Pondguru's filtering method

Hey everyone,

So recently i've purchased an Eheim Professionel 4+ 250 for my 180L Juwel aquarium. I'm not that impressed with the flow but it isn't a huge deal.
I've been watching these Pondguru videos where he throws away the awful plastic Eheim Mech Pro plastic media and uses a coarse, then a medium sponge then a fine filter pad on the bottom tray (the water contacts the bottom tray first when it goes through the trays). The next tray i would fill up with Eheim Substrate Pro, there's already some in that tray but it isn't filled to the top yet.
So my question is..
If i setup my mechanical filtration first in the order of coarse, medium, fine instead of the Mech Pro plastic trash will it reduce my flow?
I would like to hear some answers from people who've actually been trying this, thanks!

-Jeroen

 

My daughter has a 260L (70usg)

It has an FX4 with 2.5kg to 3kg Biohome Ultimate. We have a Fluval U4 in her tank which does the mechanical filtration. No nitrates. And considering we have 10ppm in out tap water that's a huge result.

We did try a separate "booster" cannister inline upstream of the FX4 but it reduced the speed of circulation and the nitrates didn't reduce in the tap water.

I'd say yes fine filters will reduce flow. We were lucky in our purchase of the FX4. My daughters aquarium was a Christmas present. The FX4 enables water changes without buckets. As my daughter is 12 I felt the extra cost was necessary. Noting we are just completing the installation of an automatic water change system which will change 3-5% of the water daily.

The Biohome Ultimate works. The increase in mechanical filtration didn't work for us. We keep our mechanical and biological filtration separate. We do have course filters in the FX4 and a small fine sponge to make sure that no small stuff gets into the Biohome.

AiYn'U

 

My daughter has a 260L (70usg)

It has an FX4 with 2.5kg to 3kg Biohome Ultimate. We have a Fluval U4 in her tank which does the mechanical filtration. No nitrates. And considering we have 10ppm in out tap water that's a huge result.

We did try a separate "booster" cannister inline upstream of the FX4 but it reduced the speed of circulation and the nitrates didn't reduce in the tap water.

I'd say yes fine filters will reduce flow. We were lucky in our purchase of the FX4. My daughters aquarium was a Christmas present. The FX4 enables water changes without buckets. As my daughter is 12 I felt the extra cost was necessary. Noting we are just completing the installation of an automatic water change system which will change 3-5% of the water daily.

The Biohome Ultimate works. The increase in mechanical filtration didn't work for us. We keep our mechanical and biological filtration separate. We do have course filters in the FX4 and a small fine sponge to make sure that no small stuff gets into the Biohome.

AiYn'U

Well there's already a fine filter pad in the canister, just not on the right spot, it's on the top tray. Right now in my bottom tray there's this Eheim Mech Pro stuff which is just small plastic tubes which pretty much do little to nothing, it's supposed to be the mechanical filtration. So i was planning on removing the plastic stuff and put a coarse, medium and fine filter pad in there and remove the fine filter pad which is already in there on the top tray.

So my question really is, will the coarse/medium/fine filterpad order instead of the plastic Mech Pro slow down the flow?

 

Well there's already a fine filter pad in the canister, just not on the right spot, it's on the top tray. Right now in my bottom tray there's this Eheim Mech Pro stuff which is just small plastic tubes which pretty much do little to nothing, it's supposed to be the mechanical filtration. So i was planning on removing the plastic ****, and put a coarse, medium and fine filter pad in there and remove the fine filter pad which is already in there on the top tray.

So my question really is, will the coarse/medium/fine filterpad order instead of the plastic Mech Pro slow down the flow?

Yes.

