SunSun Pre Filter - THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!

In a prior video I talked about the pre filter I added to my Fluval FX-6. Now let's look at the impact pre filters have had on the two SunSun 302's running on the "#JUVIEHAPNATION" 60 gallon grow-out tank.
As you can tell from the title, I'm pretty excited. So, enjoy the video and don't forget to hit that bell and join the "convo gang." We all learn from each other!
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As always, thank you Phil "Mr. Chips" Griffiths for the ending video.
Shout out to Eaven Alexander, IFG, for inspiration, and to a few others mentioned in the video like Pondguru (Richard) and Cory at the Aquarium Co-op.
Intro music clip features Tito Puente & Tony Vega perfoming: ''Dejame Soñar''
YOU, YOU READING THIS RIGHT NOW, YOU ROCK!

[@samueldavid2067]

I have got the exact same 302 on my 75 gl cichlids tank and it is the only filter that I run on it. It is doing a great job so far. I've taken pre filter from Aquarium Co-op idea and my filter is set as per the pimp my filter guidance of Pond Guru. It's great to see that you've done it the same way and pat myself that I'm on the right path. Thanks.

[@richardmerks1344]

I was literally minutes away from buying a pre-filter canister, was looking at the right ways to set it all up, and came across your little video and after I had just finished cleaning my canister filter I thought now this is a great idea, somethings so simple and a heck of a lot less expensive than a $50 canister, I like this idea, the less I have to mess with the filtration system underneath the happier I am and I’m sure my fish will be too.

[@BenOchart]

How did it work out?

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

I have 2 fluval 306 filters running on my 70 gallon full of biohome and I use pre filters on both now as I only pre filtered one originally because I got the sponges from China and they only sent one at first by accident lol had to wait 5 weeks for the second to turn up but as an experiment I cleaned both filters sponges on the same day then installed the pre filter then 5 weeks after I compared the two and the difference was unbelievable. And I only have a community tank with roughly 30 small fish. I used your tip of a bit of hose cut up to keep them in place Ben, it works a treat thanks for the advice and another great video 👌

[@wowdad3055]

So how are the nitrate levels are they low since you are using biohome.?

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

@@wowdad3055 I've been using the biohome for about 6 weeks and my nitrate levels haven't risen but weren't that high to begin with on the test strips. I'm going to properly test the nitrates after 3 months and see but they should be fine as I'm growing plants in an overhead sump and never had issues.

[@NCHornet]

Haven't had much time lately to enjoy your videos, so this morning I took advantage of some down time and watched several. I also resubscribed as well, not sure how I became unsubscribed, but it's fixed now, lol!!! I always like how you encourage different opinions and you like to hear what folks have to say, so you asked for it, lol!!! I told you before about how I used a small prefilter canister on the plumbing to my SunSun 303B and it worked so well I'm ordering a few more for the FX4 and FX6 filters. This prefilter just contains sponges and has no pump , the flow wasn't decreased greatly on the SunSun and the canister itself is clear so it's very easy to see if it needs to be cleaned and it's small, 4 to 5 inch diameter and about 10" tall, for $23 it's great. I see that you have done the prefilter sponges on the intakes that Cory likes to recommend. I haven't read all the replies on these videos so forgive me if this has been covered 100 times by others. Years ago, I'm talking 25 to 30 years ago, I did some experiments with this type of prefilter on my intakes. I mocked it up in an empty tank and used food coloring to better see the water path through the filter. What I found was that if you simply place the sponge over the intake pipe the water being pulled through the sponge is far greater at the end of the pipe and as you go further up the sponge, away from the end, the flow is reduced a lot. I then capped the end of the intake pipe and I took an 1/8" drill bit and drilled a series of holes over the area that the sponge covered. By using the food coloring it was very clear that this was drawing water through the sponge very evenly and over the entire surface area of the sponge. This meant the sponge could go longer between cleaning because it was able to hold more waste. I haven't used this method in years, I didn't like the way it looked in the tank, it worked great as you stated, it was just me being anal about having as little pipe and tubing in my tanks as possible. Sumps are great for anal people like myself, lol!!! I also didn't like the mess it made when I went to clean the sponge. I tried the bag trick, and it helps but I really prefer shutting off the intake and outlet valves on the small clear canister and simply take it over to the sink and 5 min later the sponges are clean and the filter is back up and running. I also like that the small canister will hold far more material than any type of sponge placed over the intake tube. I fill it with sponges from course the fine and like you discovered when using a prefilter, no matter it's location, the bio media in the main canister stays very clean. My tanks are lightly stocked as the nearest fish store is almost an hour and half from me, but I seriously believe I could easily go a year without opening the main canister. I don't want to write a novel and scare others away from reading it so I'll cover some other topics in another reply. As always keep up the great videos, it's always good to see when you have a new one out. God Bless

[@BenOchart]

Kevin Lancaster Welcome back Kevin! Great comment. Amazes me when I throw out a subject and so many have experimented with the idea and can share their experience. Thank you for coming back! Sometimes KZbin unsubs people if they haven’t visited a channel for a while.

