Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters

Fishfriendof315 , I use that same Marineland coarse foam pad to wrap around the intake of our Top Fin 75 Silenstream filter. I cut it into a rectangle shape to shape to around, but used black zip ties to secure it on.

Phillybeans , you may have to experiment with the current foam you are using, or find something else.

Maybe put a dab of hot glue around the opening where the foam doesn't cover?

Or cut away material from inside the foam block so the intake strainer fits in deeper.

 

Big nasties will more than likely bypass because of the opening

 

I want to replace the filter media (came with the filter) in my HOB (topfin) with some coarse sponge, filter floss and bio media like the guide. I've stuffed the bio media (ceramic rings) with my old filter media and am running it in parallel. How long can I wait before I remove the old media to replace it with the sponges ?. I also added a pre-filter sponge (don't know if bacteria grows on this). I'm just worried about crashing the cycle.

 

If you left the old filter then the cycle is intact. Let it run a month or 2 and you should be able to remove the old media. And yes the pre filter sponge coolest bacteria also

 

• Intake Sponge Pre-Filter + Polyfill + Aquaclear Sponge + large bag Bio-Max

View attachment 740283

View attachment 740284

View attachment 740285

There are other combinations that may be utilized w/ DIY media, but this will get you on the right track for your set-up......

First, THANKYOU for posting this. It's really excellent and inspired my wife and I to go out and buy the MF-40 intake sponge prefilter, bio media balls, and coarse sponge. We also have the Top Fin Silenstream PF20 hob filter.

But this particular photo showing left-to-right arrangement of media is puzzling since water flow on most hob filters like ours is from back-to-front :

View attachment 740285

Much like electricity, water always takes the easiest path so most of the water will flow through the coarse sponge and never reach the poly or bio media.




In our humble opinion a better media arrangement would be this (view is looking down from top of filter) :




That would force all the water to flow through each layer.

It would be interesting to see what other people have done to modify their hob filter media.

 

This is my tidals. The first one is bio media on bottom then 2 sponges on top. The second is just a bunch of sponge cut into square. They need rinsed off but doing their jobs.

 

This is my tidals. The first one is bio media on bottom then 2 sponges on top. The second is just a bunch of sponge cut into square. They need rinsed off but doing their jobs.

I don't see the bio media so I'm guessing your hob has a vertical bottom-to-top flow instead of back-to-front flow? Or am I just blind? (Wife is shaking her head yes to that last question )

 

First, THANKYOU for posting this. It's really excellent and inspired my wife and I to go out and buy the MF-40 intake sponge prefilter, bio media balls, and coarse sponge. We also have the Top Fin Silenstream PF20 hob filter.

But this particular photo showing left-to-right arrangement of media is puzzling since water flow on most hob filters like ours is from back-to-front :

View attachment 740285

Much like electricity, water always takes the easiest path so most of the water will flow through the coarse sponge and never reach the poly or bio media.

View attachment 757485

In our humble opinion a better media arrangement would be this (view is looking down from top of filter) :

View attachment 757484

That would force all the water to flow through each layer.

It would be interesting to see what other people have done to modify their hob filter media.

I think I have the same HOB as you. The way I have it is “bottom to top” since the water flows up from the bottom. Coarse in the bottom, fine media, purigen and then bio rings in the top. Oh I also have a coarse sponge in that gap between the tube and the slotting space.

 

I don't see the bio media so I'm guessing your hob has a vertical bottom-to-top flow instead of back-to-front flow? Or am I just blind? (Wife is shaking her head yes to that last question )

Yes the seachem tidals flow from bottom up. On the left the the filter the water drops in about 1 inch from the top. Then fills from bottom and out.

 

Yes the seachem tidals flow from bottom up. On the left the the filter the water drops in about 1 inch from the top. Then fills from bottom and out.

Yes thats an awesome filter. Maybe we'll get one.

 

Rcslade124 , thanks for sharing pics of your Tidal setups !

2fishinabowl , each HOB takes some trial and error, especially when trying out different media and their arrangement in the reservoir.