AiYn'U

 

Hey everyone,

So recently i've purchased an Eheim Professionel 4+ 250 for my 180L Juwel aquarium. I'm not that impressed with the flow but it isn't a huge deal.
I've been watching these Pondguru videos where he throws away the awful plastic Eheim Mech Pro plastic media and uses a coarse, then a medium sponge then a fine filter pad on the bottom tray (the water contacts the bottom tray first when it goes through the trays). The next tray i would fill up with Eheim Substrate Pro, there's already some in that tray but it isn't filled to the top yet.
So my question is..
If i setup my mechanical filtration first in the order of coarse, medium, fine instead of the Mech Pro plastic trash will it reduce my flow?
I would like to hear some answers from people who've actually been trying this, thanks!

-Jeroen

Yes the flow rates on these filters are measured empty so when u fill them with media they do slow down I use fx6’s and they are rated at 925gph but with all the media I’ve installed I’m around 600-650 gph

 

Yes the flow rates on these filters are measured empty so when u fill them with media they do slow down I use fx6’s and they are rated at 925gph but with all the media I’ve installed I’m around 600-650 gph

Hi Tallen,
If you're not getting a complete cycle I'd recommend the Biohome Ultimate or it's equivalent. I don't know who sells the Biohome range in the US or I'd copy a link. It's not expensive when you look at its longevity.

AiYn'U

 

Yes the flow rates on these filters are measured empty so when u fill them with media they do slow down I use fx6’s and they are rated at 925gph but with all the media I’ve installed I’m around 600-650 gph

I know they're measured empty and the basket is already filled with media but a plastic awful one, i'm replacing it with sponges, coarse / medium / fine in that order. and i'll be removing the fine pad which is in the top tray already.

No offense but, would love some answers from people who have used the Pondguru's method.

 

No offense but, would love some answers from people who have used the Pondguru's method.

No offense taken. However, I am telling you I have tried pond guru's "filter" pimping. Sheesh man I've even spoken to Richard over the phone. The addition of mechanical "pond" coarse and medium to the filter slowed it down.
I'm not entirely sure what more I can add to this thread, having mentioned this several times now

AiYn'U

Sorry yes I can add to this thread

PM me and I'll gladly give you Pond Guru's phone number.

Cheers
AiYn'U

 

I know they're measured empty and the basket is already filled with media but a plastic awful one, i'm replacing it with sponges, coarse / medium / fine in that order. and i'll be removing the fine pad which is in the top tray already.

No offense but, would love some answers from people who have used the Pondguru's method.

I have used their method and am currently still using them except I use pumice stone as my media and here’s the pads plus I use pinky floss anything else u would like to know?

 

I'm using the pond guru method but I have just started, with my 55 gallon tank. I am using the fine, medium, course sponges. I am using bio-home media ultimate, and a small per-canister filter. I have the Sunsun 704b, but with a different brand name, the top two baskets are filled with the bio-home ultimate media.

 

I'm using the pond guru method but I have just started, with my 55 gallon tank. I am using the fine, medium, course sponges. I am using bio-home media ultimate, and a small per-canister filter. I have the Sunsun 704b, but with a different brand name, the top two baskets are filled with the bio-home ultimate media.

Very nice, i would love to get some of the bio-home ultimate but it's way too expensive imo. Do you notice any decrease in flow rates after using the coarse, medium, fine method?

I have used their method and am currently still using them except I use pumice stone as my media and here’s the pads plus I use pinky floss anything else u would like to know?

Have you always used this coarse / medium / fine method? If not, have you noticed any decrease in flow rate after switching over to this method?

I'm sorry if i'm asking too many questions and stuff but i'm a person who wants to be a 100% sure about everything and the best way to do that is ask multiple people about their personal experiences imo. Also i'm quite tight on money so i'd love to know if it all works properly before i spend money on it and end up chucking it in the garbage bin

 

Very nice, i would love to get some of the bio-home ultimate but it's way too expensive imo. Do you notice any decrease in flow rates after using the coarse, medium, fine method?