[@NCHornet]

@@BenOchart Well that isn't me, lol!!! I'm not on here like yourself, but you are one of the few that I do subscribe to. So many have the attitude, it's my way or the highway. Sharing info is how I learned so much, never had time for book reading, to busy supporting my family. But now instead of getting info from others at the local fish store we can do it here with folks all over the world. Pretty incredible really. But I do miss seeing tanks and fish in person. It's just not the same online. Socal still has a lot of stores, but they have been gone from small towns for over a decade now. Keep up keeping on My Friend. Looking forward to future chats. Later

[@rantsandreviews]

I've used pre filters for over 30 years on can and HOB filters. I am always amazed when old ideas come around as new again. We have it made now as their are all manner of cheap sponges available for use. On my cans I clean the pre filters weekly and the cans themselves every 6 months.

[@superaquatics]

Hi Ben. Thanks for sharing. I have put the sunsun HW604 prefilter canister before my main sunsun canister. I have put this on mine so this contains the coarse, medium & fine sponges and poly fill for the mechanical filtration freeing up the main sunsun canister for purely biological media. This way, you only have to clean the prefilter canister every few months which is much easier and you don't need to open up the sunsun canister and/or disturb the bio media for a year or more depending on your bio load and other factors as it doesn't end up clogging very quickly since almost negligible detritus gets to it. I have also put an old unused internal powerhead filter canister with a coarse sponge over the intake pipe which fitted perfectly. This way it does not release detritus when I pull it out for cleaning. I clean this sponge weekly and the sunsun 604 has gone over 6 months without clogging while the main sunsun canister has gone over a year and it was reasonably clean when I opened it. One point though this setup reduces the flow but for me this works out fine as the slower flow allows for build up of anoxic conditions in the main canister which helps breakdown of nitrates as well. If you need a faster flow, you can always add an additional pump to the outflow to support the sunsun's pump and increase the flow. Going for over a year without having to open up the canister for my set up is huge since my bio load is quite high with 5 decent sized goldfish in a 48g tank.

[@BenOchart]

That’s amazing! Thanks!

[@knowone353]

I always run pre-filters. Learnt my lesson from my pond filter, lost a good pump bec I was just lazy. Like what you say in ur vid, use 'em they save time and money. Easier to clean a pre-filter than pull apart a canister every few months. I use a 300mm Aqua Pro for my pond and 200mm for my tanks. The tanks last a long time, the pond only abt a yr. I made an aeration unit for my pond which I use to age and ready my 200mm filter for my tanks. Good vid thanks for sharing.

[@7smr]

I also started putting on a pre-filter on my Sun Sun. Also as a benefit, if you have a sand substrate it keeps the sand out of the canister impeller thus avoiding premature damage.

[@BenOchart]

I’ve observed that. Sometimes when I squeeze it out in tank water I see substrate that without the pre filter would have been sucked into the filter.

[@kerrypitt9789]

What you mentioned about more connections meaning more possible leaks is very true. When you are designing fluid process, each time you add a joint, change direction add a pump, the list goes on, you create more risk for failure. This is always part of the design process. KISS. Never fails.

[@BenOchart]

Kerry Pitt K.I.S.S. is becoming a big part of what I do (or don’t do). Thanks for stopping by Kerry 👍🏻

[@wowdad3055]

Yes they can leak but also is how rough you handle your filter and parts.

[@kerrypitt9789]

@@wowdad3055 that was not my point.

[@wowdad3055]

@@kerrypitt9789 i do understand your point

[@Nomorepain57]

Been using large pre filters from Aquarium Co-Op for years, working great.

