has there's no pre-filtering? amazing value though :)
It would be very easy to add a block of coarse foam on the pump inlet - thanks for drawing my attention to that and I will add the information to the video description.
hi pondguru,this filter is not for sale on amazon anymore and the ebay one has many complaints.are you thinking of bringing it to the uk,if yes can you update through your youtube channel.thanks
If I could source the manufacturer and get them at a decent price then I'd bring them in - I've now got plenty of space in my new cabin.
You need to market this as unavailable anywhere
hi Pondguru, does Lava Rock produces anaerobic bacteria activities ?
I have K1 moving beds underneath my tank setup but I would like to clear out nitrate in a static motion setup you mentioned, which I have some Lava Rocks now with me, or I certainly need some BioHome Ultimate ?
I have a sump filter underneath my 235gallons aquarium so I have a powerhead under there to push water up. Before the water are rushing back into the 235gallons aquarium, can I have my static motion setup to clear nitrate installed in that way ? Because the powerhead underneath is connected with PVC piping to the 235g aquarium, it is really quite a strong power current which creates huge water flows when it goes back into tank now.
I also have like 6kg of bio-rings and 3kg corals sitting in the sump for like over 4 years in the same sump as k1, separated compartment from the k1, does it produces anaerobic bacteria from there? But it is soaked in the sump tank instead of water dripping onto it.
how much biohome do you think I would need (in weight) to fill six of the trays?
Each one takes approx. 800g of biohome ultimate so 6 trays would require 4.8kg. There was definitely a bit of spare room when I set this one up so it would easily take 5kg.
thanks
Hi
Is there any rule of thumb regarding how much biological media or surface area that is needed per gallon of aquarium? I can't seem to find a definitive answer so perhaps you can help?
Thank you
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
Yes there is a guide explaining how much is needed here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
It is given in litres and I don't know what country you are in working in gallons but 1 UK gallon = 4.54 litres and 1 US gallon = 3.8 litres so you can convert your tank volume to litres and work from there.
Regards,
Richard
Thank you. Do you happen to know the specific surface area of your Biohome? Just curious and many thanks.
Sarah
Is trickle filter the best type of filter?
Would you recommend I get your"*FRESHWATER* EXTERNAL FILTER UPGRADE KIT- 3Kg MEDIA, FOAMS + FILTER START BALLS" for this filter? I already have high PH so i wont need anything that makes it higher.
Hi Richard, i love that, would love it for my fry tank...but it's just a little tank, can u take the boxes off each other so u can just use 3 of them ? Thanks.. great video as always ☺
Yes all the boxes are exactly the same so with this particular one you could either go with 3, 6 or 9 trays and they'd be either 1, 2 or 3 high.
Pondguru Outdoors, r great richard, i would like to have the 3 high up one, the little one i have in me fry tank with the round black sponges at the side with the one that u have to put an air pump to with the bubbles comein out of the tube is grap of keepin me water clean, i've got an Aqua one AR-510 tank with the trickle filter that i love...In i have the biohome ultimate in the trys that i bought off u is absolutely fab love it, in i use poly filter floss to, in my water is always crystal clear, so definitely have to have one of them for my fry tank, ps is it ok to massage u the mora or ring ? thanks
Not sure what my wife would say if you massage me, lol - spellcheck not working there....
Sounds like you have it well set up there.
Yes just ring no problem in 07772848730 - phone always on 9-5
Haha lol, al ring the mora about sortin out to gettin the trickle filter hehe 😂
No worries, any time is good.
Do Goldfish require hard or soft water? I’ve heard somewhere that they can live in both.
How many trays of biohome would I need for a moderately stocked 55 gallon tank?
It takes anywhere from around 1kg to 2kg per 100 litres (38 US gal) to achieve a full cycle with the 1kg figure being normally stocked community tank and the 2kg figure being a heavily stocked / predator / goldfish / marine tank.
As 55 US gallons is around 200 litres that would require from 2kg to 4kg of biohome ultimate - say 3kg if stock is somewhere between normal and heavy.
Each tray holds around 500g of biohome ultimate so 3kg would fill 6 trays.
What pump are you using?
Great detailed video! I’m definitely going to purchase this system for my 40 gallon saltwater set up. My question is, would I need a protein skimmer if I have excellent filtration like this?
Quick question. How much good bacteria will be lost during a power outage ? If any. And is here any solution for preventing it ? Thank you.
