Newbie, but I have a plan.....and would like it checked!

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adm
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adm wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 14:25 pm Now I need to go read up about Lily tubes. They do look kind of elegant, and might be more aesthetically pleasing than a plastic spray bar.....
So.....Lilly pipe input with skimmer or without? They look more elegant without, but the skimmer functionality might be helpful.
adm
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Andys temperate tank wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2023 15:13 pm The oase biomaster 250 would do a better job than the filtosmart 200. The biomaster holds alot more media and comes with the added benefit of a pre filter.
:-) I have the Biomaster 350 arriving tomorrow! No tank to put it in, but it's coming anyway.
adm
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Well, my filter arrived and I also ordered some Biohome Mini Ultra filter media. The filter actually has 5 trays in total and they come filled with foam.

The water flows up from the bottom to the top (after passing through a pre-filter and the heater). My logical brain tells me to put foam in the bottom tray, then two or three trays filled with the Biohome media, then more foam on the top.

What would someone who knows about this stuff advise?

(It also came with a bag of plastic "pasta" in one of the trays, but from video I have seen, people just seem to bin this....)
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plankton
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@Stephen is good with re-jigging the media in externals.
If at first you don't succeed....
...get someone else to do it! :D

Enjoy your fish, shrimps and snails!
Ian
adm
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My tank and substrates and stuff should all be arriving tomorrow, and I have just ordered a load of plants. Hopefully I will get it all set up and running before the weekend as I will be off to Malaysia for a week on Saturday evening.

I ended up filling the three middle trays of the filter basket with the Biohome filter media. So I have the pre-filter, the heater, then a medium foam filter, the Biohome and then finally a fine foam filter in the water path. I've got the Lilly pipes, and a few other bits and pieces already so should be ready to crack on once the tank arrives. I don't have the CO2 regulator yet, but I figure that even if it doesn't arrive before I leave, the plants should be OK for a week anyway. I could maybe get some "liquid carbon" stuff and chuck some of that in until the regulator arrives.

The basic plan is get it set up and filled and and then just let it run for the week I am away, then once I get back I will start cycling it. Then I can start thinking about the exciting bit....what fish to stock it with.

One other question for the experts. What it the "correct" placement of the Lily pipes? Most things I see seem to suggest both of them on one of the short sides of the tank, so that the flow goes all the way from one end of the tank to the other. Does that sound about right?
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fr499y
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yeah with the lily pipes. Just dose ammonia before you go, it'll take most of that to start moving anyway :D
adm
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Great - many thanks!
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Maybe a stupid question, but.....the Biohome filter media comes with a bag of gel balls that are supposedly for bacteria start up.

If I put these in the lowest filter basket filled with Biohome, then as they melt and the water flow moves upwards, that should effectively distribute bacteria through the baskets above it, right?
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yes they are but I've never used them before.
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SPACKlick
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Those balls take forever to break down, I still had some in my filter this year from biohome added years ago. And they didn't really improve the start up of the media.
250L: Tank Log
2 female Bristlenose Pleco, 24 Cherry Barbs 7M:17F, 4 Reticulated Flying Foxes, 17 Neon Tetra, 15 Lemon Tetra, 11 Yellow/Orange Cherry Shrimp, 1 Zebra Nerite Snail, 3 Olve Nerite Snails, 4 Horned Nerite snails, 25 Amano Shrimp, Many Malaysian Trumpet Snails - AqAdvisor
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