Setting up tank

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zebbyboy

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
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68
I have a 12 gallon visioncube and it has a carbon pillow packet and a ceramic or cemenet pillow packet. They were in the filters and I'm not sure if I should put them back after rinising it off from the shipping material?
 
Pillow packet? Carbon filters are used to remove the smell and to polish the water. Ceramic rings and things like it are used to house the growth of bactera. It sounds like that's the filter media. Whether it needs to be unwrapped is another question. Perhaps a picture would help.
 
Yes your right it is. They are both in a nylon-like covering. Where would they go?
 
That nylon-like covering keeps the individual pieces (AC and biomedia) from falling out of the bag. THEY STAY ON! I'd recommend you purchase another insert of the ceramic media as that will help you more then the AC insert.

As for where they go, you probably have your filter up in the top of the tank near the lights (most small all-in-one setups use this for esthetics). There should be a way to open the top and a place for the inserts. The order they should be put in (if using the AC) would be:

1. foam pad if it came with it (this filters out the large pieces of junk)

2. ceramic media (this filters out the ammonia and nitrIte that harm the fish)

3. AC (this absorbs a lot of chemicals but lasts only a short time)

Those numbers are in order of how the water hits them. What you want is for the water to first hit #1, then #2, then #3. This allows for it to not clog as quickly because the large junk is first getting captured by the foam pad, and not clogging on something like the ceramic media.

If it was me though I'd get a foam pad if your kit doesn't come with one. If it does have that foam pad I'd get another insert of ceramic media and go.

1. foam pad

2. ceramic media

3. ceramic media

HTH
 
Ok, I have a large black sponge like piece so I'm guessing that is the foam. I also have 2 large white like fluffy filter pieces? Do they just stay in? Lol I'll try to provide pictures, because there are three different compartments in this.
 
zebbyboy said:
Ok, I have a large black sponge like piece so I'm guessing that is the foam. I also have 2 large white like fluffy filter pieces? Do they just stay in? Lol I'll try to provide pictures, because there are three different compartments in this.

Those large sponge pieces should be used first (so they capture the large gunk), then followed by the white flufy filter piece (which is for fine filtration I'm assuming), finally followed by the ceramic media (for biological filtration).

Pictures will definitely help.
 
Ok here's the four compartments, and you can see where the sponge and other filter are at. And then here is the carbon and ceramic. Where should they all go? Into one certain filter?
 

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OK, this is in the order the WATER hits the filter (ie the first insert I list is what the water sucked up by the tank should touch first):

1. black foam piece

2. white filter floss

3. ceramic beads

4. I'd put another insert of ceramic beads or another piece of foam
 
i have the same kind but mine were not in a nylon bag ! i dot think it matters it just makes it simpler to rinse.
 
Ok, so should I move the black piece and the foam filters over one compartment, and then put the ceramic pieces in the last one?
 
zebbyboy said:
Ok, so should I move the black piece and the foam filters over one compartment, and then put the ceramic pieces in the last one?

In your second picture, if the white insert (filter floss) is where the water comes in, you want to switch it with the black foam pad (that should be first). Then the ceramic media should go 3rd (2nd from the left side), and finally the last insert. Since you're doing a FC I would not use the carbon insert you were given, but instead go and purchase another ceramic media or foam insert as the carbon is not needed.

If the water comes in at the left side of the 2nd pic, then you want (from left to right):

black foam piece
white filter floss
ceramic media
ceramic media (or black foam piece)

Can you hook it up and see where the water comes in and leaves?
 
Ok I see what you mean! I'll grab some more ceramic media at the LFS instead of the carbon. So either way I will have to switch the filters around most likely right? I think that on the far right is where the water is going out where the filter floss is at, because you can see it has the almost grill like shape. Then there is the big vacumn part on the far right so that looks like where the water is going to come in. Lol sorry I don't know these specfic names :p
 
Well, now that I think about it, the ceramic was in the empty 3rd compartment so I am thinking that is where it stays along with the others. I think it is suppossed to be kept this way.
 
The reason for what we advised you on how to set them up, the black sponge has large pores, but it will catch any large deritus (crap) in the water column, smaller particles will make it through the black foam, the white peices has very fine pores basically (not really pores, since it is a floss) and will catch the majority of the remaining particles. As water rinses over the trapped debris, they wil lbegin rto deteriorate, turning into ammonia, that is wehre the cermaic comes from. the ceramic probably has many square yards of surface area, i.e. much area for bacteria to grow, that will convert the ammonia that is coming its way to NO2, and from NO2 to NO3.

If the filters are in the wrong place, the white filter could be clogged VERY quickly if hte large particles arent removed first, and the ceramic will be unable to do its job if it isnt prefiltered (it will have deritus all over it, which would kill any bacteria or anything, staring them of fresh water and oxygen)
 
Well, the pump is on the far left, so I am pretty sure this is where the water is going out. And where the filter floss is already is on the far right, where it looks as if the water is leaving. So I think I will switch the two and put the ceramic media in the same spot.
 
You guys have been such a great help and I appreciate it. I just have two more questions.

After seeing the tanks at the lfs I realize it's going from right to left (from pic) so I switched the black foam pad and white filter flosses.

1. Does the carbon go on top of the ceramic media or does it go in the next one where the pump is at?

2. And even though the tank was setup when it game with the filter floss and black foam pad in the filter areas, I was supposed to switch the two?
 
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