Fluval/AquaClear 110 and general questions on new setup

[Xen0n]

Hello,

I just started the fishless cycle on a new 65 gallon tank. Just added my 4ppm ammonia moments ago, and i'm super stoked. Of course I rushed to AA and surfed around Google and i've been reading about different suggestions which left me wondering a few things. So here we go...

1. I am seeing that for the safety of the tank it's highly recommended to use 2 filters. Right now i'm running a Fluval/AquaClear 110 HOB on a 65 gallon tank. Mostly for the cost, i'd probably have to hold off on getting a 2nd one for about a month, which i'm expecting my cycle to be done or close to done. Is it ok to just add a 2nd filter into a cycled and stocked tank or should I wait to cycle after the 2nd filter is purchased?

2. I've read a lot of things about not using carbon packs in your filter and not replacing them each month. I understood that the "goodies" needed to keep my cycled tank going strong and fish healthy, is in the filter. So that replacing this each month i'm pretty much throwing away things that are essential to the health of my tank. What am I supposed to use as the AquaClear 110 uses a foam insert, carbon pack filter, and biomax insert? I don't understand is the carbon bad or is it replacing it each month that is not recommended?

3. I found a cheap TopFin digital thermometer but don't really know much about them. I'm using the digital thermometer now but I just get a feelings it's cheap and possibly not accurate. Are these reliable or should I just get a regular suction cup or floating glass thermometer? I'd like to make sure I don't hurt my fish and have accurate temperature readings.

4. Is there a such thing as too much bubbles? The deal in me getting the tank and supplies was my wife and daughter got to decorate it. Of course our freshwater tank looks like a very artificial salt water setup, but that was the deal LOL... anyway, the decor they selected is a big coral looking thingy that has a built in bubble wand, a smaller one with a bubble stone in it, and a bubble stone turtle... so I have 3 bubble sources going and I just want to make sure it's not overkill for the health of the tank or fish (when they are stocked).

Sorry for all these newbie questions, but I see the support here is fantastic and i'm sure i'll have some very knowledgable responses to help us in our new aquarium project

 

[nirbhao]

First of all, awesome research skills! Second, oh my goodness do children pick the worst decor! My 5 year-old loves the neon stuff.

Filter media- the sponge and ceramic tabby things shouldn't need to be replaced except in an extreme circumstance. Whenever you do a water change, squeeze the sponge and shake the tabbies in the old water before tossing it. It only gets better with age.

The activated carbon is something I don't know as much about. We do a 10 day course of Herbtana with new introductions, so we take it out for that. We also currently seem to have blue rams who consider internal parasites a hobby (okay, two outbreaks but that is ENOUGH as far as I care), so we take it out for that medication, too. Otherwise we leave it in.

My favorite thing about the AquaClear line is that every component can be switched out. Plus they don't have cartridges. You can literally buy a big jug of activated carbon and media bags to replace it if you want to.

As for thermometers, analog are not something to sneeze at. $2 for something that always works is worthwhile.

the tiny computer is full of delicion!

 

[Barliman]

Hello,

Howdy, and welcome to the hobby!

I just started the fishless cycle on a new 65 gallon tank.

My biggest is a 20-long. #envy

1. I am seeing that for the safety of the tank it's highly recommended to use 2 filters. Right now i'm running a Fluval/AquaClear 110 HOB on a 65 gallon tank. Mostly for the cost, i'd probably have to hold off on getting a 2nd one for about a month, which i'm expecting my cycle to be done or close to done. Is it ok to just add a 2nd filter into a cycled and stocked tank or should I wait to cycle after the 2nd filter is purchased?

I prefer two filters, both for the added capacity and as a backup in case (when) one fails. The Aquaclears are a great line of filters. Go ahead and add your 110 in a month. It will only do mechanical and chemical filtration until the bacteria build up, but you can hasten that by moving a cycled sponge or biomedia from the first filter to the second.

2. I've read a lot of things about not using carbon packs in your filter and not replacing them each month.

Carbon isn't essential to your filtration, though I like to use it or some other form of chemical filtration. You don't *need* it, though. (Some people get a bit... adamant in their opposition to carbon. ) Its chemical filtering will only last a couple of weeks under a normal load, though, after which it provides an (imho) inferior biological filtration from the bacteria that's grown on it. You'll get better biological filtration from replacing the carbon with a second sponge. For example, I run my two aquaclears on the 20-long like this:

Sponge/Purigen**/biomedia and sponge/sponge/biomedia.

The second filter provides more biological filtration than if I loaded it with sponge/old, used carbon/biomedia.

**(I don't use carbon, but I do use Purigen. It's great stuff, keeps my water crystal clear. I love it.)

3. I found a cheap TopFin digital thermometer but don't really know much about them. I'm using the digital thermometer now but I just get a feelings it's cheap and possibly not accurate. Are these reliable or should I just get a regular suction cup or floating glass thermometer? I'd like to make sure I don't hurt my fish and have accurate temperature readings.

Get a regular glass thermometer and use it to check the accuracy of the digital one. Or, do you have a thermo-wand in your kitchen? Stick the tip in the water and see what it reads.

Sorry for all these newbie questions, but I see the support here is fantastic and i'm sure i'll have some very knowledgable responses to help us in our new aquarium project

Everyone was a beginner at some point, and we never stop learning. Keep asking, we're happy to help.

 

[JoeMan]

Adding a new filter to a established tank is fine as long as you leave the old one on or you move the bio filtration from the old filter to the new one. You dont want to crash the tank

 

[NickNaylor]

Second recommendation for the Purigen. I initially used the carbon filter included with my Fluval canister filter and started reading that it can remove nutrients from fertilizers (which I'm adding as I have a planted tank). Took the carbon out, put in a bag of Purigen, it's working extremely well.

I can't speak to the claimed regenerative capacity of Purigen as I've only had it in my tank for a couple of weeks, but that quality is obviously also a nice touch.

 

[IllusionX]

I just go without. My filters containd just the sponge and a bag of bio media.

I run dual filtration on both my tanks, but I went with a HOB and a canister. HOB gets weekly cleaning while the canister is only cleaned once a month.