magnum canister filters

kdawg · 09-06-2009, 10:11 PM

hello all. just got me some cichlids in my 90 gallon tank. i have had it up and running for about 3 months now with just some goldfish in it (had to prove to the wifey that i infact CAN take care of a fish tank). i got my tank from a guy who was getting out of the hobby for awhile and he gave me all he had. it came with an aqua clear 110 hob filter, two magnum 350 canisters and a fluval 403 canister. he told me that he had a lot of trouble finding parts for the fluval and didnt care for the magnums, so i stuck with the hob. when at the pet store the guy acted like i was an idiot for not running the magnums. i want to start them now, but i am concerned and don't know where to start. How do i install the magnums and will it throw off my tank parameters since these filters don't have the good bacteria in them yet? i will continue with my hob until these get up and running, but i don't know how to install them or how they work. is this something i should try to see in person at the lfs? any feedback would be appreciated. thanks
p.s. dont worry, my wife liked the tank so much we got a 10 gallon to keep the goldfish in! lol and tonight she was talking about moving the couch out so we could get a 125 or bigger in our living room. of course i had to show her the "you know your addicted when" thread!

louistheloach · 09-07-2009, 09:36 AM

hey there,

You can actually go to the website of the producer of the magnum and they will have the cannister in diagram form, I think they even have the manual on their site so you can either print it or just look at it.

I got one from my dad, his was quite a bit older (20 years or so) so I had a problem with a small air leak resulting in some bubbles in the water but no water leaks. I only use it when I need extra quick cleaning since my renas do the job, but my dad used it as one of his primary filters on the 125.

Not sure why the other guy would have problems finding parts for the fluval.....there are many online stores that carry the parts and if they dont have the parts you can contact the company.

No you shouldnt have problems with the bacteria. You will probably want to run them both, the aqua clear is definitely not enough. You will get much better surface agitation with the magnum, so better water quality.

ltl