Indiana Sunsun hw303b external filter - queries
Sunsun hw303b external filter - queries
Dear All,I have got myself yesterday, a SUNSUN External Filter, HW303B… (Purchased it for an offer – got the set for around 70$).
Here are the specifications of the one, I purchased.
1. 1400 litres per hour
2. Pump Power : 35 watts
3. 3 Stage Multi Layer Filtration
4. Built in 9 watt UV Sterilizer Complete with Filter media
5. 2m max head height
6. Separate on / off switch for UV
7. Quality Fittings ( Taps, hoses spray bar inc )
8. Quick Release taps
9. Quiet and Extremely reliable
10. Weight : 5kg
11. Suitable for up to 500 litres
Queries :
1. Does anyone think that, the price paid for this is high?
2. I have not got any warranty for this filter, do you normally get one?
3. This is the first time, I am buying an external filter. This is for my 100g, that I have bot. This is currently running on 2 Internal Filters only. I have in there, a silver aro + a RD Flowerhorn (I know, that’s a lot of biomass in there). Recently, I have observed that, there is an pungent odour coming out of the aquarium from these fishes. When I had contacted the LFS nearby, they have advised me to get an External Filter for the remedy. Hence, I have purchased the above mentioned SUNSUN External Filter.
Are there, any ppl out there, with similar experiences, and anyone who has got the odour out of their aquariums with this type of external filter? i.e. does this filter work, the way I want it to?
4. Does the operation of these filters create a lot of disturbing noise in the Room ?
5. With the help of these types of filters, how often would I have to change the water in the aquariums?
6. What is the principle of water cleansing in these filters, that use bioballs, ceramic and activated carbon?
7. My Water in the aquarium is presently unclear, that’s because of the food I put in there. After I get this running, will I get the water crystal clear. Or will I have to add in new water, when starting this filter.
I know that’s a lot of questions.
I have just got a Rough Idea on how to use this. However, wud get back to u, with any other clarifications required for this.
All comments are welcome. Thanx in advance to all of u there.
==comments==
hi dubizzle and i see you have alot of good questions and luckily i have run sunsuns in the past so can answer a few of them for you. I truely enjoy the sunsun filters i believe i have the 4 stage one thats a little bit bigger than yours but they are basically the same thing. I was hesitant at first to buy it as it was so cheap and was just unsure of the quality. i was recommended one of these from a friend though and thought for the money it would be worth a shot. now i recommend these filters to lots of people that need quick cheap cannister filters and they are actually pretty reliable.
I was surprised when i recieved it at how quiet the filter was and at how much water pressure it was putting out. it out did my xp3 in everything. moved much more water and didnt clog up as easily so that was a major plus. the only thing the xp3 has on the sunsun is the fittings are a bit better on the xp. i ran this filter for over 6 months with no problems at all. the only downside was the uv filter went out rather fquick. but its such a small uv and the water is moving too fast for it to be doing anything anywayso no need to replace the bulb when it goes out or if buying one to get it.
now to answer some of your questions specifically.
$70 is actually pretty cheap. these filters will give you the most water movement filtration for the $. downside being yes there is no warranty that come with them. BUT they are so cheap if it goes out they are cheap enough to buy another one and now you have spare parts and that right there is my convincing point when i recommend these filters.
your water smell is most likely from stagnant water as you do not have enough water movement going. if you use the spray bar and also keep both your current filters going this should help alot. also maybe add a few air stones for extra movement as this helps gas exchange in the tank and is very effective and actually recommended.
the filter itself is very quiet but you will hear water movement from the spray bar but with a lid on the tank this noise should not be too bad just position the bar to where it moves the most water at the surface.
you still need to maintain a healthy wc schedule as new water needs to be added and old water needs to be removed for healthy fish.
bioballs are best used in wet/dry and drip filters where as ceramic rings work best fully submerged so put as much ceramic rings in there as possible. dont worry about the carbon as i never use it in my tanks as it can go bad and start leaching back into the water what it took out and is just not worth the chance. also use a half or one tray for your mechanical filtration to keep your water clean.
your cloudy water might be from overfeeding so make sure you are paying attention to how much you are feeding and how much they are eating. also if its really bad make a full tray mechanical filtration. and while you are adding your new sunsun keep both other filters running so you dont loose your bio and actually i would suggest keep all three running for the life of your aquarium as there is no such thing as overfiltration but there is such a thing as underfiltration.
on my old 125 i had an xp3, the larger sunsun, and 2 emporers running and still did a once a week wc sometimes twice a week if i had the time. good luck with the sunsun and let me know if you have any more questions.
Happy keeping
>Originally Posted by Jeffers hi dubizzle and i see you have alot of good questions and luckily i have run sunsuns in the past so can answer a few of them for you. I truely enjoy the sunsun filters i believe i have the 4 stage one thats a little bit bigger than yours but they are basically the same thing. I was hesitant at first to buy it as it was so cheap and was just unsure of the quality. i was recommended one of these from a friend though and thought for the money it would be worth a shot. now i recommend these filters to lots of people that need quick cheap cannister filters and they are actually pretty reliable.
I was surprised when i recieved it at how quiet the filter was and at how much water pressure it was putting out. it out did my xp3 in everything. moved much more water and didnt clog up as easily so that was a major plus. the only thing the xp3 has on the sunsun is the fittings are a bit better on the xp. i ran this filter for over 6 months with no problems at all. the only downside was the uv filter went out rather fquick. but its such a small uv and the water is moving too fast for it to be doing anything anywayso no need to replace the bulb when it goes out or if buying one to get it.
now to answer some of your questions specifically.
