nickquinteros Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 Hey so I currently have an established shrimp tank with about 20 cherry shrimp and have it filtered with a dual sponge filter but I wanted to switch to a matten filter. They look a lot nicer and i would like the extra surface area for filtration and grazing. But I'm not sure exactly how to put the filter into an established tank. the substrate is eco-complete and I was thinking i could just push some of the substrate over and slide it in but I'm afraid it might stir up a lot of debris and harm my shrimp. has anyone ever added a hamburg filter to an established tank before? how did you do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 Adding a HMF to the established tank shouldn't hurt anything. And the shrimp will likely enjoy picking through the stirred up debris. I'd leave the existing sponges in the tank for at least 1.5 months to ensure the HMF is seeded if you can. Otherwise squeeze the mulm out into the tank and let the HMF suck it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afeather Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 I have one in a 10gal tank that I LOVE. Highly recommend them for their functionality and grazing surface. As far as installing them in an established tank... Are you installing one that requires the side guards to be siliconed in? (The curved/edge ones?) The silicone ideally needs to cure for a few hours at least for those. I guess you'd need to drain the tank or tip it? Pushing the substrate out of the way is no problem and as stated above, your shrimps will probably love the kicked up debris. It's the silicone-ing the side guards which hold the sponge filter itself that I'm unsure of. UNLESS you are just installing the slab of filter straight across the tank and won't need those glass guards. In that case, you're good to go! Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 I use HMF's almost exclusively. ;0) afeather, ClownPlanted and DarkSeas 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 23 minutes ago, wyzazz said: I use HMF's almost exclusively. ;0) Hold The Phone! what is this rack and where can I get one? That looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 Haha, thanks @chappy6107 ! I bought the rack off of an old angelfish breeder locally and modified it for my uses. It's made from angle iron. Here is what it looked like before I bought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 @wyzazz I am assuming it is one of a kind? or is it made by a company specifically for this. Either way I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyzazz Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 One of a kind, he had it welded up to his specifications and coated the front with some sheet stainless. He listed it on Craigslist and I just happened to be in the market. chappy6107 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickquinteros Posted February 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 I have one in a 10gal tank that I LOVE. Highly recommend them for their functionality and grazing surface. As far as installing them in an established tank... Are you installing one that requires the side guards to be siliconed in? (The curved/edge ones?) The silicone ideally needs to cure for a few hours at least for those. I guess you'd need to drain the tank or tip it? Pushing the substrate out of the way is no problem and as stated above, your shrimps will probably love the kicked up debris. It's the silicone-ing the side guards which hold the sponge filter itself that I'm unsure of. UNLESS you are just installing the slab of filter straight across the tank and won't need those glass guards. In that case, you're good to go! Hope this helps. i don't think it will require the silicone glass. it should be slightly oversized so it holds itself up. just placed the order so hopefully it goes well thanks to everyone who replied!Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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