[@Puma1Sunfire1]

Pre filters rock!! Course, medium or fine sponge prefilters all have their uses. Use course to medium mostly for my prefilters. Only time I use Fine material for prefilter material is when I have quite a few extras to swap out because it gets clogged quickly and even faster in planted tanks because of leaves and trimmings

[@fishlover9353]

First saw Cory put the bag over the filter to catch the yuk😀 aquarium co-op has a lot of good ideas. I enjoy your videos ,your voice is relaxing 😌

[@rayp4008]

As a DJ myself in a previous life, he does have a great personality and voice for radio. But unlike me, he could do TV s well, where I have the voice, but also the face for radio, lol.

[@BenOchart]

Thank you Fish Lover.

[@BenOchart]

@@rayp4008 Ray, LOL!

[@centraltexascichlids38]

I love pre filters and think they should come with all canisters or HOBs. I have 2 Aquatops and both have pre filters. One is just a coarse sponge like you have in the video and the other is from Eheim. It is modular and came with 2 sections but you can add more. I really like it because you can remove one section at a time and it doesn't release much back into the tank. I still need to add something to my FX6. Great video Ben!

[@hmerchant3349]

Hey Ben. Thanks for this lovely and practical video. Guess what just ordered for some pre filters. Lots of love

[@BenOchart]

You are welcome. I hope they work as well for you as they have for me 😀👍

[@sopanroy1506]

Tonnes of useful information... Thank you very much. 🔥

[@BenOchart]

You are welcome 😀👍🏻

[@metalhammerjimmy5663]

I'm running one of those SunSun hw603 canisters with coarse/fine foams and floss as the prefilter/mechanical filtration, in front of an old Fluval 403 canister that contains 5 kilograms of Biohome Mini Ultra and half a litre of Macropore. This is part of the current filtration setup on my 150 gallon Oscar and Pleco tank. You certainly do lose flow through the 603, but it does a great job and is super easy to maintain. I do like your coarse sponge on the intake prefilter idea, though, and would lose much less flow I think.

[@Iron-cesc]

I use a prefilter from the Eheim brand, it can be adapted to the suction tube, it has the appearance of a small internal filter (without motor), it is expandable by modules (like an internal Eheim Biopower filter) you can mount as many modules as you want and you fit vertically. From a module, to the number you want. An advantage of this filter is that when removing it from the tank to clean it, it does not release all the dirt in the water of the tank again, the dirt is retained inside its structure, it is really very useful and practical (that usually happens with the prefilters that are a simple sponge, if you do not cover them with a bag before removing them from your tank) I have an Eheim Prefilter with two modules, in all my aquariums, and inside each module is a sponge, I sincerely believe that it is one of the best Eheim products. On many occasions I have considered why I need the big hole sponge in my filters, when I open the filters, that sponge is always clean, the prefilter does the work for it, only the middle hole sponges and the "Syntetic Filter woole" are more dirty, everything else is trapped in the Prefilter I clean my prefilters when I change the water in my aquariums, once a week, and thanks to them, I just have to touch my filters in months, never before 2 months. For me, the prefilter is an indispensable part, and I do not conceive a filter without prefilter in the suction tube. Greetings from Deutschland

[@glork6009]

You are right: these Eheim prefilter modules do a really good job. However, they are not really nice to look at in an aquarium.

[@stoneysscapes7544]

Francesc S , very glad to get a worthy review on the many points you covered and I laugh whenever anyone HAS to complain about something being to big for them to make "vanish " , the majority of people who have a canister filter or HOB using this EHEIM pre filter or see the need for it would figure it O🤔T ..... 😩r s😩me 😩f y😩u see it as a chance t😩 cömplain

[@lewisspeed3041]

Prefilters are the way to go,they make everything easier,thanks for the video bro

[@lr1902]

I have 3 Sunsun 704B in my 300G.... Results are amazing...Good and cheap canister filters...Happy with them..

[@BenOchart]

I'm about to pull a 704-B out of retirement and put it on the 210 gallon as a water polishing filter.

[@erikpostema9656]

Great video!

[@shanes.5392]

Good video. Nice to see how effective the prefilter sponge is. Thanks!

[@BenOchart]

Shane S. You’re welcome and thank you for stopping by.

[@ericbostwick9036]

This video has made my mind. I'm going to a canister. And I am now subscribed. Love the vids

[@BenOchart]

That's Great! Thank you Eric!

[@wyomingadventures]

I was very interested in this because I have the same setup. And I am going to be opening mine. Before I have surgery on my knee. Great video Ben. I have a pre filter from Cory on mine. I clean my pre filter every time I do a water change.

[@BenOchart]

307 Wyoming 4F Good routine and good luck with that surgery! 🙏🙏🙏

[@wyomingadventures]

@@BenOchart thank you Ben!

