Diatom Filter arrived with RESULTS!!! (pics included)

[7Enigma]

Hey all,

Well my planted tank is doing great, but I'm fed up with the cloudy water. I don't know if its from the ferts, or just plant matter and fish waste, but my tank no longer looks even close to clear. I've been debating on a diatom filter for a long time but have finally decided to bite the bullet and get one.

So here's my question. I've got a 20gallon high planted tank and want a diatom filter to run once every 2 weeks or so to get the water close to crystal clear. I'd like to spend around $60-70 max, and if possible it would be nice to have something that would work in a 55gallon if the MTS sets in . I've done some research and read some of the past posts on this forum and am still really confused on which to get (Hot Magnum 350 and Vortex D1 seem to be the top ones recommended). Oh and just as important if one has more longterm costs than the other. Any help appreciated!

Thanks,

justin

tank shot as of yesterday (no flash and prior to trimming today but you get the picture of the water quality):

and one with the flash on

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I purchased the Vortex XL and love it. Set it up for the first time last night, ran it 2 hours, and even though my tank looked crystal clear, it still pulled out lots of crud, lol. It may be a little more expensive then you are looking for, but if the Voretx D1 is anything like it, it's a great diatom filter.

 

[7Enigma]

So I just checked Big Al's and the D1 is on sale for $70 and they have $10 shipping at that price point. Anyone know of a cheaper price (I'd like to avoid Ebay)??

Well I spent about an hour going through all the site vendors and google and Big Al's is still the cheapest. So I ordered the D1 for ~$80 after shipping fees.

 

[7Enigma]

Well if anyone is looking for the cheapest and fastest access to a Vortex D1 diatom filter, I just found out PetSmart has it for $67.00. They also currently have a free shipping coupon for over $50 purchases. Wish I would have seen this because I have a PetSmart 10min from the house and it would have been slightly cheaper as well. The problem is my tank is getting worse by the day and I assume I'll get this Friday at the earliest through Big Al's.

Oh well, hope it helps someone else.

justin

 

[7Enigma]

So after a crazy day at work I come home to find my diatom waiting. I ordered it sunday night from Big Al's and its here today! Also it was the cheapest I could find (my local PetSmart didn't have it in stock). So I put it together in about 5-10minutes with the directions. I then use a large Sam Adams glass mug to test it in my sink to get a hang of it. Then I go about priming the system with just water.

Then I take the mug and primed system upstairs and proceed to add the diatom powder to the mug. I put about 2/3 of the powder from the package in the mug and it quickly binds to the filter and the glass is clear. So I drop the mug into the tank and begin my filtering. About 5min later I notice it is doing something but its not as quick as I would have liked. I look at the diatom package again (I looked before but only briefly) and realize the WHOLE amount was to be added at once. So instead of putting the intake and output back into the glass and priming as I did before I decide to save 2 minutes and put the powder in the empty container and then fill it with tank water.

Idiot!!! I forgot I have to lower it back into the water to get the intake and output back into the mug. Well obviously 1/2 the powder proceeds to rise up out of the mug and into the tank at which point I freak out and accidentally take the intake out of the water. I've now lost my prime and I've got diatom powder leaking out of the output into the tank. The tank now looks like I put a cup of chalk powder in it. I quickly with much cursing reprime the system and about 25 min later have some specatular results. Other than the few leaves that still have diatom powder on the tops of them, the tank looks amazing. Not crystal clear like some others have mentioned but still an amazing improvement.

I'm just so ticked off that it was the SECOND time I screwed up, and had I just added all the powder at once this would have gone much smoother. But the fish seem fine, I can finally see the back of the tank (it was only a mild green water problem and possible Ich remember), and I didn't mess up too badly.

For those thinking of getting a diatom (I have the vortex D1) I would highly recommend them, but just don't rush any steps and double check before you make a mistake.

The only thing I really hate about this filter is the tubing supplied is very POOR. It is thin and tends to crimp on itself so you have to really mess around with positioning of the base and inlet/outlet so you don't effect the flow seriously.

I also took off the outlet diffuser and aimed at the substrate kicking up a lot of fish waste and plant debris. This is FAR superior to a gravel vac as you have as long as you want to get all the junk (instead of the 30sec during a gravel vac in my case for 5gallons).

Without further A-DO....Here are my results:

Before diatom filtering:

After diatom filtering:

Click for fullsize pictures (taken with my video camera still shot with no flash, and tank light on), and pay particular attention to the BACKGROUND to see exactly how much it helps as my lighting tends to affect the image from the camera.

Hope this helps someone,

justin

 

[current516]

I ended up with diatom powder all over my tank the first time I used mine too. I forget the details but I remember it was a stupid mistake.

After that it was smooth sailing. I love the filter but I have the same tubing problem. I read somewhere to take them off, run hot water through them, and when they loosen up to run cold water through them.

I tried it. It worked a bit, but after storing they usually kink again.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Looks good. Next time ou charge the filter, you will probably get a better filtering as well. But it looks great. As for what you said about the hoses, I have the XL model, and the hoses are like those on the XP3 filter, very thick and hard to kink. And when you restart the diatom filter, you use the crimper to crimp off the output for 2 minutes while it's running. This gets all the diatom material off the bottom of the filter and back onto the filter cartrige where it's supposed to me. And boy, as thick as the tubing it is, it's a bugger trying to get the crimping tool on the hose. But good job. Your tank is looking great. How long did you run the filter? I ran mine just over 2 hours. And even though my tank was crystal clear before, as I just wanted to test it, after 2 hours the diatom powder inside went from white to light brown.

 

[plecoperson]

SWEET LORD-so sparkly!