Either way I think it will work. It will flow through all the media, but at different rates.

That's what makes this fun, trying out different ways and methods. If your method works, then post pics and let us know!

 

I think I have the same HOB as you. The way I have it is “bottom to top” since the water flows up from the bottom. Coarse in the bottom, fine media, purigen and then bio rings in the top. Oh I also have a coarse sponge in that gap between the tube and the slotting space.

I respectfully disagree with the water flow being bottom-to-top in the Silenstream PF20 and most other HOB filters. The flow through media is usually back-to-front in a HOB.


But listen, like Islandvic said, experimenting is what makes this hobby fun. The more we talk about this stuff and share, the better it is for everyone.

And hey welcome to Fishlore!

Rcslade124 , thanks for sharing pics of your Tidal setups !

2fishinabowl , each HOB takes some trial and error, especially when trying out different media and their arrangement in the reservoir.

Either way I think it will work. It will flow through all the media, but at different rates.

That's what makes this fun, trying out different ways and methods. If your method works, then post pics and let us know!

I appreciate that. And yes experimenting is fun. It's fascinating how many variations of setups and opinions on those too.

It's all good.

 

I respectfully disagree with the water flow being bottom-to-top in the Silenstream PF20 and most other HOB filters. The flow through media is usually back-to-front in a HOB.


But listen, like Islandvic said, experimenting is what makes this hobby fun. The more we talk about this stuff and share, the better it is for everyone.

And hey welcome to Fishlore!



I appreciate that. And yes experimenting is fun. It's fascinating how many variations of setups and opinions on those too.

It's all good.

Ah okay.. I should have looked that up properly. I just assumed since the intake tube goes all the way to the bottom of the reservoir the water would probably fill up the same way. Well.. time to tinker again

 

Putting it all together:

The following are pics of different combinations of DIY media that can be used in your HOB filter. For reference, I use the Top Fin Silenstream 20 HOB filter. Your HOB filter may differ but the same concepts will apply.

• Intake pre-filter sponge + small bag of Bio-Max added to stock cartridge

View attachment 740277

View attachment 740278

• Filter Media Pad cut from bulk roll + Polyfil + small bag of Bio-Max

View attachment 740279

View attachment 740280

• Filter Media Pad cut from bulk roll + large bag of Bio-Max

View attachment 740281

View attachment 740282

• Intake Sponge Pre-Filter + Polyfill + Aquaclear Sponge + large bag Bio-Max

View attachment 740283

View attachment 740284

View attachment 740285

There are other combinations that may be utilized w/ DIY media, but this will get you on the right track for your set-up......

Oh my, this is my first interaction here and I don't know if I'm doing this right. Hopefully. Wanted an opinion on my diy filter set. Aquaclear50, polyfil with the cut out from stock filter floss and the ceramic rings in a media bag. Its pretty stuffed in there.

 

Looks like a winner!

Even if a little water starts to flow over the top of the media, it's ok.

Is that a TopFin Silenstream 10 or 20 model filter?

As with any filter, you may have to make some adjustments to the arrangement as time goes on to get it dialed in.

 

Its a silenstream 10. I also have a sponge on the intake that I put about a week back. Its like you have especially, the water is flowing a bit over the top and I was gonna ask about that next

 

This was so helpful, thank you! I was looking for ways to keep the beneficial bacteria in my HOB filter after I changed the cartridges and this told me exactly what I was looking for!

 

Just an update on the HOB MOD to our Top Fin Silenstream 20.

The Cartridge :
First we cut a new cartridge (dashed lines) and emptied out the activated carbon. We don't need or want that stuff in our tank. Then we filled these
"pouches" about 1/4 inch thick with polyfill. When these pouches get clogged it's real easy to pull out the cartridge and refill with new polyfill. Don't forget to stuff the beneficial bacteria-loaded old cartridge foam/polyfill into this new one's pouches the first time you run this. You can ditch it after a couple weeks.