Well I have no idea about how much flow rate I have. The canister is rated by the manufacture for 525 gph. All I know is that it is flowing water in and out. But I found out on a youtube video today that I have my hoses setup wrong. The hose out flow from the canister to the tank should be the shortest hose, but mine is the intake hose. So I will have to do something about this in the near future, by switching them around. This is my first canister setup, and I am finding it a pain in the behind to mess with it without getting water on the floor. That is why mine are setup in a large plastic tub.

 

Well I have no idea about how much flow rate I have. The canister is rated by the manufacture for 525 gph. All I know is that it is flowing water in and out. But I found out on a youtube video today that I have my hoses setup wrong. The hose out flow from the canister to the tank should be the shortest hose, but mine is the intake hose. So I will have to do something about this in the near future, by switching them around. This is my first canister setup, and I am finding it a pain in the behind to mess with it without getting water on the floor. That is why mine are setup in a large plastic tub.

Old towels - loads of them .

Stick with it Utar. It will be worth it

AiYn'U

 

Well I have no idea about how much flow rate I have. The canister is rated by the manufacture for 525 gph. All I know is that it is flowing water in and out. But I found out on a youtube video today that I have my hoses setup wrong. The hose out flow from the canister to the tank should be the shortest hose, but mine is the intake hose. So I will have to do something about this in the near future, by switching them around. This is my first canister setup, and I am finding it a pain in the behind to mess with it without getting water on the floor. That is why mine are setup in a large plastic tub.

Hmm so far i've taken the hoses off twice only had it for 1 day but had to change some things up. My spray bar was spraying a bit downwards into the aquarium instead of upwards. Both times when i took the hosing off etc i spilled maybe 1 or 2 drops of water so i'm having no issues with that. Also my intake is next to my spraybar on the same side so the hoses are short already

 

Here's a picture of how my intake / spraybar are set up. Stupid Mystery snails are in the way lol..

 

Also the water has a slight white cloudyness now, but that should go away once the bacteria are sorted in the new filter

 

You have both your intake and outtake on the same side of the tank. I thought the way to do this was to have them on opposite ends of the tank. That is how mine are setup. But I could be wrong.

 

It can be done both ways, having one on each side is better for the waterflow but i have a strong Eheim airpump with an Eheim airstone on the other side which makes a nice strong flow so yeah it doesn't matter that much in my case

 

Very nice, i would love to get some of the bio-home ultimate but it's way too expensive imo. Do you notice any decrease in flow rates after using the coarse, medium, fine method?


Have you always used this coarse / medium / fine method? If not, have you noticed any decrease in flow rate after switching over to this method?

I'm sorry if i'm asking too many questions and stuff but i'm a person who wants to be a 100% sure about everything and the best way to do that is ask multiple people about their personal experiences imo. Also i'm quite tight on money so i'd love to know if it all works properly before i spend money on it and end up chucking it in the garbage bin

The lack of flow isn’t noticeable and the sponges pretty much just extends filter maintenance and help with polishing ur water as far as the bio home idk I mean I’m sure they are way better than the ceramic rings and plastic balls but I don’t use it so not sure of the benefits

 

When you watch the pondguru's video about bio-media he explains how bio-home media ultimate is made to home both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. So if it works as it should, hopefully in the distant future plants and anaerobic bacteria will scrub the nitrates in my tank. Which means less frequent water changes, because I want have to worry about nitrate gas build up.

 

The lack of flow isn’t noticeable and the sponges pretty much just extends filter maintenance and help with polishing ur water as far as the bio home idk I mean I’m sure they are way better than the ceramic rings and plastic balls but I don’t use it so not sure of the benefits

Hmm luckily we have a Dutch Biohome website where i can buy the Pondguru's foams, thanks for the imput i'm going to try it out

 

When you watch the pondguru's video about bio-media he explains how bio-home media ultimate is made to home both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. So if it works as it should, hopefully in the distant future plants and anaerobic bacteria will scrub the nitrates in my tank. Which means less frequent water changes, because I want have to worry about nitrate gas build up.