[@gazyg1973]

Definitely going to use these sponges Ben that’s awsome what they do thanks 🙏 for upload mate helps a lot 👍

[@BenOchart]

Andy G You’ll love the results 👍🏻

[@MSMcKenzieJr]

Enjoyable and informative as usual. Many thanks.

[@luigigreen9823]

Pre filters have completely changed the game for me! I run them on both my 704b's and on all my Aquaclear HOB! Plecos love sucking on them.

[@gwdavidson065]

I'm running 2 sunsun hw704b canister filter with 2 clear sunsun hw603b prefilters on two of my tanks, I keep the larger canisters filled with bio balls and rings, I'm going to add the sponges to the uplift tubes also, I also have a 35 gallon tank with a sunsun hw304b filter running a hw602 prefilter.

[@raymondbardeen6450]

Great video... I would much rather clean a small prefilter often than a whole canister.

[@BenOchart]

Raymond Bardeen My feelings exactly! 😀👍🏻

[@kennethtrautmann9177]

I just pimped my return pump on my sump with the zoo-med one sweep sponge. Gotta say, I'm very pleased with its performance.

[@DevagyaUikey]

Great! I did same for my HOB filter but haven't tried in canister filter and now I'm gonna put a sponge in my 303B as well. Thanks

[@trevormcmanis]

I love your choice of bio media.... your tank looks pristine. 👍🏻

[@j.t.cooper2963]

👍🏻😎I put a Marineland coarse intake pre-filter sponge on the intake of my Marineland penguin HOB and it made a huge difference on cutting down the crud on the inside of the filter.

[@veneshpillay3635]

Not using a pre filter,but you have convinced me. How often do you clean the pre filter?

[@BenOchart]

Venesh Pillay Every two weeks I pull it off and rinse. Under five minutes.

[@veneshpillay3635]

Thank you

[@wowdad3055]

That all depend on how much poop and food and plant matter the pre filter is picking up cleaning the pre filter for him is 2 weeks for you could be 2,3,4 or when they become clogged slow water flow.

[@kylequinn1963]

I bought the Eheim prefilter units and run them on all my canisters lol they're great. I have one on an FX4, one on a Fluval 406, have two SunSun-HW3000s on order and they'll both be getting one as well to reduce sponges inside and fill with Matrix.

[@BenOchart]

It's a very smart way to go.

[@barrylilley6392]

I’m using petshop cheap nastie course sponge 250 mm x 75mm cut in half gives 2 x 125’s , drill a hole 13mm x 100 mm in each , stretches to suit most canister or hob intakes , costs $9 Au , running weekly 20% water changes and pre filter clean , reduces my maintenance to 8monthly on 2 x 200 ltr lightly stocked tanks , loving it 🥰

[@tommy2tone8650]

Definitely a good way to add more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow. Good video.

[@burlisaquarien7568]

Hi Ben, Looks great. I have an Eheim Experience without a prefilter, but with a lot of ceramic rings at the bottom. My sponge and the filter floss look similar to yours. Most of the muck is catched at the bottom of the canister. Maybe your sponges look even better, but I don't need to clean the prefilter all the time And I forgot to mention that I have a planted tank, so I have even more dirt

[@oldmate9747]

I do that but really only buy default. I had some fish get sucked into the filter about 6 momths ago, so I put something similar to what you have over the intake. I have noticed my corys spend some time going over the sponge nearly every day and occasionally snails as well. Thanks for the tip re cleaning, I haven't done that part of it yet.

[@chimpy9823]

Ben, have you checked out the Aquel filter range with the built in pre-filters? They allow you to clean the pre-filter whilst the filter is still running. I'm running one on my 150 gall tank and it is brilliant, maintenance is a breeze. Cheers from the UK.

[@desertfishkeeper9816]

Try it on the mainland too it works wonders. I have one on mine and the back of the filter is packed with coarse sponge and quilt batting for the mechanical filtration.

[@efrainscichlids9038]

Great video Ben, thanks for sharing

[@BenOchart]

Hello Efrain and thank you for watching!

[@benmillns8976]

I originally used prefilters to protect fry but haven't stopped using them since. They really save the sponges in the canister filters.

[@pieterjansenvanrensburg7322]

You actually get pre filter canisters. They’re super cheap, they’re transparent and you just put the course sponge inside. You can see the muck buildup. Clean it when it’s dirty. And hardly ever have to touch your main filters. The mains are the your bio filters and bacteria factories and the pre filters are the mechanical filters you clean. They’re better than the sponge intakes. In the tank. They’re out of sight and you can clean them much less often

[@BenOchart]

I’ve seen and considered them. I decided against them to minimize the number of hose connections since those seem to be the most common leak spots with canisters (along with failed o rings)

[@erniewitten2960]

Very informative, thanks.