The intake "prefilter" :
We needed both sponges that come in the MF-40 package to cover our intake holes on the Silenstream 20. We had to cut a hole in one of them to slide it up over the pipe but found the fit is really snug so we we didn't need to tie it onto the pipe. The second sponge slid right beneath that and it looks/operates like one long sponge installed.

Nylon Pot Scrubbers. 4-5 of them are along the HOB back wall and they stay there. We have found that these and the intake sponges are sufficient to hold any beneficial bacteria in the HOB.

No cycle crash from changing the poly so far even when we changed the whole cartridge out!

Also included here is a top view of the HOB. Currently full of deceased diatoms and ready for changing. We might reinsert that useless blue biomedia screen before the outlet just to hold this together somewhat more neatly but it's all working very well.

Finally, apart from the filter mods above we added an airstone which we believe helps the biology and filtration of any tank.

Thanks again to Islandvic.

 

PortishGirl , I wouldn't worry about a bit of water flowing over the media. I'm sure the majority of the water is still flowing through it.

CoryKat , great to hear !

2fishinabowl , thanks posting what you did to your filter! The more people post what they do, the more ideas we can give others ! Great pics also.

 

Great article was tired of buying the cartridges and still getting a crash trying to keep the tank in good condioton for the daughters tank. Youre saving me so much money and hoping it makes better in the long run. Only question is i am going use the fluval biomax small bags. How often do you change those out? And im assuming you keep a few when you do change them to help start the growth again?

 

bgfireguy92 ,

Welcome to the Fishlore community. After looking at your name again, are you a firefighter ?

What type of filter do you have, what tank size and how is it stocked ??

You asked about the frequency of changing out media.

95% of the time, almost every brand of traditional bio-media can be kept in service for years.

Unless it's starting to crumble or break apart, then just keep it.

You're talking about those small Bio-Max bags that are $2-$4 and look like small croutons, correct ?

Those should last years as well. Just swish the bag around in a bucket of tank water during a water change and they are good.

Also, remember if you use any type of foam/sponge pad or block in your filter, this type of media will colonize a tremendous amount of beneficial bacteria.

Don't underestimate the ability for foam/sponge media to provide both mechanical and biological filtration.

If you have more questions, ask in this thread or start a new thread.

Ton of great members on the forum to help out with any question you may have.

 

Thank you this is just what I needed. I've been opening the filters that came with my HOB disposing the carbon. Then filling it with bio media. So I have been doing #1 and #3. Will now add #2 to the HOB. Thanks again

If I'm understanding correctly, you can essentially just pack the TopFin Silent HOB 10 with as much media as you possibly can then (as long as it's not overflowing). For example, I packed a fluval sponge in it laying down like bricks and then bought a bag of the Fluval ceramic "pellets" that come in the white mesh bag. The bag was too full to fit in the tank so I cut it open a bit and removed some of the ceramic rings and then zip-tied the bag shut again.

Once my first, cycled, cartridge was full, I cut away that floss and ended up doing this:

1. 1 Fluval Sponge in the back like a brick
2. Layered the cartridge floss over it
3. 1 small bag of ceramic rings

The only downfall to this that I am seeing is that the tank is easily fogged up with particulate if you mess with anything in the HOB filter (when removing stuff to clean it up in a bucket and put it back). Just the slightest aggravation of the sponges/ceramic back there turns the tank into a mess for a while (very small particles similar to dust kind of) - but it all settles back down fairly quickly.

(FWIW - I do have an intake sponge on my intake valve but it is not very dense and is kind of coarse. I definitely know that some fine matter can make it right through the sponge, but flakes and larger food particles, or fry, won't)

Does anyone have a better or more efficient way of cleaning out the HOB filter without having to pull the whole thing off the tank so as not to accidentally disturb the media and end up clouding up the tank? (Logically, it sounds like that is really the only way, but I want to be sure the particulate matter that gets into the tank isn't harmful).

EDIT: There's only 1 white Fluval sponge in the HOB. I initially thought I stuffed 2 in there.