$70 is actually pretty cheap. these filters will give you the most water movement filtration for the $. downside being yes there is no warranty that come with them. BUT they are so cheap if it goes out they are cheap enough to buy another one and now you have spare parts and that right there is my convincing point when i recommend these filters.
your water smell is most likely from stagnant water as you do not have enough water movement going. if you use the spray bar and also keep both your current filters going this should help alot. also maybe add a few air stones for extra movement as this helps gas exchange in the tank and is very effective and actually recommended.
the filter itself is very quiet but you will hear water movement from the spray bar but with a lid on the tank this noise should not be too bad just position the bar to where it moves the most water at the surface.
you still need to maintain a healthy wc schedule as new water needs to be added and old water needs to be removed for healthy fish.
bioballs are best used in wet/dry and drip filters where as ceramic rings work best fully submerged so put as much ceramic rings in there as possible. dont worry about the carbon as i never use it in my tanks as it can go bad and start leaching back into the water what it took out and is just not worth the chance. also use a half or one tray for your mechanical filtration to keep your water clean.
your cloudy water might be from overfeeding so make sure you are paying attention to how much you are feeding and how much they are eating. also if its really bad make a full tray mechanical filtration. and while you are adding your new sunsun keep both other filters running so you dont loose your bio and actually i would suggest keep all three running for the life of your aquarium as there is no such thing as overfiltration but there is such a thing as underfiltration.
on my old 125 i had an xp3, the larger sunsun, and 2 emporers running and still did a once a week wc sometimes twice a week if i had the time. good luck with the sunsun and let me know if you have any more questions.
Happy keeping
Dear Mr. Jeffers,,,,,
thanx alot for the effort put in ,,, for my queries.....
They are realllly damn quiet… n I love them for that….
Further to your recommendation,,,,I have added in one more biochemical filter to the tank….. now the odour is kinda getting solved……
I have put the spraybar however, inside the water,,,, so there is no worries about now……
But thanx a lot again for that much u did…… u rockkkkkk
1. The external filter carries - bioballs in the bottommost, cermaic in the middle and activated carbon at the top.... will keeping all trays with carbon get the odour off.?? Can some1 clarify – Biological Filtration is the Bioballs, Mechanical Filtration is the Ceramic rings, and what is the carbon then??
2. Presently, i changed the full water in the tank. so, now theres no odour as such...just yday at the LFS, i saw one guy who had purchased a pearl aro 6 months back,,,,he was telling me to just get live fish for this aro…and he says the aro will grow really huge,,,, he was showing me his aro,,, I got this into mind,,,how abt keeping just live fish for the aros… this wud not make the overfeeding problem…. Isn’t it??? And does anyone have actual experiences with giving only live fish to aros to get them big….???
3. I have heard that there is a surface skimmer… whn u put the spray bar on the surface to get water into the tank.,,,,does that mean by surface skimming.??
Its not taking any waste away,,,,correct me if I m rong… its only supplying more oxygen to the surface,,,,,,??????
4. How often shud the media in the filters be cleaned ?? I just checked cleaning the carbon…. But lots of black particles, I suppose the carbon itself is washing away…….
5. do the arowanas simply kill live fish,,,,,, if they r not hungry as the flowerhorns and oscars do ????? i have heard they only eat the fish whn they are hungry .....
Just wanted to tell one more thing – my UV Lamp light is not working.. contacted the LFS and they are like,,,, bring the head alone back for a replacement… going to get that tmw…..
Thanx in advance to everyone……
>its no problem i can go on about these filters for days. most people wont trust them though since they are cheap the thought is they must not be effective or quiet but they really are. here are some more answers for you.
1. Biological filtration is done by bacteria so when you add bioballs and ceramic rings those are both in essence bio filtration since it gives room for the beneficial bacteria to grow.
mechanical filtration is your sponges (in some cases) filtersocks, and particle filtration. so its whats actually taking out the crap and solid wastes or anything else that makes its way into the tank.
chemical filtration is where your activated carbon comes in. it takes out chemical themselves but they dont need cleaned they need recharged or replaced or they will leech back into the system what they have taken out the only time you should use these is when you have medicated the tank and need to take the meds out so that combined with big water changes is effective then remove and throw away when done with them.
2. be careful doing full waterchanges as you can change the temp, ph, and other levels too much and it is harmful to the fish and your BB (beneficial bacteria). as far as only live feeders go i never suggest using almost any live feeders as they can introduce parasites. you might want to do some research in the arowana section for more specialized help.
3 there are a few types of surface skimmers but most of them are actually skimming out that protein film thats up top the layer you see when looking from the bottom up. it also aggitates the water for easier gas exchanges.
4. your media in your cannister should only be cleaned maybe once a year. but you should change or clean the filter pads evvery 1-3 months depending. so if water flow slows down you know its time to change the pads. your carbon you should not really be using so i would just take it out.
5. you might want to check and do research in the arowana section but here again i dont do live feeders as they can introduce parasites and it sucks loosing 100s-$1000s worth of fish to a 20 cent feeder.
also might just be your uv lamp is burnt out. i would actually just see if you could trade yours for the unit without the uv light. the water is moving way too fast for that little uv light to be effective and thats just one more part that can mess up. sometimes simpiler is better.
happy keeping Teluk Intan Aquarium。