[@BenOchart]

Thanks for watching!

[@loavesfishes6268]

I only use hang on back filters with sponge prefilters. It works great!

[@norazman4919]

Great sharing Ben 👍👍👍

[@rosemccluney8530]

That looks good but as you said, you have two other filters running on that tank. But good video

[@TypicalMT]

I just got my HW-402b, since I would consider you the sun sun guru!! I can’t find glass lily pipes that fit the sun suns tubing! Have you found a way to go about changing tube size? Some type of mod? Or just glass pipes in that 3/4 tubing size

[@fishrrelaxing9361]

Forget using sponges over the intake.. get the ATI max iii. It’s a purpose built I take filter with adapters to fit pretty much any intake type. The will even work with the fluval fx removing that odd shape bulky strainer. I too started with using the zoomed sponge cause it fits many intakes very well and I too had done old filters. Plus you can buy the replacement sponge off the shelf at petsmart for $11. But the ATI max III is def the way to go. They are on amazon for like $10 if I remember right. When prefiltering most use around 20ppi sponges. Using a corse is wasted space in the filter. Remove it for a 30ppi sponge which will save your floss for longer maintained intervals or simply remove it for more media room.

[@deshmukhpanagarh3036]

Wonderful idea! Thanks a lot!!

[@wowdad3055]

Long time ago in the 80's i had an Eheim canister filter with a pre-filter from Eheim and they did work. You can do another five months if 5 months looks like that. My Fluval 306 i clean after 11 month was dirty but not bad or clogged, now i am trying out with a sponge filter at the intake to see how dark it would be.

[@Cavegeckosol]

I prefilter everything. Partially to make my life easier, partially because I have a suicidal anemone who likes to get uncomfortably close to the intake on my filter. I have also heard of freshwater people getting snails and shrimp sucked up. One guy at my LFS said one of his big marine conch snails stuck on the overflow to his sump and the tank flooded. Anyway, I don't have a skimmer so I basically have sponges of varying density on my intakes to cheat my way to gunk export.

[@timrussell89]

I love my coarse pre filters from aquarium co-op. They work great on my hang on backs.

[@jc49fishniner4lif7]

Really good video Ben,,and also you can a little piece of tha pincky floss on that intake in the bottom,and did you read my comment on the last vid ???

[@bobblack4048]

I have the English version APS 1000EF I am going to try this tip. Thank you.

[@BenOchart]

It has allowed me to extend the time between servicing considerably 😀👍🏻

[@b.a.cichlids3827]

I Definitely need to try this .... Thanks Ben !!

[@BenOchart]

B.A. CICHLIDS you’re welcome BA!

[@pancudowny]

I've independently thought to employ an Aquatop Classic sponge filter on the intake of my tandem canister system years ago, and my results were much the same. If I ever return to using that system, I'll gladly do the same again... maybe.

[@MrGrantdw]

I have been using sunsun's small 602 canister with the see through canister botom and it's spunges as my pree filter. Freeing up the 3rd tray in my canister for more bio media, it's briliant you can see how dirty or clogged it is with out opening it and I only need to crack my main canister once every year and even then it's not dirty.

[@shaun9107]

Glad you agree on the fine filtering . much better filter fine sponge on top , complete .

[@aquariumhacksbymarcus5653]

I have been using pre filters for years on my canister and power filters I use pond master pre-filter sponge last a long time works excellent in my opinion they just can't hardly be beat and works great on the FX 5 and 6 oh just a metion as well I also use the hydro sponge filters

[@mynights85]

For my turtle tank, I have a sponge on the intake I clean often, a pre filter with sponges and cotton batting that I rinse weekly, and I go 6-8 months before performing maintenance on the main canister, unless of coarse something goes out of whack. My tank stays crystal clear. I have the sunsun 304b.... I think, the label has rubbed off

[@markfranklin8831]

Pre filters are great

[@jerrymartin4047]

Just put pre-filter on all 3 of my tanks. I have an aqua top 500 on my 125 retrofitted with 2 aqueous polishers with sponges. No mechanical in my canister just bio. Set this up 2 weeks ago. Curious to see how it works. Also big sponge filter in tank as well.

[@magzire]

So how offen do you clean the prefilter

[@aaronkunkel2022]

magzire I would guess once a week?