Yeah i have a heavily planted tank and i'll fill the top tray up with Eheim substrat pro which is sintered glass aswell so nitrates isn't really a problem for me.

 

When you watch the pondguru's video about bio-media he explains how bio-home media ultimate is made to home both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. So if it works as it should, hopefully in the distant future plants and anaerobic bacteria will scrub the nitrates in my tank. Which means less frequent water changes, because I want have to worry about nitrate gas build up.

Yes that’s the plan

 

When you watch the pondguru's video about bio-media he explains how bio-home media ultimate is made to home both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. So if it works as it should, hopefully in the distant future plants and anaerobic bacteria will scrub the nitrates in my tank. Which means less frequent water changes, because I want have to worry about nitrate gas build up.

Our experience with Biohome has been to say the least incredible. We've used 3kg on both my daughters tanks which are roughly 60 & 70usg. Pond Guru (Richard) recommends 1kg per 100L or (if my maths is correct 26 usg). So we slightly over-stocked. Not had any nitrates since the Biohome went in. All three tanks (including the quarantine tank) have 1ppm nitrate.

That aside we've had some issues with phosphate levels in our tap water. We've started using RODI water and have automatic filling for both my daughters tanks now.

I hope you have the same results with the Biohome.

AiYn'U

 

Jeroen712 , you can use Richard Pondguru's method as a guide, but you don't have to follow it 100%.

From what I recall, your model of Eheim has a small tray at the very top the water hits first then is diverter back down to the bottom. The water then flows up through the main baskets and out the canister.

That top basket should have a coarse foam already in it where the water hits first.

Also, you can buy Eheim's pre-filter that attaches to the intake tube with the starainer removed. It also uses a coarse foam.

Between the included upper basket with the coarse foam and if you installed the Eheim pre-filter on the intake (or a DIY type), that will catch a lot of the larger muck.

That would leave you with only needed to fill the bottom basket with a "medium" foam and possibly a "fine" foam or a fine filter pad.

If you can source a 20ppi (pores per inch) sheet of foam, you can buy that instead of the Pondguru's pond foam.

Also, regarding BioHome, Eheim Substrat Pro, or other bio-media, I would just fill the top main basket with the included Eheim Substrat Pro.

It's actually a very high quality sintered glass media that is more porous than the majority of ceramic bio-media available. Even Richard the Pondguru states more than once in his series of videos that it's a quality media.

In my opinion, filling the basket with BioHome would be a waste of money. I'm not 100% sure if BioHome will support anaerobic bacteria and if it can, your Eheim 250 canister wont be able to hold enough to accomplish any reduction in Nitrates.

I dont exactly recall what Richard said each basket holds when he did the review for the Eheim 600, but I don't think it will hold the 1-2kg/100 liters he recommends.

I would think you could get better results in nitrate reduction by buying a Pothos ivy plant (common house plant) and laying it on your tanks lid with the roots hanging down into the water between the back of the glass lid and the tank's rear frame.

I've done this on our 75g South American tank and a little 10g tank. Between the Pothos and WC's every 7 days, I don't see spikes in Nitrates.

 

One of the things the pondguru shows to do on his **** my filter video is to throw some bio media into the bottom of the filter to help break up the water flow before it hits the filter pads. I did this and now as I set here I hear that stuff rattling around in the bottom of my filter, sounds like bacon frying or rain on a tin roof. oh well

 

Jeroen712 , you can use Richard Pondguru's method as a guide, but you don't have to follow it 100%.

From what I recall, your model of Eheim has a small tray at the very top the water hits first then is diverter back down to the bottom. The water then flows up through the main baskets and out the canister.

That top basket should have a coarse foam already in it where the water hits first.

Also, you can buy Eheim's pre-filter that attaches to the intake tube with the starainer removed. It also uses a coarse foam.

Between the included upper basket with the coarse foam and if you installed the Eheim pre-filter on the intake (or a DIY type), that will catch a lot of the larger muck.