Good question! I too, would like to know.

 

Putting it all together:

The following are pics of different combinations of DIY media that can be used in your HOB filter. For reference, I use the Top Fin Silenstream 20 HOB filter. Your HOB filter may differ but the same concepts will apply.

• Intake pre-filter sponge + small bag of Bio-Max added to stock cartridge

View attachment 740277

View attachment 740278

• Filter Media Pad cut from bulk roll + Polyfil + small bag of Bio-Max

View attachment 740279

View attachment 740280

• Filter Media Pad cut from bulk roll + large bag of Bio-Max

View attachment 740281

View attachment 740282

• Intake Sponge Pre-Filter + Polyfill + Aquaclear Sponge + large bag Bio-Max

View attachment 740283

View attachment 740284

View attachment 740285

There are other combinations that may be utilized w/ DIY media, but this will get you on the right track for your set-up......

Thank you so much for this organized information!

 

This is a write-up on some methods and options for using DIY media in your HOB filter. My goal is to condense in one thread, easy and cheap methods of improving the filtration in your HOB filter while making it more cost effective. I enjoy the hobby and especially the DIY aspect of it.

Have you become frustrated with replacing HOB cartridges and crashing nitrogen cycles? Is your filter not keeping up with the bio-load of your fish stock? Do you want to hot rod the stock filter your tank came with? Are you on a budget? Do you like or want to attempt some easy DIY projects that offer great results with minimal effort? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you should be interested in this thread.

The following lists some DIY media options for adding coarse/fine mechanical filtration and for adding extra biological media to your HOB filters. It will work for 10 gallon betta tanks, 75 gallon cichlid tanks and anything in between.

I will focus on mainly the Top Fin Silenstream series of HOBs and also give some examples using Aquaclear filters. The Top Fin Silenstream filters are included with the majority of Top Fin aquarium kits from Petsmart. They are prevalent in our hobby and very cheap to buy separately. Aquaclear filters are on the other side of the spectrum of HOB’s. Between these two models of filter, most people will probably be able to use this guide to get ideas for the brand of filter they own with some minor tweaking.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but a general guide to give you ideas for cost effective, readily available and easy to use media for your HOB filter.

I will include specific media I have used in my personal HOB’s. There are many brands and variations of media available at different price points, for certain applications and specialty use. I can not list every brand/model of HOB filter or media. Again, this is a general guide to point you in the right direction.

What I demonstrate in this thread may not be applicable to your situation and needs. Sometimes experimentation is required in the amount/placement/type combination of DIY media to balance the flow rate, effectiveness of filtration and adjust to the tank’s biological load. You may tailor the DIY media to fit your specific needs and application.

Before I begin, I must thank everyone here on the Fishlore forum. I have gained a lot of information from a lot of good people. Everyone here wants to advance the hobby and are always available to give some advice or share their experience in a positive. Therefore I want to contribute back and share what I have learned.

I also want to mention some YouTube resources I have come across with valuable information that help to advance our hobby. These hosts are also genuinely passionate about our hobby and I have learned a lot from them as well: Richard from Pondguru channel, Cory from Aquarium Co-Op channel and Joey from King of DIY channel. There are many more great aquarium hobby channels on YouTube, but I cannot list them all.


Basics of Filtration:

Throughout the guide, the flow of water follows the same basic pattern through the media. It can apply to whatever your filter and media you choose.

Water enters the filter and flows through the media in this order then back out into the tank:

1st: Coarse mechanical filtration

2nd: Fine mechanical filtration

3rd: Biological filtration.


Water enters the filter where larger suspended particles gets trapped by the coarse mechanical filtration and smaller particulates gets trapped by the fine mechanical filtration. Then the biological media (where the beneficial bacteria colonizes) will facilitate the nitrogen cycle.

In this guide I purposely did not give options for chemical filtration, though if you choose to use it, I recommend it being the last thing the water touches before it flows back into the tank. I did not want to get into debates of the validity or specific times of when/when not to use chemical filtration.