I love stories about "the first time I used my Python" and I really enjoyed your "first time" tale, too. It makes taking the plunge into a new piece of equipment less anxiety-provoking, knowing that everything will be OK in the end. If a little wet and/or cloudy.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and now I know what I want for Christmas.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

When I first looked at the diatom filter and all the pieces, I thought, OH MY..... lol. But once you get started, it goes together pretty easy. Then where the nerves are is the charging of the filter. But for me, it went flawless. Took it slow, and just 1 step at a time. Went pretty smooth.

 

[newfound77951]

I messed up pretty badly when I first set up my diatom filter (almost the whole charge of DE went into the tank...oops), but now I've got it down to a science (it's running now, actually). I get a noticeable color on the filter almost instantly, and at my tank's worst, the filter would get dark green and flow rate would drop to almost nothing within 10 minutes!

 

[7Enigma]

I ended up letting the filter run the first time for about 20min, then there was the 20min catastrophy, and then let it run for probably 25-30min to actually finish cleaning. I would have loved to run it longer, but I was tired of watching the tank (fears of something going wrong when I wasn't in the room), and more importantly it was about 92F and humid in the room and I was concerned about the filter. It was too hot to hold my hand around the motor portion and I got worried something would warp/break/lessen the life.

I'm glad to see other's are having the same difficulty with the hoses (and I'm not just an idiot). I think it's a serious flaw in the design (at least the D-1 model) and I'll have to see if I can find some cheap stiffer tubing as replacement. I looked like I was doing some "praying mantis" karate or something during cleaning. I was using my hose outside (since I heard it can be somewhat of a mess) and was balanced on one leg, with the other above my waist so that the input line (backflushing) wouldn't crimp off under its own weight. I don't think the hot water trick would do much good as the wall thickness of the tubing is just not meant for the partial vacuum that the vortex creates on the inlet side.

Also when finished cleaning I didn't get that green tint I've heard a lot about which suprised me since I thought I had mild green water. The filter also never lost much if any flow rate during operation. Instead I had an off-white almost yellowed color to the powder, but since I'm treating possible Ich I dumped the powder out and cleaned thoroughly so that I hopefully won't reinfect the tank the next time I go to run it.

As for the pieces I thought the same thing. But there really are only about 10pieces total, and the majority just go one onto the other in a straight line as you would guess (not like 5 fittings within a fitting). It really is simply designed, and even though the flow was a bit higher than I would have liked, taking the output diffuser off and using it to kick up gunk was the best gravel cleaning I've ever done in the tank.

Last night I dosed my normal batch of CSM+B and potassium since with all the recent water changes and not adding CSM+B I didn't want to go the opposite way and be deficient in iron once again (and potassium never hurts). We'll see if the GW comes back, but with the D-1, I'm not concerned since it does such a great job in such a short time.

I think I'll mainly use it as a polishing step when friends or family are coming by as even though EVERY med/high light tank will have some form of algae present/haziness, guests will just think the tank is not properly maintained.

Thanks again for all the comments.

justin

 

[SCFatz]

Sweet improvement!!!I see why your pleased with the purchase.If I ever run into the problem I won't hesitate.

 

[7Enigma]

It's definately one of those things that is not necessary to have, but a great addition in certain circumstances (algae outbreak, tank rearrangement, disease, to name a few). While its definately on the pricey side, I do not regret the purchase at all. If you have a friend that lives nearby, since these are used infrequently it would be a great purchase to split among a small number of people (local club, family members, etc).

And heck you can always use it to filter a kiddie-pool.

 

[JRagg]

7Enigma,

How big is your aquarium? Looks like a 10gal, or maybe a 20. I'm just amazed you spent so much money on a diatom for that, but the results were great. Looks like the first time I ran the water polisher magnum filter on my 45 back in the day.

I'm stuck with a 10 gallon for the time being, and I'd say that filter is something I'm going to keep in mind for when I get water clarity issues. It always happens no matter how clean you keep your tank.

Great pics by the way!

 

[7Enigma]

It's a 20gallon high. And while it was a significant purchase, I would assume that down the road a 29 or more likely a 55 will be in my house. The nice thing about the D-1 is that it will have no problem scaling (though it will take a while of the 55), so its a purchase for the future tanks just as much as for this 20.

 

[Roach182]

Money saving tip for you 7Enigma: get your diatom powder at a swimming pool supply place, far cheaper and works just as well. In Canada where I am the local pet supply place sells 1 pound boxes of diatom powder for 11.99 but I got a 10 pound bag and the pool supply place for 12.99.

 

[7Enigma]

Yup, already read about where to get the diatom powder. That's why I bought the filter actually in the first place. The running costs are very minimal since the recharges are so inexpensive. If it would cost $5-10 for every run with new powder I doubt I would have purchased the filter.

 

[Kilgore]

I have this same filter (got it from Petsmart with free shipping - $67.00), and I love it. It was a pain to put together but once I really put my mind to it, it wasn't that complicated... the instructions made it sound more difficult than it really is.


Warning #1: many diatom powder mixes designed for pools contain chlorine. I personally don't think it is worth the risk.

Warning #2: It's a good idea to check your seal by getting the filter running at the sink. I made the mistake of closing the lid with part of the filter bag sticking out, and boy, did I have a mess on my carpet. Water was squirting out from the lid in every direction - like a garden house with someone holding their finger on the end! Not to mention the trail of water back to the sink as I ran with it! As long as you poke all the fabric in and line up the gasket, you should be fine.

 

[Burks]

That's a great improvement. When I get a bigger tank I'll have to look into a diatom filter.

Great looking tank too.

 

[7Enigma]

Can anyone else comment on the chlorine in the DE meant for pools? I've never heard of this. Kilgore, who did you hear this info from? Was it a PetSmart employee or someone at an LFS?