That would leave you with only needed to fill the bottom basket with a "medium" foam and possibly a "fine" foam or a fine filter pad.

If you can source a 20ppi (pores per inch) sheet of foam, you can buy that instead of the Pondguru's pond foam.

Also, regarding BioHome, Eheim Substrat Pro, or other bio-media, I would just fill the top main basket with the included Eheim Substrat Pro.

It's actually a very high quality sintered glass media that is more porous than the majority of ceramic bio-media available. Even Richard the Pondguru states more than once in his series of videos that it's a quality media.

In my opinion, filling the basket with BioHome would be a waste of money. I'm not 100% sure if BioHome will support anaerobic bacteria and if it can, your Eheim 250 canister wont be able to hold enough to accomplish any reduction in Nitrates.

I dont exactly recall what Richard said each basket holds when he did the review for the Eheim 600, but I don't think it will hold the 1-2kg/100 liters he recommends.

I would think you could get better results in nitrate reduction by buying a Pothos ivy plant (common house plant) and laying it on your tanks lid with the roots hanging down into the water between the back of the glass lid and the tank's rear frame.

I've done this on our 75g South American tank and a little 10g tank. Between the Pothos and WC's every 7 days, I don't see spikes in Nitrates.

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I was planning on removing the fine filter pad from the top tray and put some extra Eheim Substrate Pro in the top tray (because removing the pad leaves some space open), was never planning on buying Biohome because it's just a waste of money (for me) and it's very very expensive. Nitrates has never been an issue for me, i never ever have any algae apart from on the glass a little bit every now and then, my plants are doing great and my nitrates stay stable at around 10-20 for like 2 weeks. The question was purely about the foams. Since nitrates aren't an issue for me, i wanted to try the pondguru's coarse / medium / fine method, because i don't need that much biological media when i'm fine with my nitrates .
Now about the Eheim prefilter..
I've bought a canister filter to remove my giant internal filter which was just ugly so adding a big prefilter will take up too much room imo. I've already bought the coarse / medium / fine pads from the Biohome official website and it was only 12 euros so it's worth trying it out for only 12 euros

Also, i've seen people putting that Mech Pro stuff on the bottom of the canister (underneath the trays) because there's a huge gap there but the stuff floats and i'm not sure if that's a great idea lol, maybe it would get into one of the hoses or something.

 

12 euro isn't bad for the 3 sheets of the pond foams.

I wasn't sure how much it cost

 

Hey, thanks for the reply.
I was planning on removing the fine filter pad from the top tray and put some extra Eheim Substrate Pro in the top tray (because removing the pad leaves some space open), was never planning on buying Biohome because it's just a waste of money (for me) and it's very very expensive. Nitrates has never been an issue for me, i never ever have any algae apart from on the glass a little bit every now and then, my plants are doing great and my nitrates stay stable at around 10-20 for like 2 weeks. The question was purely about the foams. Since nitrates aren't an issue for me, i wanted to try the pondguru's coarse / medium / fine method, because i don't need that much biological media when i'm fine with my nitrates .
Now about the Eheim prefilter..
I've bought a canister filter to remove my giant internal filter which was just ugly so adding a big prefilter will take up too much room imo. I've already bought the coarse / medium / fine pads from the Biohome official website and it was only 12 euros so it's worth trying it out for only 12 euros

Also, i've seen people putting that Mech Pro stuff on the bottom of the canister (underneath the trays) because there's a huge gap there but the stuff floats and i'm not sure if that's a great idea lol, maybe it would get into one of the hoses or something.

The Eheim Mech works amazingly! It catches soooo much large debris, it doesn’t float so throw it in the bottom of your can If you have space.

 

The Eheim Mech works amazingly! It catches soooo much large debris, it doesn’t float so throw it in the bottom of your can If you have space.

The Mech doesn't float, no. But i have the Mech Pro which is just plastic stuff which does nothing, i'm really not sure why they call this "pro" lol.. here's a picture.