Top Fin Silenstream filters and other cartridge based HOB’s:

The first example of using DIY media in a HOB will be for the Top Fin Silenstream series of filters. The Silenstream shares many design characteristics with other brands of HOB’s, so the DIY media mods listed below are easily adapted for use in other brands of HOB’s.

It’s a basic HOB filter design using a plastic bio-grid and a replaceable cartridge. They have a telescopic intake tube with a very handy adjustable knob that lets you adjust the flow rate. The knob turns a restrictor in the intake tube limiting the water flow that feeds into the impeller housing.

Top Fin is Petsmart’s in-house brand and the Silenstream filter is included with most of their Top Fin aquarium kits ranging from 10g-55g. Although considered an entry level HOB filter, with the right mods it can be made into a very reliable and effective filter. The following lists the gph ratings of the models. Although not indicated in the literature or online, I assume the gph ratings is for flow at the impeller assembly without media installed. Your actual gph flow may vary, especially when using different combinations of media.

Top Fin Silenstream 10 85gph

Top Fin Silenstream 20 100gph

Top Fin Silenstream 30 150gph

Top Fin Silenstream 40 200gph

Top Fin Silenstream 75 400gph



Models 20, 30 and 40 share the same filter body, intake tube and reservoir. The only difference is the gph ratings due to differences in the impeller/pump. The model 10’s reservoir is not as wide but has the same design as the 20-40 models. The Silenstream 75 model basically has 2 reservoirs joined together side-by-side with a stronger impeller/pump assembly rated for higher flow. Sharing the same basic design elements, the DIY media mods featured here can be tweaked for use in the 75 model also.

I own the Silenstream 20 model and it’s used in the following pictures. Although originally included with my 20 gallon Top Fin aquarium kit, it was re-purposed for use on my 10 gallon and I find it to be a very effective filter in this application.

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So, i just thought of something, if you have yourself a really good "3-D Printer", you could 3-D print the Topfin Power 20 Sil Stream plastic filter frame and then make it so that you can easily replace the filter media! Am I right or wrong in this way of thought? And thanks for all of this information that you have posted, I recently bought a "20 gallon complete fish setup" from my local Petsamart and we have a variety of Cory Catfish and fancy tail guppies that just had babies!

 

So, i just thought of something, if you have yourself a really good "3-D Printer", you could 3-D print the Topfin Power 20 Sil Stream plastic filter frame and then make it so that you can easily replace the filter media! Am I right or wrong in this way of thought? And thanks for all of this information that you have posted, I recently bought a "20 gallon complete fish setup" from my local Petsamart and we have a variety of Cory Catfish and fancy tail guppies that just had babies!

In short yes, that is completely possible. You wouldnt even need a really good one. The two issues would be is there a polymer evaluable that is fish safe and how do you make it water tight. A printer like form 2 would make water tight vessel but the photo polymer is toxic and degrades in light. A desktop printer such as a Taz or perusa could work but you would need to either back fill with epoxy or possibly vapor smooth with acetone if your are using abs.

 

What a phenomenal thread...very informative! I’m on my way out the door to get some items to boost the performance of my AC110. I plan to post some pics of my setup once it’s complete.

I did have a question though...anyone saw off the intake tip on the upper tube? Thinking it might create a little better flow and not allow debris to build up inside.

 

I just cleaned up my filters in my two aquariums where I used this method. They were getting very plugged with junk. I took out the polyfil and rinsed it pretty well, and I took out some of the coarse filter. I definitely left the bio media bags in there so the cycle would not get upset so much. This is so messy experimenting with it. The bio media bags take up a whole lot of room, especially in the Aqueon 10 filter upstairs. I would like to have the partitions from front to back like 2 Fish in a bowl wants it. It is just hard to fit everything in there…lol. In a couple of weeks I’m going to go to the store and buy more media to experiment with. I had gotten the polyfil by ripping apart the replacement cartridges that came with the HOB filters. I can do a better job than I did before!

