Emeror questions....

[Breene]

I just got my emperor 400 filter in the mail today. I opened it up to find everything there but when I looked in the bag that had the blueish filter bags it came with 2 of those and 2 empty plastic containers that it said to fill... with what I have no idea. Was it supposed to come with something or do I need to go buy carbon or something else to put in it?

And also it said to rinse the filter bag... Should I just run it under tap water for a few min or something? How do I know when its done? And is it ok that some of the carbon came out of the slots? There is a tiny little pile in the bag.

 

[GIS Guy]

The empty containers are for carbon, ammonia chips, etc.
You really don't need those, but you could double up on the floss media cartridges.

I am not sure what you mean by "filter bag".

 

[homebunnyj]

The empy plastic containers would be the media baskets, which you can fill with extra biomedia to give extra surface for bacteria to grow on. Or, you could put in crushed coral to harden your water, or peat to soften it, or carbon to clean it, or whatever you feel your tank needs.
The purpose of rinsing the blue filter is to remove the carbon dust. You rinse it until the water runs clear. It's okay that the little pieces of carbon fell out. After a couple or three weeks, I cut my blue filter open and pull out all the carbon. Then I just continue using the blue filter thingy till it falls apart. I rinse it in the water change bucket sometimes to keep it from being all clogged.

 

[GIS Guy]

Better for the carbon to fall out while rinsing than to end up in the filter.
The emperor cartridges can also become pricey.
I am going to do what Orion suggested to me a few weeks back.
I'll purchase filter floss from my lfs, was only $4+ for a large roll that I will rubber band to the media frame.

 

[Breene]

ok sweet thanks. Also lonewolfblue (I think) reccomended filling the back compartments with bio ceramic tubes. I thought he (or she?) ment to just dump it in the baskets in the back but do you think they are small enough to fit in the grey plastic thing I asked about? Ive never seen them in person so im not sure how large they are...

And yea both of you good ideas on how to make the packets last longer. GIS guy which store did you find the floss at? Petsmart or something?

 

[GIS Guy]

Breene,
There are similar items on Dr.F&S: Fish : Filter Media
You may also check the craft department (HobbyLobby) for polyfill.
I am not sure if Petsmart has this.

The ceramic tubes may fit. If they do you won't fit may and the benefit is have a lot of surface area. You may want to search for something smaller to increase the capacity.

 

[Breene]

So I couldnt just skip the plastic container alltogeather and just pour the ceramic tubes in the thing that hangs behind the aquarium?

 

[GIS Guy]

You could I suppose, but it may become difficult to change out the mechanical filter pad. What you could do is get a mesh bag and fill that with the bio media. Then it would be contained and you wouldn't have to mess with the awkward plastic container.

Kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone:
Super Porous Ceramic Media

 

[Breene]

thanks, i like the bag that comes in. I think thats everything I needed then =]

 

[THUNDER]

I use Diamond Blend in the media box and I am happy with the results. The blue filter pads are expensive, but well worth it.

Thunder

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Use ceramic cylinders or lava media in the containers. You don't want to use carbon, as carbon only lasts about 2 weeks and then becomes ineffective. The ceramic rings and lava media are permanent, never needs changing, just an occasional rinse. Every time you do filter maintenance, you pull the basket, open it, and check. If all looks good, then just plop it back in. If a little clogged, rinse in old tank water and plop back in. That's it.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

These may help.....

Hydor Prime Media Lava Stone at Big Al's Online

Hydor Prime Media Ceramic Cylinders at Big Al's Online

These are cheaper than the Marineland pads and are by far better.....
eBay: 24 Filter Cartridges for Marineland Emperor 280 and 400 (item 250021431570 end time Aug-28-06 21:40:44 PDT)

 

[Breene]

Lol thanks LWB but you already showed me all those in my other thread remember? My question is where do I put them? I didnt know if I could just pour it in or if I needed a bag like GIS guy said or If I was supposed to put it in the grey plastic things it came with. I will get a bag just to be sure I guess unless it will hunder the performance or something.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Take the plastic basket (the grey thing) out and put them any way you like. Then put the basket with the cylinders in the filter.The cylinders I like putting in so the water flows through the holes.

 

[GIS Guy]

The bag shouldn't hinder the performance any worse than the grey basket filled with carbon would.
Just use a mechanical filter for the junk and the bio will just need water passing thru it enough to keep it alive.

 

[Breene]

ok LWB so you accually put the ceramic cylinders in the grey, square basket with holes? I was just wondering because you cant fit many in there my the looks of it... its not very thick and it has those dividers. I Think I have an idea of what Im going to try... Ill look for a sponge of some sort or maby ill use the blue mesh on the included filters when they need changed (just rinse them) and put it in the grey basket for some mechanical filtration on one side of the filter. Then on the other I will either fill the grey basket with the ceramic cylinders or just buy a filter media bag to put more in.

So on one side: grey basket with sponge or something + blue mesh carbon filter

And on the other: ceramic cyclinders in either grey basket or media bad + blue mesh carbon filter

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Sounds like a plan there. When I put the cylinders in, I set the basket on a flat surface and place the cylinders on their ends and not laying on their sides. Once you get in as many as you can, you are good to go.