Equipment Review and Discussion :: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

Various accessories and equipment discussed here.

Post Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 8:41 am   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

I do. I'm using the carbon bag that came with my sun sun. Previously I was using marineland
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:04 pm   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

I'm late to this discussion and you've already purchased a canister type filter, but better late than never. :?

Maybe because canister type filters have been around for awhile and people are familiar with them they seem to be the recommended type on this forum. There are, however, filters that do a better job of cleaning your water, require less cleaning and maintenance and either cost much less or can be built relatively easily.

I have a 110 gallon Home Hardware stock tank for my 3 RES. I originally had an Eheim Pro 3 - 2075 canister which worked well for several months and then started to leak around the hose connections in the filter head. Actually, after a routine cleaning, it started spraying out water like a firehose. I spent nearly $500 for that filter and here I was looking at replacing the entire head! That would have cost me nearly as much again to replace because the rest of the filter is just a 5 gallon square plastic bucket and the pump and all the plumbing is sealed in the head. This was a manufacturing defect acknowledged by Eheim, but I was too late to get a free replacement head. So I pulled the 2075 and put a Marineland C-220 and a Sicce Whale 120 on the tank while I figured out something permanent. That turned out to be a do-it-myself MBBR (Moving Bed Bio-Reactor) filter in a 5 gallon pail with a Gamma-seal lid. I later replaced this with first a 10 gallon and then a 20 gallon Brute garbage can in which I added a water-fall type algae scrubber. I discuss the project here:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3368-Moving-Bed-amp-Algae-Scrubber-combo-filter

Material costs for the MBBR part of this filter cost about $100 (garbage can, water pump, black ABS pipe, 1" hose and various ABS connectors) and it has maintained the water quality just well as the Eheim 2075 with a lot less cleaning and maintenance required. ALL the plumbing parts can be purchased at any well-stocked hardware store like Home Depot. MBBR filters require adding air to the water to increase the efficiency of nitrification. Any air pump can be used for this. I inject air at two inputs in the input hose connector. Nothing is proprietary. Here's a photo of the plumbing:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/attachm ... 1441662467

Note that all the plumbing (hoses, pipes, pump, etc) are outside of the water container for easy cleaning. The pump can be dropped offline by simply closing the two shut-off valves and opening the two unions. The interior of the water container (Brute garbage can) can be cleaned easily by draining the water through the input hose after removing the pump. For an MBBR filter, cleaning the water container is an annual or semiannual task. I also have a pre-filter sponge on the intake hose. This is covered with a 400 micron bag to make cleaning the sponge easier, which I have to do every two or three days. As you know, turtles dump a lot of debris into the water and it's easier to rinse the nylon bag and soak it in bleach than get all that debris out of a sponge. With only fines getting to the sponge, cleaning the sponge is a 5 minute affair.

I added the algae scrubber to remove phosphates and nitrates. I think the algae also raises the pH. Turtles do not breathe in the water, so removing nitrates is not necessary as it would be for fish. I'd like to maintain the water as pristine as I can, though, so I added the scrubber. The traditional way to remove nitrates, of course, is changing water. So if you can do that, there's no need to use an algae scrubber. But if changing large amounts of water every week in a big tank doesn't appeal to you, then an algae scrubber is a very good alternative.

I purchased LED light panels and a pre-built acrylic box from Expressions LTD here:

http://www.expressions-ltd.com/Algae_Scrubber_ATS_Box_p/ats-box.htm

The items I purchased from Expressions LTD cost about $300. If you can work with acrylic you could build the box yourself. You might also find cheaper alternatives for the LED panels, but their price is quite good because it includes wiring and controllers. So all this could be built with generic off-the-shelf supplies.

I also have an MBBR on my big fish tank and a couple of small algae scrubbers I purchased from Santa Monica Filtration. I plan to build another algae scrubber of my own design for the fish tank and move the two small scrubbers to other smaller fish tanks that would benefit from nitrate removal.

Best wishes for you and your turtles.

Michael
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:44 am   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

Good read but nothing new. People have been building their own filters for years. I believe cannister filters are popular because they are affordable, easy to set up and they work. Plus, a lot of adults are just not confident enough in their plumbing skills to take on such a project. Good read though. Thanks for sharing.
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
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300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Kansasslider
 
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 6:01 pm   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

Well, yes, there is something new: the MBBR filter. This is a different type of filter, not just a variation of something else. Not many people know about them.