 

Did some changes to the Aqua Clear 110 yesterday. Added quite a bit of polyfil and some more BioMax pellets. Will be ordering some 100 micron fine filter polishing pads and plan to use a little less Polyfil and insert the pad on top the Polyfil, but below the Biomax. It's been about 18 hours since I've added the Polyfil and it makes a big difference.

I also took my 2-part intake tube and snipped the tapered tip off of the upper (internal) tube and filed down the rough edges.

Not sure if it will make a difference in flow, but I would like to think that it will.

 

This is a write-up on some methods and options for using DIY media in your HOB filter. My goal is to condense in one thread, easy and cheap methods of improving the filtration in your HOB filter while making it more cost effective. I enjoy the hobby and especially the DIY aspect of it.

Have you become frustrated with replacing HOB cartridges and crashing nitrogen cycles? Is your filter not keeping up with the bio-load of your fish stock? Do you want to hot rod the stock filter your tank came with? Are you on a budget? Do you like or want to attempt some easy DIY projects that offer great results with minimal effort? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you should be interested in this thread.

The following lists some DIY media options for adding coarse/fine mechanical filtration and for adding extra biological media to your HOB filters. It will work for 10 gallon betta tanks, 75 gallon cichlid tanks and anything in between.

I will focus on mainly the Top Fin Silenstream series of HOBs and also give some examples using Aquaclear filters. The Top Fin Silenstream filters are included with the majority of Top Fin aquarium kits from Petsmart. They are prevalent in our hobby and very cheap to buy separately. Aquaclear filters are on the other side of the spectrum of HOB’s. Between these two models of filter, most people will probably be able to use this guide to get ideas for the brand of filter they own with some minor tweaking.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but a general guide to give you ideas for cost effective, readily available and easy to use media for your HOB filter.

I will include specific media I have used in my personal HOB’s. There are many brands and variations of media available at different price points, for certain applications and specialty use. I can not list every brand/model of HOB filter or media. Again, this is a general guide to point you in the right direction.

What I demonstrate in this thread may not be applicable to your situation and needs. Sometimes experimentation is required in the amount/placement/type combination of DIY media to balance the flow rate, effectiveness of filtration and adjust to the tank’s biological load. You may tailor the DIY media to fit your specific needs and application.

Before I begin, I must thank everyone here on the Fishlore forum. I have gained a lot of information from a lot of good people. Everyone here wants to advance the hobby and are always available to give some advice or share their experience in a positive. Therefore I want to contribute back and share what I have learned.

I also want to mention some YouTube resources I have come across with valuable information that help to advance our hobby. These hosts are also genuinely passionate about our hobby and I have learned a lot from them as well: Richard from Pondguru channel, Cory from Aquarium Co-Op channel and Joey from King of DIY channel. There are many more great aquarium hobby channels on YouTube, but I cannot list them all.


Basics of Filtration:

Throughout the guide, the flow of water follows the same basic pattern through the media. It can apply to whatever your filter and media you choose.

Water enters the filter and flows through the media in this order then back out into the tank:

1st: Coarse mechanical filtration

2nd: Fine mechanical filtration

3rd: Biological filtration.


Water enters the filter where larger suspended particles gets trapped by the coarse mechanical filtration and smaller particulates gets trapped by the fine mechanical filtration. Then the biological media (where the beneficial bacteria colonizes) will facilitate the nitrogen cycle.

In this guide I purposely did not give options for chemical filtration, though if you choose to use it, I recommend it being the last thing the water touches before it flows back into the tank. I did not want to get into debates of the validity or specific times of when/when not to use chemical filtration.



Top Fin Silenstream filters and other cartridge based HOB’s:

The first example of using DIY media in a HOB will be for the Top Fin Silenstream series of filters. The Silenstream shares many design characteristics with other brands of HOB’s, so the DIY media mods listed below are easily adapted for use in other brands of HOB’s.

It’s a basic HOB filter design using a plastic bio-grid and a replaceable cartridge. They have a telescopic intake tube with a very handy adjustable knob that lets you adjust the flow rate. The knob turns a restrictor in the intake tube limiting the water flow that feeds into the impeller housing.

