new filter

All that extra work I did a few months ago, finally got paid and I bought a new filter for my main tank. Mostly to solve the kuhli escapist problem once and for all. It's an Eheim Classic canister filter- the 2217 2215 model. It's supposed to have a flow rate of about 140 gallons per hour, which means it will turn over all the water in my tank 4x/hr. Good flow rate is supposed to be 4-5x so I think this will be a big improvement. It makes me once again feel ashamed of how poor my filtration is-

this thing is a beast! It has easily five times more (and then some) the amount of media inside the canister, as my HOB. It will minimalize the amount of hardware visible in the tank too- I won't need the sponge filter in corner anymore.

I've got it running on my empty ten gallon QT right now. To test for leaks- the only flaw I've ever read about was people finding the plastic fittings cracked during shipping. And to make sure I know how to setup and use the thing before drilling holes in the back of my aquarium stand to install it. So far so good. I rinsed and filled with the new media today, in used tank water. Threw some hornwort in the QT and a few handfuls of trumpet snails. Just in case their waste helps to start seeding the media with bacteria.

I'd put it on the tank tomorrow, but I want to paint the spraybar and intake tube black. Got Plastidip, but it's cold and raining and small as it is, that's a job I want to do outside... then it has to cure for a day or two before safe to go in the tank. So right now this thing is humming in the corner.

Not much to note on the main tank itself, this end-of-the-week. Nitrate levels, water change and fert dose as normal. Plants continue looking great, I do think it's an improvement that I'm leaving a gap between dosing the macros and micros. An hour, today.

My aponogeton balansae in the corner is sending up another new leaf- and this one is broader than the last. I really like this plant.

Fish look well. Oddly, they don't seem to care about zucchini anymore. I had an organic zucchini the other day, saved a slice in the freezer for the fishes, thawed it in some warm water to soften, rubbed off the skin and sunk it on a line. Everyone gets excited for a few minutes- but after a while the cherry barbs drift off and only a few of them stay to pick at it. The black kuhlis were all over it at first, but by lights-out nobody eating. Maybe they were all full already? Albert and Tiger came late to the party as usual, and left early. Sassy never came to eat. I always expect to see snails all over it in the morning- I found one shrimp is all. They hadn't even eaten the center out of it this time.

They all go crazy for peas every time, though.