The MBBR concept was originally developed in Scandinavia, Norway I think, to process municipal sewage. It was subsequently scaled down for commercial aquaculture and aquaria. It uses injected air; buoyant media that circulates in the water and consequently is self-cleaning; and the scouring action of the media ensures that the bacterial colonies are constantly growing young and vigorous bacteria. Because of these features, the filtration is much more efficient than other filter types with fixed media, such as canisters. And because any debris that gets into the filter container settles to the bottom, the container requires much less cleaning than any other filter type as well. If you put a pre-filter sponge on the intake you can almost eliminate any debris getting to the filter. Thus, the filter is very easy to maintain and requires very little cleaning, unlike a canister. Although, you can reduce canister maintenance/cleaning with a pre-filter sponge, too.

I agree that many people don't want to bother building a filter or might not think themselves up to it. Yet, the construction of a small MBBR for an aquarium is quite simple, requires only minimal plumbing and little water pressure to deal with. So it's a feasible project for anyone with DIY skills.

The reason I bring it up here is that I think the MBBR is the ideal filter for a turtle aquarium or pond. As we all know, turtles impose a huge biological load on a filtration system, which is why we are told to get as big a canister as we can afford and make sure it's cycling the tank water 2 or 3 times per hour. You could build an MBBR filter in a plastic garbage can for a fraction of the cost of a canister filter that will maintain the water quality better and require less maintenance and cleaning. The output generates more nitrates than a canister because it's more efficient. Nitrates are not as detrimental to turtles as fish because turtles don't breathe in the water, but there are ways to get it out if you want to, just as you would using a typical canister. I use an algae scrubber to eat the nitrates.

For example, my MBBR uses 1" input from the turtle tank to the filter container, which is a Brute garbage can, and a 2" gravity return. The water pump is rated at over 500 gallons per hour and the tank contains 100 gallons (more or less). Even with the pre-filter sponge on the intake I'm getting excellent turn over in the tank, have very little water pressure to deal with, only between the pump and the bottom of the Brute. Plus, I'm 'harvesting' enough algae each week from the scrubber to supplement my snails, frogs and some of my fish food. Unfortunately, the turtles won't eat algae.

Finally, I agree that canisters are affordable, easy to set up and they work. Well, affordable unless you need a really big one (or two) or it blows out the internal plumbing in the head like my Eheim Pro3 2075 did and you have buy another one. Yes, they work until they don't. I've had multiple canisters with electrical tape around the head seals to keep them from leaking. I'm still using one of them but plan to retire it. And, if you don't mind getting locked into overpriced proprietary parts and supplies required for every make and model of canister on the market.

8)
Last edited by amwassil on Wed Oct 28, 2015 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
amwassil
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 12:11 am   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

amwassil wrote:Nitrates are not detrimental to turtles because they don't breathe in the water, but there are ways to get it out if you want to, just as you would using a typical canister. I use an algae scrubber to eat the nitrates.


I'm not sure I completely agree with that. I'd reword it as "nitrates aren't as detrimental to turtles as they are to fish, because they don't breathe water." They do swallow it though, and there are clear studies on cattle and pigs showing longterm detrimental effects of drinking water with a high nitrate content.

I don't think our goal needs to be as low for nitrate as an aquarist's with fish, but I still think we should try to keep it down. Obviously, your algae scrubber is an excellent way to do so, just as water changes are for most of us.
Tobi a RES born in 2012
1 dog, 1 teenager, 3 aquariums filled with fish, snails, shrimp and a bit of algae
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:19 am   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

I agree with you 100%, so I edited my previous post accordingly, thanks! I also think that once you move up to a large tank, ie 75 gallons and up, doing significant water changes regularly gets to be a real PITA. It did for me which is what prompted me to search for alternatives.
amwassil
 
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:04 pm   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

Personally I don't mind water changes but then again I use a pump. ;-)
1 Male Mississippi Map/Mississippi
1 Female RES/Slidy.
1 DBT White Concentric Female/ Lucky
1 DBT Male/ Spots
(Housed in the same tank)

300 gallon indoor stock tank, FX6 & FX5 filters. Mega-Ray 100w UVB bulb.
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Post Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 8:02 am   Re: (Update)Filter recommendation on a budget

I second using a pump. I use a couple of clamps to hold the hose down to prevent accidental slips and the whole process requires little effort.
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