Top Fin is Petsmart’s in-house brand and the Silenstream filter is included with most of their Top Fin aquarium kits ranging from 10g-55g. Although considered an entry level HOB filter, with the right mods it can be made into a very reliable and effective filter. The following lists the gph ratings of the models. Although not indicated in the literature or online, I assume the gph ratings is for flow at the impeller assembly without media installed. Your actual gph flow may vary, especially when using different combinations of media.

Top Fin Silenstream 10 85gph

Top Fin Silenstream 20 100gph

Top Fin Silenstream 30 150gph

Top Fin Silenstream 40 200gph

Top Fin Silenstream 75 400gph



Models 20, 30 and 40 share the same filter body, intake tube and reservoir. The only difference is the gph ratings due to differences in the impeller/pump. The model 10’s reservoir is not as wide but has the same design as the 20-40 models. The Silenstream 75 model basically has 2 reservoirs joined together side-by-side with a stronger impeller/pump assembly rated for higher flow. Sharing the same basic design elements, the DIY media mods featured here can be tweaked for use in the 75 model also.

I own the Silenstream 20 model and it’s used in the following pictures. Although originally included with my 20 gallon Top Fin aquarium kit, it was re-purposed for use on my 10 gallon and I find it to be a very effective filter in this application.

View attachment 740256

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Islandvic, I have read this entire thread. I trying to learn more. I have the Top Fin Silent Stream 10. I have bought some product to customize my own media. I bought Top Fin Universal refill Filter Fiber Pad (roll, cut to fit) What type of media is this?
I bought mesh reusable media bags and then I bought Fluval Pre-filter ceramic rings. The rings are premium mechanic filtration. Do I even have anything biological here? I don't know. I am just want to learn.

 

This is super helpful. Since this seems to be geared to freshwater tanks, I have a couple of questions. I'm in the process of setting up a 55 gallon saltwater FOWLR tank and have a Top Fin Slipstream 75. I have about 40 pounds of live sand and about the same of live rock, and am about 5 days into cycling the tank.

I know I may need to get a protein skimmer at some point, but I want to see if I can start out with optimizing this filter because of cost. I'd already started the cycle before seeing this, so I'm using the original cartridges (blue plastic + charcoal/

1. If I plan on rinsing the stock cartridge during water changes, will that be effective? Or would using new material (conditioned in the tank of course) be preferable since charcoal really isn't needed in saltwater tanks.
2. I know Biomax works for saltwater. But since I have the two "sides" have you seen anyone do this and use one side to try and establish a refugium? I love the idea of having a place to grow things like copepods, but I worry the water flow may be too strong.

Thanks!

 

Ah okay.. I should have looked that up properly. I just assumed since the intake tube goes all the way to the bottom of the reservoir the water would probably fill up the same way. Well.. time to tinker again

Hmm, both of the AquaClear HOB filters (now owned by Fluval; used to be Hagen, I think) I'm using (a 10 and a 20) flow bottom to top... I like the design, although it has a tendency to flow over the divider if you pack the media side too tight. I found turning the flow down slightly helps prevent too much of that.

 

This is what I did with my Top Fin Silent Stream 10. I had to keep my carbon cartridge as it's my only beneficial bioload in the filter. I hope I lined everything up correctly.

 

Great thread. Thank you. I have a Silentstream 20.
I haven't changed the cartridge since establishing the tank back in mid summer 2022.
So if I understand correctly, I could slit open the cartridges, dump the carbon, put the frame w/the white fabric back in, use a Fluval white coarse filter in the back portion, and keep the blue bio grid in place?

 

What I did for my silentstream 10 was rip as much of the "white" (turned brown and gunky overtime) fabric off the frame as i could and dumped the carbon that was between. Then I cut half of a fluval 50 coarse fiber, placed the old media with a purple heart plant, and added the bag of fluval spec biomedia. Added a fluval prefilter sponge to the intake as well