Filter Media Confusion

HI so I went and purchased fluval pads and a box of bio rings to bulk up my filter media. Right now I have a hang on the back filter so I'm gonna add these into it. My question is ive read to throw out the old cartridge and then add this but why? I thought all the BB was on the cartridge
So I'm a little confused do I add it with the old media cartridge or replace it completely

 

Don't throw out the old cartridge. Can you cut the batting off the old one and fit it in with the new media?

 

Okay! I'm sorry is the batting the black hard part?

 

No. It's the white stuff that covers the black frame. What filter is it exactly?

 

No, the batting is the soft fibrous mesh-like material. It's kind of like pillow stuffing but it's in typically in a woven sheet. That's where most of your bacteria will be.

Can you take a pic of your current filter cartridge?

 

Oh ok! Yes I can cut it out of the black part. The filter came with a top fin 37 gallon in a kit.

I can take a picture in a minute

 

I'm going to assume it's a Top Fin 40 Silent Stream. Keep in mind that at most, it is going to pump 200gph. That is 5.4x your tank's capacity. It will be less than that once you add more media to the back of it. If it were my tank, I might think about an AC70 to throw on there instead, if it's in the budget.

That's one of the only issues I have with these kits. Yes, the filter will work, but most times it is at the low end of being sufficient.

 

Here the picture

 

What is the stuff on the paper plate?

Nevermind, that looks to be the old cartridge. You need to keep that in old tank water if you can while you are working on the filter. Or just keep it in the tank.

 

Yes I cut it from the black frame. I'm gonna add a pad or 2 and the rings. Then hopefully next week I can get a new filter & keep the old one as a backup. So I'm gonna put the old media in there. Is there anyway specifically I should add the new stuff. I was just gonna dump the rings at the bottom and add the pad on top.

 

I would put the old stuff on the bottom. That way the water from your tank flows over it, then flows over your bio media. If you are going to get a new filter in the next few weeks, you can then just dump the bio media into the new filter and discard the old stuff.

 

I'm going to assume it's a Top Fin 40 Silent Stream. Keep in mind that at most, it is going to pump 200gph. That is 5.4x your tank's capacity. It will be less than that once you add more media to the back of it. If it were my tank, I might think about an AC70 to throw on there instead, if it's in the budget.

That's one of the only issues I have with these kits. Yes, the filter will work, but most times it is at the low end of being sufficient.

Ok I looked & they have it at petsmart. Do you think it would fit where the old filter is? Its a pretty decent size space jw

 

The AC70? It looks pretty close in size to the one you show in the photos. I have one on my 20 gallon tank. The full depth is 6:, with about 4" off the back side. Width is about 8-1/2", so you will need about 9" opening to hang it.

Also, find it cheaper online, and show them the ad at Petsmart. They will match any online price except ebay.

 

Laurenx19, excellent start at bumping up the filtration on that filter.

Maybe I missed it, but how is your 37g stocked ?

Since there is a PetSmart near by, here is an example of adding a DIY sponge pre-filter on the end of the intake tube.

I use this method on my Silentstream. These 3-packs of sponge refills for Top Fin internal filters are $3-$4 from what I recall.

Top Fin Silenstream Intake Assembly w/ Top Fin Sponge Filter

• Islandvic
• Dec 24, 2018

Top Fin Silenstream Intake Assembly, Top Fin Sponge Filter and zip tie (impeller is upside in...

Top Fin Silenstream w/ Sponge Pre-Filter

• Islandvic
• Dec 24, 2018

A pre-filter will catch a lot of the muck before entering the filter. Also, it blocks excess food from being sucked into the intake tube, allowing fish to graze on it as it lays on the outer surface.

One or both of the extra sponges in the 3-pk can be also placed in your filter's reservoir, for additional surface area for the beneficial bacteria to colonize on.

That, plus the media you've already purchased, would really hot-rod up your filter.

Also, I would discard the blue plastic grid deal in the reservoir. In my opinion, they take up space where other media could be placed. I've done so on mine.

 

Thanks! I got the idea from YouTube last night unfortunately they didn't have pre filters at the local fish store today so I'm gonna order from Amazon when I get the new filter ill grab some more bio rings as well.

For now I have
5 tiger barbs
5 flame tetras
And a baby bristlestone pleco.
I'm looking to move out the 5 flame tetras and add 4 more tiger barbs & add my centerpiece fish German ram

 

Well if you buy a new filter, may I suggest keeping the old one. You can use the old one for when the need of setting up a quick quarantine or hospital tank arises.

If there is a Petco nearby, they are having a $1/gallon tank sale. A bare Aqueon 10 gallon tank for $10 makes for a good QT/hospital tank, that can be place in a closet and pulled out as needed.

 

I'm going to assume it's a Top Fin 40 Silent Stream. Keep in mind that at most, it is going to pump 200gph. That is 5.4x your tank's capacity. It will be less than that once you add more media to the back of it. If it were my tank, I might think about an AC70 to throw on there instead, if it's in the budget.

That's one of the only issues I have with these kits. Yes, the filter will work, but most times it is at the low end of being sufficient.

Morpheus1967... I wondered if adding media would change the rate of filtration. I have a TF40 as well on my 37g tank, but bought an extra 40 just in case the filter went out for any reason on either my 25 or 37 tanks. Now I am wondering if I should try to put the extra 40 on my 37g tank along with the 40 that came with the kit? Would that not work? If not a good idea, it's off to PetSmart for a higher capacity filter.

 

Carolyn,
There are 2 different things to consider. The amount of water flow per hour, but more important, is the amount of bio-media.

You generally want to shoot for 10x water turnover in your tank every hour. So for a 37 gallon tank, you want to shoot for 370gph or so. But you will not actually be filtering that much water. Say you found a filter that did just that. It advertised 370gph. Well, it may very well do that. But when they test these pumps, they are level, and the filters are empty. They do not account for lift from the tank to the filter, nor do they account for the amount of bio-media you put in your filter. In their defense, how could they? They really don't know what you are going to put in there. So the gph is for the actual pump, on a level surface, with no bio-media impeding it. In actuality, that 370gph filter, when hooked up and full of filtration media, is closer to 185-200 gph. So you are actually shooting for 5-6x turnover in your tank when you factor in everything.

Another thing to consider is the amount of biomedia you want. The more the better. On the TF 40 Silent Stream, I believe all they provide you with is the carbon filled filter? So this limits the amount of biological filtration (the most important filtration) to that filter. Add a sponge in there, you increase you biomedia. Add some Seachem Matrix, increase it even more. The more biofiltration you have, the more heavily you can stock your tank (within reason of course. Don't want to put two oscars in a 37g bowfront lol.)

As for adding a second filter or getting one larger one. That is totally up to you. I am a proponent of two filter system. On my 75 gallon tank, I have two Cascade 1500 canister filters. Each one is rated for 350gph. So 700gph total. Pretty close to 10x. In reality, I know it's about half that amount. I have the lift from the bottom of the tank to the top, then all that water is forced through 5 trays of biomedia. But for me the benefit of two filters is twofold. (1) if there is a failure of one filter, I have the second one as a backup while I repair or replace the faulty filter. And (2) when I clean a filter (every other month I break them down and clean one of them) I am only messing with half of my biological filtration. If something were to go amiss, I still have the second filter to fall back on. And with double the biofiltration, that means more fish.