i have 2 cascade canister filters. the instructions say it works from the bottom up with coarse pad, then carbon, then floss pads. with the 1500 i have 4 media baskets. what is the correct setup? coarse filter media than carbon than ceramic rings ? where do i put the ceramic rings ? someone please help cuz i cant find any good info on the net

Here's what I do, and yes, I realize it's sort of nutty, but it's been doing an excellent job of keeping fry alive and it means I don't have to take apart the Rena Canisters nearly as often.

1) On the intake (in the tank) I have/build a prefilter. Normally I use a low flat tupperware sort of container. The ones from my local chinese place work excellent for that. It's flush against the wall. The top of the lid has a big square cut out and super coarse (the coarse for pond filters really) is cut to fit inside the container. I put a hole in the side and run 1/2" tubing into the intake for the canister.

2) Bin 1 first flow through inside the canister is medium foam.

3) Bin 2 second flow is fine foam. (Keep in mind I'm using pond foam for all of this so what I call fine, may be really a medium)

4) Bin 3 and 4 have either lava rocks, bio balls or those ceramic rings. They all seem to work about the same as far as I can tell. End of summer though you can get a big big big bag of lava rocks at places like Walmart or Target for extremely cheap.

If I had a charcoal or zeolite or some other form of chemical pack to put in, I'd put it in bin 4. I don't really bother with using them though.

Here is what I have in my Rena...bottom tray is foam...two grades, the less open pores at the bottom...the next two trays are ceramic rings...in the top tray I just have a thinner base of rings with some floss covering them for final water polishing.

Floss rings
Rings
Sponges

is the lava rock a place for bacteria to grow?

eltrut420 wrote:

is the lava rock a place for bacteria to grow?

Yes. Lava rock is very porous and has the potential to provide a large amount of surface area for bacteria to colonize.

There are some drawbacks to lava rock. Bio rings and such are engineered to maximize surface area while optimizing flow rate, thus increasing water contact with the nitrifiers and enhancing nitrification. The natural irregularities in the structure and pore size of lava rock leave crevices that can trap detritus and create anaerobic spots. In addition, the structural irregularities may not allow enough flow through the pores to maximize contact between the water and nitrifying bacteria. The only surface area that can be truly counted as a substrate for nitrifiers to grow on is the outer surface.

I would suggest only using lava rock with a good prefilter to prevent solid waste from reaching the rock, and would set that prefilter up on a regular rinse or replacement schedule. Personally, I would not use it in a highly stocked tank.

IIRC, larger pieces of lava rock are often used as a base under live rock in reef tanks, as inverts from live rock will colonize it and live rock itself is expensive.

WYite

I learned the lava rock trick from a guy that keeps saltwater. But yes, Wyite is definitely spot on about the lava rock not getting cruddy. The thing is though lava rock is by far the cheapest option I've found for large filter bio media. For some reason, unless I find it used in my area bio-balls and the ceramic widgets start around 25 bucks for a small box.

With the way I have the filters set up, the lava rock (or any other bio media for that matter) hardly ever has any gunk on it. Prefilters are your friend.

so how do i go about setting up a prefilter?i had a sponge on one of my intake tubes but it seemed to slow the intake amount

It will only slow the intake when it gets dirty...just rinse and squeeze it out with each water change.

Make sure your sponge is fairly open, porous type too. If you use something fine, it will get dirty very quickly and also slow intake.

Each layer handles things in order from biggest to littlest. Pre-filter is good for chunks, plant bits, things that you can actually see. It's good because it keeps the largest gobs out of the impeller on the pump for the filter. After that it's time to catch smaller and smaller and smaller stuff until you hit the bio media.

If you set it up right with the pre-filter you have the added benefit of not having to break down the main canister as often either. Yay lazy!

Not to give the wrong idea, eltrut, I'm not knockin' lava rock. It definitely has advantages, especially in cost effectiveness. Just be careful it doesn't foul if and when ya use it. Saint gave a pretty good rundown on a pre-filter set up.

WYite

we just installed last time a powerful water filter system, im happy coz its more effective than other filter ive use..


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Refrigerator water filter