Figure 8 Filtration Question

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MJS
Puffer Fry
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 12:13 pm
Location (country): Seattle, Washington, USA

Figure 8 Filtration Question

Post by MJS »

Hello, everyone!

I'm in the process of setting up my first fish tank in over 10 years away from the hobby -- a 20H brackish for a Figure 8 Puffer, possibly with an Orange Chromide tankmate. I've done a fair amount of research on how to set it up, but one thing I'm not sure about is what filter media to use and how to arrange it.

My filter is an Eheim Ecco canister with 4 media trays. It's an older model without the prefilter ring. I don't know how the water flow works, the inlet and outlet are both at the top, though I read somewhere that the water goes in from the top but along the sides and then out from the bottom up. I found a pdf of the owner's manual, and the media arrangement it shows is one course pad on the very bottom, a fine pad at the top of the first tray, and their SubstratPro (which I guess is pretty much like Fluval's Biomax or any other ceramic media) everywhere in between.

The problem is, I don't have a ton of money to invest in this, and that ceramic stuff adds up fast. I'm not opposed to buying a tray's worth (which I believe would be about 1 ltr), but I can't spend $70+ on ceramic rings. I have most of the equipment I need, including a bunch of those foam pads. I have some bioballs, although they might be a bit big. I'm guessing a layer of bio-balls would only be like 1-ball deep. I also have a fair amount of coral/formerly live rock rubble from a marine tank I used to have, and I was thinking of using this to fill out the rest of the trays (if I have enough), but I'm not sure whether that's a good idea.

Any thoughts?
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Iliveinazoo
Fahaka Puffer
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Re: Figure 8 Filtration Question

Post by Iliveinazoo »

Sounds cool.

Which way the filter media goes doesn't really matter that much but I would reckon that the most efficient way to set out would be (first in list being the first media that the water sees as it goes in and last on the list being the last media it sees before exiting):
1. Coarse pad to mechanically filter and prevent the biological media's pores from clogging.
2. Any biological media like ceramic rings or bio balls.
3. Chemical media (carbon) or more of the biological media.
4. Fine pad for 'polishing' the water.

To be honest I don't have a fine pad or chemical media in my filter I just have course pads, biological media and a bag of crushed coral (to help buffer pH).

nitrification bacteria will colonise any surface in your filter so you can use your rock rubble but you might want to keep it in a mesh bag if there's any chance that small bits can get loose and end up going through the impeller. The coral rubble will add to the hardness of the water so that can only be good for your Figure 8 but the opposite of what you would want if you were keeping neon tetras.
MJS
Puffer Fry
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue May 03, 2016 12:13 pm
Location (country): Seattle, Washington, USA

Re: Figure 8 Filtration Question

Post by MJS »

Okay, great. Thanks for the advice! I'm definitely aiming at the Figure 8 being the centerpiece of the tank, so to speak, and if I don't team him up with an Orange Chromide it'd probably be a Knight Goby. I originally wanted a second F8, but I think that might be too much Puffer for 20 gallons. Either way, I don't expect the hardness to be a problem and if it raises the pH that'd probably be beneficial.
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