[@atfinthehouse8631]

You just need to change, clean the prefilters much more frequently. Also prefilters do reduce the volume flow through the canisters or HOB . Flow rate decreases. You do run a lot of filtration also.

[@wowdad3055]

yes they do when people don't clean them.

[@BettyCanBoop]

Great video, but what do you use for fuval fx6 filter intake. I can not use anything to cover it. not even Corey's large sponge.

[@willparsons32]

Although my system is not as big as the one you have (behind you in the video) but I'm running the 303B Marine Color (Sunsun) on my 36g and the only issue I get (on a rare occasion) is that the filter likes to "burp" This isn't an on going issue but something that happens every so often. Aside from that though, I'm pretty happy with the filter. What i can't seem to understand are those who critisize the brand and have the gull to say that it's a piece of @rap... They don't mention that they didn't replace the main O-ring properly and by "properly" I mean they didn't lubricate it prior to reconnecting the head of the filter to the rest of the canister. Or perhaps they misaligned the quartz sleeve inside the filter. Man, yit takes 2 quick minutes of attention to properly make sure the filter will operate as it's intended to...

[@greenfingers9471]

Great vid, what light you running please Sir ?

[@BenOchart]

Beamworks FullSpec LED

[@georgegillespie8481]

Loving the filtration videos Running 2 fx6s on 120g saulosi mbuna species only setup All the way from Glasgow Scotland 😊

[@RicardoCanedoMX]

george gillespie Gotta love Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 very lovely place. Very friendly people!

[@geofffowler3368]

Hi Ben thank you for that video, do you clean that pre filter when you do your water changes please Again thank you

[@cichlidkingaquatics5988]

Now I'm absolutly enthralled in the pre filter Sponge idea. Great knowledge to pass along Ben, thanks brother!

[@bystandard239]

Prefilter a canister but run a HoB like a penguin for polishing. I do not use bio media in the HoB as it is set up to be very easy to change the polyfil.

[@gblanco728]

Yes they still sell them, I just bought one on Ebay for 54$. Mind you its my first canister. I love it so far.

[@roxannat89]

gilbert blanco link please

[@gblanco728]

Hope I did it correctly, lol This one has media with it. I can't even hear mine running and I'm sitting next to it.

[@atfinthehouse8631]

Find easy ways to take the sponge prefilter out of the tank for cleaning. My guess is that in order to maintain filter flow rate you will need to wash prefilter no less than once a week. The prefilter over time will degrade in the tank and need to be replaced every so often as the increased detritus capture and fish picking at it will eventually break it down.

[@luisg1653]

The plastic bag tip is something I was gonna mention, glad you said it. I ran a pre filter happily until the first time I turned my filter off to service it. When I did a cloud of debris came out. I started using a zip loc baggie over the pre filter to avoid that, works well. Good video and nice sweater Ben 👍

[@raysander5159]

Your a trendsetter Mr Ochart.

[@BenOchart]

Ray Sander 😂🤣😂 Thank you for watching Ray

[@acevedoaandres]

Ben How many times you feed your fish. I feed them twice a day, sometimes one a time a day.

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

Each to their own on this one but I feed mine once a day at 7am I have my alarm set lol

[@rayp4008]

Good info, as usual. Looks like an alternating 3 (maybe 4) month canister cleaning rotation. How often do you clean the prefilters?

[@BenOchart]

Every other water change I'll pull them and rinse in tank water.an

[@miguelcintron7048]

How often do you recommend cleaning the prefilter?

[@BenOchart]

Every other water change collect some tank water in a bucket and rinse it out and re-attach. Takes 3 minutes. If you're using one of the larger pre filters (like the one I have on my FX-6, you might want to put a bag around the sponge before pulling it out so it doesn't release a bunch of gunk into the tank.

[@miguelcintron7048]

Ben Ochart thanks for the tips

[@kingkato21]

Ben, I wanna add a spliter to this. It says the valves are 16mm/22mm. Any idea what size female adapter piece I would need?

[@GOPALSHARMA-vn3oy]

I'm a old sr. Citizen hobbyist from India and watching your video and enjoying. I've a doubt about pre filter, suppose I'm using at present a sunsun 302 for my my 3 ft. Tank and if I attach a 603 B prefilter whose output is low than 302 , will it affect my final outflow in tank, means flow will slow down or not ?

[@BenOchart]

I don’t like the 603 via. More connections that can leak. Just hand cut a medium sponge and place it over the 302 intake and rinse every 2 weeks.