How quickly it dies really depends on how long the power is out and what type of media is used. Plastic media dries out so fast you only have a couple of hours before a sizeable proportion of bacteria dies off but as media porosity increases with ceramic and sintered glass media that gives you longer before real harm is done - with good quality media which is very porous it takes many days to die off so you could get anything from a few days to a week or so without much harm to the bacteria in the filter.
There isn't really a way of preventing a power outage but some people have generators / battery back ups for their homes which would provide power to a fish tank - biggest problem would be the heater as they consume more electric than the pumps and filters.
Pondguru thank you. I’m going to use yours. The ultimate. But I’m not sure if I should use the large pieces or a combination of both. Sense I’m not going to use any chemical filter Medea such as carbon. Oh. And by the way. I just got the 18 try shower filter you are showing here. Absolutely love it. It’s built just right. And thanks to you. You have made it very understanding about the filtration part of ponds and aquariums. If people would listen to your videos and apply the methods in which you describe. Water quality would sore ! Well anyway. Thank you again and I’ll be making another post on this thread about how things are going with my new filter. ✌️
Mark.
Sounds good to me and I look forward to hearing how you get on with the filter.
Pondguru one more question. What is the best way to keep all my small shrimp and fish out of the pump feeding the shower filter ? I’ve thought about using a pre filter of some sort on the pump intake. Thoughts ? Thank you.
Yes a small block of foam over the inlet would do the job no problem.
Hi Guys could you help me out
will it be ok to use dead corals as filter media, they are very porous and its calcium
how can i use it wet dry or sump style
will it be om to use on any type of fish
thanks in advance
Crushed coral can be used as a filter media in any situation as it has decent porosity but it has a high pH so is only suitable for fish which like water mineralised and pH above 7.5.
I'm so happy to see this video. What a brilliant filter! Where can I find the powerhead and biological filter material here in US?
Not sure where you will find the powerhead although the link in video description and pinned comment should be worldwide if possible. The media would be from Greatwave engineering (website) or from Happyfishonline (ebay.com)
I really enjoy listening to you speak... you could read a restaurant menu to us and it be more interesting.
Thank you for the video btw.. I was considering a sump with all the bells and whistles...the price of this filter on the video is incredible and not expensive at all.
I’m considering using this for Discus which are sensitive to nitrate.
Yes there are a few people I have known used it for discus and water quality is perfect. Like all filters the choice of media is critical for water quality so as long as you don't fill it with plastic balls it should work very well.
I won’t be using plastic balls at all. I have been paying attention to the videos.
how about a rack, where all the trays are standing free from the construction, so when the mechanical filtration looks like it needs cleaning (because of the transparent trays). you simply just take it out, its a standalone box that can be removed. this most likely exist i think, but damn that would make life easy i think. unless the open air in and around it would make it work less effectively?
Pondguru would hooking up the outlet of my marineland magniflow 360 canister to the inlet of this filter (larger 18 compartment version) work?
My current set up for 60 gallon:
Sunsun hw-603 pre filter (just foams)
Marineland Magniflow 360 (all trays biohome ultimate)
Hydor 300w inline heater
Sera Flora CO2 Reactor
I'm concerned my GPH will be diminished to low for my tank size.
Do you know if these are still available in the uk? Unfortunately none of the links work 😢
Unfortunately I have no idea - at the time of making a video I put the relevant links into the video description and pinned comment but the links can change within a few days or weeks of upload - and I can't keep up with all the changes on 1000+ videos which is a real bummer as I like to be as relevant as possible.
I can't find these filters anywhere online from UK sellers but some of the Chinese sites (e.g. AliExpress) have them on there.
@@pondguru thanks for taking the time to answer my question it is greatly appreciated! Love your videos mate they have helped me out more times than I can say.
@@botanicalsblackwaterbeyond8871 (my other channel) No worries and I'm always glad when any of the videos help anyone as that's why I put them out.
would this work well on a marine tank supporting coral?
I don't see why not, yes
would this work on a marine system bit worried about the metal tray
I don't know the answer to that unfortunately - it would be best to contact the seller regarding marine use.
Could you please tell me honestly if you would use this filtration system with a freshwater planted tank ?
The choice of filter depends on so many factors that I can't really answer that.
A planted tank doesn't generally require the level of filtration that a fully stocked fish tank would and this filter really does hold way more media than would ever be needed for a planted tank.
