Fluval Stackup, Nitrate factory?

[megadon]

I still have Nitrates present, though it has dropped quite a bit, it still sits around 20-30 (damn color matching) and then creeps up after time until I do another water change. I still have bio-balls in the top chamber of my Fluval, with carbon in the middle and a sponge in the bottom. Would it be better to keep the sponge and chuck the bio-balls? Would it also be good to put some CC in the Fluval to keep the PH and other minerals in tact?

 

[frankl15207]

I ran a Fluval before I put on a sump. I did not use the ceramic rings and I swapped out the filter pads weekly (removed and cleaned the ones in the filter and let them dry and replaced them with a clean dry set). My nitrates never went above 15 and dropped to 5 after a 10% water change.

 

[iechy]

I have a fluval and I'm about to make it more useful. I'm going to do a sump with a rubbermaid container and put the intake from the fluval in it and the output in the tank thus making it my return pump. I plan to remove all the media from it exceptthe foam pad for water polishing. You paid probably over a hundred for it you might as well make it useful.

 

[megadon]

I would think the Fluval could be used as a kind of sump with the right stuff in it. Using CC to keep the PH stable and a sponge and carbon for water cleaning, it also provides a good amount of water movement. Is that thought that far off base?

 

[iechy]

I certainly don't think there is any reason you can't do that. You just don't have to is all. CC in there is basically the same thingas those little biomax things that it came with for biological filtration. Either one would allow bacteria to grow in that chamber and could cause problems if not cleaned. If you go that route then I would just wash the CC with tap water frequently to kill off everything and avoid any excesses. The ability to run carbon is a good reason to keep it too. You don't need it all the time but you need to have a way to run it if you do need to. I don't think there is any problem with having too much filtration with that running as long as you don't let it go unchecked and allow things to build up in the filters which is where many people run into problems.

 

[megadon]

Thank you, I think that'a where my problem lies, I used to let the Fluval run unchecked for up to a year when I had Chiclids, I guess I'll need to be cleaning it every 2 months or so now.

 

[sandy]

I use my Fluval 304 mostly for circulation and to keep the water clear. I use carbon bags and filter floss. Clean it out once a week - rinse the carbon in salt or replace and always replace the filter floss. Of course I rinse the baskets well too. Works fine for now. I soooooo want a real sump. Someday...