Re: Fluval U3 - Question [Tropical - Help and Advice]

tonyg1234

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Posted on: 12/9/2014 21:05

Fluval U3 - Question #1

Before I start cycling my new tank I would appreciate some advice on my Fluval U3 filter.

The filter came with a bag of the biological little blocks. There seem to be a very small amount of the little cubes. Is this amount adequate or is the advice to keep more in there as these hold the bacteria once my cycle starts.

Any help appreciated.

james15

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Posted on: 13/9/2014 11:48

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #2

I would have thought they would supply the right amount. Bear in mind the ceramic media isn't the only place for bacteria to hang out - they'll colonise the sponges too.

tonyg1234

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Posted on: 13/9/2014 18:04

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #3

Thanks James.

I would think you are right but it's good to get a second opinion.

Etzeitet

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Posted on: 20/10/2014 22:00

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #4

I found Fluval were a bit sparing with the amount of blocks they gave me with my U2. I bought a small carton of them and topped it up. It is about 3/4 full (too many and you will probably affect water flow through the filter).

While the bacteria does hang out in the sponges, these do (read should) get replaced somewhat regularly, and it's also a good idea to rinse them out (in tank water) every week to get rid of any large chunks of crud to prevent the sponges getting clogged.

james15

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Posted on: 21/10/2014 12:02

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #5

Quote:

Etzeitet wrote:
While the bacteria does hang out in the sponges, these do (read should) get replaced somewhat regularly, and it's also a good idea to rinse them out (in tank water) every week to get rid of any large chunks of crud to prevent the sponges getting clogged.

I would dispute that...the manufacturer's instructions do recommend regularly replacing sponges but it's really not necessary, you're throwing away perfectly good sponges full of important bacteria. In my opinion it's a ploy to make more money out of replacement media. They only need replacing when they're literally falling apart, which could take 10 years or more. You're right about rinsing them out though, although once a week is maybe a little extreme - if your tank is appropriately stocked and maintained, once a month should be enough.

ALLYMACD

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Posted on: 21/10/2014 12:33

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #6

Quote:

james15 wrote:
[quote]

I would dispute that...the manufacturer's instructions do recommend regularly replacing sponges but it's really not necessary, you're throwing away perfectly good sponges full of important bacteria. In my opinion it's a ploy to make more money out of replacement media. They only need replacing when they're literally falling apart, which could take 10 years or more. You're right about rinsing them out though, although once a week is maybe a little extreme - if your tank is appropriately stocked and maintained, once a month should be enough.

You know I think you could be onto something James. I've never even gave that a thought before. One of my tanks is a Juwel Rekord 700 and these tanks have their own internal filteration system built-into them. There's different types of Juwel media sponges used for the various bacteria colonies to grow on and Juwel recommends that you replace their sponges at different intervals with new ones and this can be quite costly. In future I'm going to just do what I've always done with the media sponges in my Fluvel 305 filter for my big tank and give them a light rinse in old tank water every few weeks.

tonyg1234

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Posted on: 21/10/2014 21:57

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #7

By the way, I did actually buy more biological media and I filled up the middle compartment.

All is working well so far and the flow is plenty powerful enough.

It's a bit disappointing to get no guidance from Fluval on how much to put in, if the small amount they initially supply is the right amount then their refill packs, with far more, should have a warning.

Thanks for the comments.

tonyg1234

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Posted on: 22/10/2014 21:30

Re: Fluval U3 - Question #8

The day after replying I had a problem. The filter stopped working.

I followed one of the videos on YouTube to get the bottom off with the impeller. Then I discovered that some of the biological media had wedged into the hole above the impeller and blocked the flow.

I threw some away, put it back together and now it's working.

Lesson learned, don't cram the middle section with biological media.