Extra running filter

**skysky** · 18th May 2007, 02:17

i am thinking to increase my biofilter capacity by transfering a existing running hang on filter (from a guppy tank) to my shrimp tank.

Will it be ok ?

Also as my hangon filter is too small to put too many biohome, so i place them is a plastic mesh and hide it at a corner of my shrimp tank, will bb flourish in it ?

appreciate any advice

**richietay** · 18th May 2007, 11:08

It's okie.

BB will grow on any porous surface in your tank, ie; on the gravel bed, sponge in your filter, on the bio media in your canister or wet/dry..etc.

Would suggest sponge/filter wool, probably can house more BB compare to plastic mesh as is more permeable.

**PLee** · 18th May 2007, 13:53

what is your existing filter that you are using??

**skysky** · 18th May 2007, 23:04

existing filter in the shrimp tank is a bigger hang on filter , the one from guppy tank also is a hangon filter but smaller one. in addition to these i put some biohome in a plastic net in the tank.

**zeloc87** · 18th May 2007, 23:48

Hi there, from what i know BB do better in medium when not exposed to sunlight/light, so putting them in a plastic net may not be the best solution, why not invest on a canister fulter? = p

**skysky** · 19th May 2007, 00:19

i do undertstand that it will be best to invest in a cannister filter, but really i am just into this hobby, less then 1 month. i guess investment such as chiller, canister have to be gradual. so i am exploring at all options. another reason is i dont really fancy the idea of having too many equipments around my living hall, so that why. no point for me to have a beautiful tank but surrounding is messy and ugly.

maybe some pro here might think otherwise, but really this thing for me is more of a fun and interesting pastime, will not become a hardcore fanatic.

**PLee** · 19th May 2007, 17:06

you can try to conceal the canister under your tank cabinet if you have one. Like that not ugly

**Quixotic** · 19th May 2007, 20:13

I don't think there should be major concerns regarding the BB.

Your existing filter should already be able to take care of the bioload in the first place.

So adding an extra filter just means extra filtration, the nitrification process is faster and more efficient. This translates to less frequency of water changes than what you are doing currently.

**skysky** · 20th May 2007, 13:22

I see. thanks for your explaination. i saw from a anoither thread, a bro here took a 2nd hand cannister to use in his crs tank and all his crs died from it. so what i am going to do it....use this spare one from guppy tank but will clean it completely, use new media etc and let the new BB slowly setup on the new hangon filter.
this way i can increase my filtration, speed up nitrification and also safe to my present crs and cherry

**Quixotic** · 20th May 2007, 18:22

If it is a second hand cannister, he probably got it from someone else right? Did he clean the cannister before using? Did he clean the materials that come with the cannister and see if the matrials can or are still usable? You never know what happened with the second hand cannister prior to this.

If your usual filter is already running, clean the extra one, set it up as new, and leave the usual filter running. The question is... is your usual filter able to cope with the existing bioload in the first place? I am assuming there is no change in your bioload.

**skysky** · 20th May 2007, 19:17

Thanks Quixotic ! you are always a great help when coming to issue like that.

Yup, exactly that is what i am going to do. clean throughly and use as a additional fresh new filter to my present filter. Because i am trying to increase my CRS in my tank so i want to make sure water quality is as good as possible and afterall the filter is a spare one.

**kaym** · 20th May 2007, 19:27

I believe with enough dissolved oxygen and filtration, you could actually keep more shrimps in a tank. I just added 40 more shrimps on top of my 10 resident ones and now i hardly see more than 10 at any single time. Probably the others are all amongst the thick moss and driftwood.

**skysky** · 20th May 2007, 19:32

I have about 80 and countless shrimplets in my 2 ft tank. coincidently regarding dissolved oxygen, i read from a taiwan forum..saying that for every degree more in tank temperature , oxygen content actually reduces quite a lot. Not sure whether it is true.

**kaym** · 20th May 2007, 19:43

Best to keep temps cool then. I'd play safe and add aeration if i had many shrimps. I read before that some bros even have up to 200 shrimps in a nano tank. So its possible. If too populated, then its time to spill over to another tank or thinking of upgrading. Oh, i hate waiting for a tank to cycle.

**Quixotic** · 20th May 2007, 21:06

Water holds more DO at lower temperatures.

Personally, I don't have any "real" issues with over loading too many faunas for your tanks. However, with so many faunas, doesn't maintenance have to be carried out more often than normal (compared with those with lower bioload)?

Also, aquarists don't always consider the worst scenarios. I can't imagine what is going to happen if the filter breaks down some day, or if there is an electricity shut down, or if overfeeding deterioates water condtions etc etc.

With less bioload, it will be less likely to affect your faunas and you have more time to take reactive actions. Just becareful of the bioload. My 2 cents worth.

**V551** · 24th May 2007, 21:18

Originally Posted by skysky

i do undertstand that it will be best to invest in a cannister filter, but really i am just into this hobby, less then 1 month. i guess investment such as chiller, canister have to be gradual. so i am exploring at all options. another reason is i dont really fancy the idea of having too many equipments around my living hall, so that why. no point for me to have a beautiful tank but surrounding is messy and ugly.

maybe some pro here might think otherwise, but really this thing for me is more of a fun and interesting pastime, will not become a hardcore fanatic.

Just a suggestion, would an ISO tank solve the problem ? with the sump, u can do away the hangons or cannister filter and also give you more gallons of water. thus less messy without the filter equipments and wirings....I am no expert in shrimp, but been in the hobby for decade with both fresh and marine which I give up for a year ago due to time restrain....only a fwe months ago I'd decide to restart my tank and went into moss and shrimp........but I'd always prefer ISO tank, so I can do away the cannister/hangon filter and the additional gallons of water..

I still do not spent alot of time home but I 'd a 4 x 2 x 1.5 feet sump for my 4+ x 2 x 2 feet main tank...and I fortunately get away from critical negative parameters maybe with that extra load of water for the little time I spent on maintenance......