well earlier on today i bought a brand new filter, i got the fluval 405, i think its a really good filter , the only thing is i need a few questions answered regarding the filter,

firstly it said in the manual that the intake tube should not be near any thing that produces air, does this include my internal filters????? i have moved the internals to the opposite side of the intake tube,
how long should i leave the internals in the tank before taking out????
how deep should the intake tube be in the water???

any other tips that ppl know about the 405 will they post it on here plz,
regards ashley 1984

I have some fluval 405's and i think they are great filters. The reason the instructions say to put the intake away from sources of air (any sources including air stones and internal filters) is because if you get air in the filter the filter will get an air blockage in it and it wont run

As for removing you internal filters i have no experience of this but i would suggest running them all for a couple of months before removing one internal filter. Leave is another month or so before removing the other . Test your water for ammonia and nitrite to make sure everything is ok

Fluvals 405 come with carbon, dont bother with this, save it for when you may need to remove some medications. Replace it with extra bio media

will it be ok for me to have the intake on the one side and then the output tubing above it??? i am asking this because there is no way it will fit under for me to put it in the center, another thing is that i can only put it on either the left or the right hand side because my tank is 10mm thick and its got some kind of supporting bar going along the top of either side and that means that there is no way for me to get the tubing over this bar???

how deep should the intake tubing be???? i was thinking 3 inches from the bottom????
then i will put both of my internals on the opposite side of the intake and output tubes this will then push all the debris and crap towards the intake??????

will this be ok????

this is my 1st external and i dont no anything about them as of yet?????

i think it would be a good idea for you to leave the internal filters in the tank anyway. This gives you extra filtration and as you say you can direct the flow towards the internal pick up so that the particles are forced towards the filter. 3 inches is fine just so long as its not sucking up any gravel or sand from the substrate. Ideally the input should be away from the output otherwise the filter might be sucking in water that has already been filtered thus creating spots in the tank which could become stagnant. you should look to position them so that the water is circulated all round the tank.

Having the input and output at the same end of the tank is quite common as the filter tubes are not long enough to go on opposite ends in large/deep tanks. Just make sure the output pushes the water towards the opposite end of the tank. You can buy extra filter tubes if you really want to but i wouldnt bother, save your money. Dinger is right about keeping the internal filters. Keep at least one for circulation (and as a bonus extra filtration)

I used to have my filter intake as low as they would go without touching the gravel. However i now have them about 5 inches from the bottom. If you were not home and an external filter had a burst anywhere below the bottom of the tank and the intake is low all the water will drain out and the fish would die. If the intake is about 5 inches from the bottom of the tank then 5 inches water would be left and your fish will live. You will still have the problem of broken heaters, stressed fish and a large pool of water on the floor but at least the fish will be alive

oh no dont say that del boy i live on the top floor of a block of flats and i dont think the neighbours would appreciate there being 70 g of water coming thru there ceilings lol, i might just take the sand out as it is covered in waste and debris it is as if my filter isnt picking any of it up. do you thinki i am over stocked????? THIS IS A SOMETHING I HAVER BEEN THUINKING ABOUT ALOT LATELY?????
2 juvenile oscars, 2 plecs, 2 clown loaches and 2 baby convict cichlids wat do you guys think??????

any thoughts or comments will be taken seriously,,
maybe if i take the sand out it will be alot easier to keep clean wouldnt it, all i will have to do is put the intake on the bottom corner at the back then if i need to move it around the tank i can do so without getting any sand in fluval 405,


wat you all think??????