Got any idea for a filter for shrimp tanks using k1 media
Not really - as shrimp tanks generally have a low bio-load a simple filter with good filter media should process all their waste - even a decent air driven sponge filter would do the trick.
Hi is there any place in Thailand I can get Biohome?
My aquarium has a canopy. Will this work with that ?
I can't say for sure as there are so many different hood types on aquariums. On many of the Aqua One aquariums the back part which generally contains the standard filter could be removed in favour of this type of stackable trickle filter.
hi mate, I received mine last week , it's great but I'm having a problem with the spray bars, the water is hardly coming out of the last section, did you find this or was yours fine?
I was only using a 750 litre per hour pump so there wasn't much water coming out but once I got the filter level it came out of the whole spray bar - it could be that the spray bar isn't sitting level or needs lifting / dropping at one end to make the water flow out properly.
OK cheers I'll have a play around with it , I ordered the 1500 lph pump maybe that will help
Even if the spray bar / filter is not sitting level a 1500 lph pump should easily deliver enough water to completely fill the spray bar and spread out the flow properly.
🖒🖒
I have this filter and has only problem is spray bar, clog so easy.
Use a pre filter sponge for inlet.
@@nitehawkpearl8304 there is no place to install sponge at pump. I use this type of pump. smile.amazon.com/Winkeyes-Submersible-Fountain-Aquarium-Hydroponic/dp/B07CVXBRK6/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=aquarium+water+pump&qid=1557055218&s=gateway&sr=8-9
i just ordered one of these and just wanted to know can i swap everything from my canister filter into this and just use this right out of the box. i have biohome in the canister and its been going for 3 years. thanks for the vids from Minnesota
Yes that should work fine as you'll still be using the same foams and media, just in a new container. Best of luck with the swap.
Will this fit with an aqueon 40 breeder aquarium top?
I'm sure there will be one in a suitable size available for that tank as it doesn't look very big - just compare sizes of available filters and pick the one which fits best.
Awesome Share! Definitely going to pick one if not two up. What would you recommend in a canister filter? Coarse, Fine, the. just bio media with nothing else before it returns? And your reasoning as to why it is more effective?
This video goes into great detail about the workings if a canister and what happens in the different zones: th-cam.com/video/lsAmSD3wVbg/w-d-xo.html and there is also useful information here: filterpro.co.uk/qa-24-w.asp
Feel free to ring me any time 9-5 weekdays on 07772848730 as phone is always on then no worries.
Hi, I am having a hard time finding a good pump for this. Please help sir!
There is a link in video description and pinned comment to the pump I used (with various size options) and you really do need something similar with inlet on bottom / outlet on top. It was the 750 I used in this video.
Thank you! Please continue the great work you do sir.
Can't believe how the price of these has shot up, your looking around £60 for this model now.
I have seen some of these with plastic bottom trays for £19 on ebay
@@greasysteve9105 Yeah they are nothing like the filter in the video.
@@Thir7een they are exactly the same just the tray at the bottom is plastic. There called eco trickle filters or something like that
@@greasysteve9105 The ones under £20 are just one single black box on a plastic tray, nothing like these which are 6,9,12,15 or 18 boxes on an adjustable metal frame with clear boxes. If you have found this exact filter for £19 please send me the link because I will be buying all of them.
thank you for doing this video! nice to see a new type of filter bridging the pond with the aquarium. As always your information about filtration was the real gem. I learned about pumas being a filtration media suitable for live bearers and ciclids. And i have used your media for my tanks and really love the stuff. BioHome Rock!!!!
Great to hear, man and yes this filter is a really good one. Not very aesthetically pleasing for most people but I love to see the filtration process happening.
i think it is very mesmerizing watching the water flow through its cycle of filtration. being able to watch it helps me understand how it works and in turn will make us better fish keepers. thank you for sharing your knowledge with us
No worries, man and it is indeed great to be able to see the filtration process happening - that is what drew me to this filter initially.
19:95 delivered you say ,I just checked and they want 40 quid to ship one to Norway ..its good but I am not going to pay that much ..I will DIY it :D
As the link is to a UK based seller there will obviously be added costs associated with shipping to different countries but £40 is excessive, maybe nearer £25 is more realistic with an international courier.
Yeah its to much which is a shame because it looks a cracking filter otherwise :)