[@GOPALSHARMA-vn3oy]

@@BenOchart Thanks for a quick reply. I'm also not in favour of 603 or anything like that. For some weeks I'm just wrapped 360° coarse pad around intake and weekly wash it, this is doing wonder. Thanks.

[@susanbriggs862]

Great video Ben! I've been using Cory's coarse prefilters for awhile on my Fluval canisters and large Aquaclear HOBs. I also have been using Cory's tip on using a bag to catch detritus when removing the sponge to clean. I love your advice on thinking smarter and simplifying our tank filtration set ups. Your results are proof that it works and your fish look amazing. Thank you for sharing and helping us to become better fish keepers. You rock!

[@BenOchart]

Thank you Susan, much appreciated.

[@MSMcKenzieJr]

Quick question - did you find the sun sun pre-filter reduced the flow considerably or just by a bit?

[@paulsampugnaro6919]

It’s like using sponge filter looks great

[@TrixieDevani]

Big Ben rocking the Volcom!!! Loving it man, all the best from Chris in Scotland !!!😘🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@BenOchart]

Chris dee Hello Chris and thank you for watching. Someday I will visit your beautiful country 😀👍🏻

[@crunchyflakepusssuk]

OMG I have a turtle tank and a goldfish tank, and my canister filters need to be cleaned at least once a month... but you do have two..

[@johnkerr4097]

Another great video Ben - thanks. Being in Australia I cannot use Aquarium co-op's pre-filter as he does not export. I have used 2 of eheim's pre-filters. The bottom of the first one unclips to clip on the second in line making one larger pre-filter with almost flow resistance and it slides nicely into my fluval fx4 intake and works well. www.eheim.com/en_GB/products/accessories/installation_prefilter

[@johanbreisel4207]

I will definitely get some coarse sponge! 👍

[@scottmellard3298]

Where do you buy the pre filter filters?

[@ghostwriterinme5050]

Excellent

[@atfinthehouse8631]

How frequent are water changes?

[@aaronkunkel2022]

Do you notice your flow reduced?

[@KeyMacGamingKeyz]

I did with finer sponges over the intakes. Now I got a big blocks of coarse sponge secured to the pipes with roughly 40 square inch of sponge acting as an intake now the filters (2 fluval 306s) are running the best I've had them running. 👍

[@DeepikaAditya]

Can you please show the flow rate out from your SUNSUN 302. I am not sure if I am getting good flow rate after stuffing it with all the media I could. I am using HW603 as you mentioned as pre filter and filled entire 302 with 3.5 Litres of Seachem Matrix. So may be it's because of this the flow rate has decreased too much

[@BenOchart]

With canisters I suggest using the pond matrix, not the small sand-like matrix. Don’t overfill the baskets or they will not fit together correctly. Place the 603 higher than the 302. That will help the pump since siphon and gravity will do a lot of the work getting the water to the 302 (instead of having to pump it up from a lower position).

[@DeepikaAditya]

@@BenOchart have already invested in Matrix. But will try the adjustment with 603. Thanks that was a good idea

[@BenOchart]

Let me know if you see an improvement 👍🏻

[@DeepikaAditya]

Nop. Didn't make much improvement for me. Actually my tank and canister are at same level so there isn't much room to maneuver as well...

[@atfinthehouse8631]

What’s your water change schedule and how much volume is changed?

[@wowdad3055]

For me it all depends in how much feeding and how much poop and the size of fish and fish tank i do according to the Nitrate levels. depending on nitrates levels you can change 10% 20% 30% 40% or 50% water change.For my 55 gallons at 40ppm nitrate, i do 50% water change.

[@babydanielle9185]

I have one of these and everytime i turn it on it does this weird noise that’s loud , it’s set up and everything but it just doesn’t do it’s work, any ideas what it could be ?

[@BenOchart]

This might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXO3g2upbdJrfas

[@scottmasterton8542]

Run the sunsun pre filter on them i do and they work great they look like mini canister filters and easy too clean and cheap

[@thitic.7387]

Where can i buy this?

[@FreeSpiritBudgieLady]

Hi there, I attach the intake pipe of my external filter onto the top of a round or corner sponge filter (the type with a heavy base and wide central tube) that usually runs with an air pump. I rinse it out in tank water when I do my weekly water change and it has really improved the quality of water in the tank. I also put a layer of floss under the flow coming back into the tank as a final fine cleaning stage. The water runs like a trickle filter back in the tank through the floss so the multi drips going back in the tank adds air as well. Works a treat!.

