buying a new vortex diatom filter - need advice

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nishant_datta

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 16, 2006
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New Delhi, India
I am thinking of buying a vortex diatom XL filter from www.aquariumguys.com.

i am buying through a friend at US who's gonna be visiting India soon. so I wanna know what accessories, filter bags, etc. should i order with the filter.

i am definetely gonna order a 5lb diatom powder bag and some filter oil. what else guys ? need advice ASAP. thanks.

oh, and is their any other site / vendor offering a better deal and/or faster shipping than the site mentioned above.
 
That is where I got mine it showed up quickly. I might order some of their super char as well its great stuff! And perhaps an extra filter bag but it comes with everything you need. The bags last a long time and can be washed many times to make them good as new but the threat of a puncture (Hasn't happened yet) might make me get another just in case. I made my own backflush valve for the sink but you might want to pick up one of theirs its not necessary but it can make things a bit more simple for you.
 
I bought a used one myself a couple of weeks ago due to some cloudy water. I hooked it up, did not take long at all and it made the water crystal clear in a couple of hours.

One trick to get it primed.......I took a bucket (2 gal) filled it with tank water, took the filter and filled it with tank water, and I put the tubes from the filter into the bucket and started it up, Then I took a cup of the powder and poured it in the bucket, once the water in the bucket was clear I knew the filter was charged and ready to go.

Good luck, they work great
 
An extra filter bag, 5 lbs. of diatom powder, quart of super char, light weight oil, and......... an extra seal for the under side of the head. This seal is the one that contacts the base and keeps it from leaking. Eventually they wear out/shrink and leak. If you get all of the above you should be good to go for 10+ years of normal use!! Diatom filters are great and a good investment. Is the electricity in India 110-120 volts and 60 Hertz? That is what you would need to run a Diatom filter motor.
 
One trick to get it primed.......I took a bucket (2 gal) filled it with tank water, took the filter and filled it with tank water, and I put the tubes from the filter into the bucket and started it up, Then I took a cup of the powder and poured it in the bucket, once the water in the bucket was clear I knew the filter was charged and ready to go.
Click to expand...

this is what I used to do as well.

another trick is that when it is ready, take the two ends of the hoses (input and output) and place them in a smaller container filled with water as you bring hoses up to the aquarium.

lower the filled container with the hoses into your aquarium and them remove the container.

this helps to prevent tons of powder being dispersed into your aquarium.

which can happen if you just kink the hoses to get from the priming bucket into your tank..
 
well, the power setup here is for 220v but one can always use converters. i found this site www.diatomfilters.com which claims it provides worldwide shipping and also offers 220v configuration vortex diatom xl filter. any one ever made any purchases from this site ?
 
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