[@Iron-cesc]

Great Video Mt. Ben like always 👍👍👍👍👍👍 I have pre-filter on all my canister filter always, this is a grat and the best option. (by the way.... I'm live in Germany but, I'm come from Spain, My wife is German, but I am Spanish, from Barcelona ... So ... I loved your music in this video 😂😂😂👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️!!!) Ben please, I need your help 🙏 Do you remember how much Biohome you can put in a basket of your SunSun HW-704B ??? Ben, I need to buy a filter urgently, but I do not know if buying the HW-703B model of 1400 LPH (369.84 gallons per hour) or the SUNSUN HW-704B of 2000LPH (528 gallons per hour), is for my tank of 240 liters (63.40 Gallons) The distributor of SunSun here in Germany, tells me that I should buy the HW-703B filter of 1400 LPH (369.84 Gallons per hour) He is based on the speed of the filter, he says that the model HW-703B with 1400LPH (369.84 Gallons per hour) is enough for my tank of 240 liters (63'40 Gallons) .... But I do not know if that filter will have enough space for all the biological material that I have now. Right now I have more than 4 kg of Biohome, my tank is very populated with fish and aquatic plants ... and that filter only has 3 baskets, one must be used for mechanical filtering. You should be able to store more than 2kg of Biohome in each of those 2 baskets. The model that you have, SunSun HW-704B, has 4 baskets, (one more basket), in that model I think that if all my biological material fits, But the SunSun distributor here in Germany, they tell me that the model that you have, the SunSun HW-704B, 2000 LPH (528 gallons per hour) is too much for my 240-liter (63.40 gallon) tank and that will cause an excess of water current, similar to a tsunami, that will pull all my plants, and also the excess movement of water, will not be good for the fish. Can you help me please? What do you think? What filter do you recommend me? Thanks in advance my dear friend You are the best, I really love your videos 👍👍👍👍 Greetings from Germany

[@magzire]

Bigger always better, just use a spraybar

[@Iron-cesc]

@@magzire Oh! Thank you! You are very kind!!! Even if my tank is about 53 gallons real water (63 gallons gross) do you think that a 528 gallon per hour filter is not exaggerated? (Well, actually, I do not even think the filter will give that power really, normally all filters give between 40% and 50% less power than manufacturers advertise) SunSun commercials create in me many doubts, they said that my tank, with so many plants and tropical fish, would be uninhabitable with 528 gallons per hour ... But I insist, my experience always shows me that all filters usually have between 40% and 50%... This is in reality 317 Gallons per hour real, about 5 or 6 times the gallons of water in my tank ... That's not to much ... My problem is that the distributor for Europe of SunSun, is here in Germany, but I do not know anyone yet, that has the model 704B (if other models, but not with this model in particular, and I have not seen it work) With the Spraybar do I reduce the water output power too? Excuse me for the questions, but I have had very bad luck with the filters so far I invested a lot of money in very expensive filters, which finally gave me a very bad result, and with very low performance, both in power and capacity for biological material. So now, I need a filter urgently, and really, I do not know what decision to make. Sincerely, thank you very much for your help

[@magzire]

@@Iron-cesc Have to remember these water flows decrease a good bit with overhead pressure and when media starts to get clogged. Actually the sunsun comes with a spraybar and will even the pressure out on release, i have the 1400l version of sunsun on a 180L and honestly the flow isnt that great, however i do have their prefilter booster attached also. I managed to get 4 kilos of biomedia in the 1400 with just one foam pad. So i let the prefilter booster do all the mechanical work. So the 2000 version will be perfect for you.

[@magzire]

www.amazon.de/SunSun-HW-602-Aquarium-1-5L-Pre-Filter/dp/B01EY3LJSA/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=sunsun+pre+filter&qid=1558978917&s=gateway&sr=8-1

[@magzire]

If you buy this will reduce the flow a little, also there would be no need to open the main canister. So just fill it with biohome and clean maybe once a year. Probably get 5-6 kilos of biohome in it. The prefilter would need cleaning 2-4 weeks depending on stock. I have my canister running 4 months and honestly there is nothing to clean last time i opened it.

[@montellanojavelosa6249]

Hi Ben. I have a sunsun 304b with a 603b prefilter. I also have an aquaclear 110 HOB. I alternate cleaning the sponges every other week. Pretty easy to do and keeps my water pristine. But you have me sold on the prefilter sponge for the intake. I ordered one recently from aquarium co-op and cant wait to try it out.