"TR" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Rick" wrote in message
...
Well, thats interesting....!
I just ordered this from Big Al's. I suppose it could be old stock, but I
would think that would be more likely to happen if I was buying from an
LFS
that didn't see much turn over, not from a mail order site like Big Al's.
The box the Magnum came in has ©2002 on it, so I think that must be fairly
recent. The filter I can't tell, but certainly the packaging appears
recent.
How reliable is your Rep? How long has he been with Marineland? Perhaps he
thought you were trying to make a case for choosing a diatom filter over a
Magnum and just tried to dissuade you?
Who knows. Certainly alot of diatom filters on the market, and the media
readily available. Seems odd for Marineland to take such a
'carcinogen...don't use it' stance. I may contact Big Als and see what
they
have to say.
Well, I have no plans at this point to use diatom powder, but I do have
the
instructions if I ever feel the need :-) The micron cartridge worked very
well. My biggest gripe is with the micro bubbles the Magnum puts out. The
water LOOKS cloudy but it's not. Turn off the magnum for a while and it
looks great. The micro bubbles are spewing continuously. Trying to reset
the
seals and use silicon lube, 'burping', etc. no luck yet.
I know nothing about the guy except he answered by query to the Company.
This is my 3rd H.O.T Magnum. I also get the small bubbles however my problem
with the other two was the unit purging the water from inside the filter
only leaving about half and this then causes noisy operation and lots of big
bubbles. Pain in the neck. The silicone did not work for me however I did
get a laugh when the "Rep" suggested in a previous exchange that I use the
small tube and if that was not enough to buy more at the Hardware store and
use copious quantities. He said that the problem is the D ring which does
not seal properly. I told him that if I had to use copious quantities of
silicone then I would suggest they have a manufacturing defect in their
product. The new one works fine with the exception of the small bubbles.
Here is his rely to my query.
Hi Rick,
Glad to hear that you got the issue resolved at the store. Regarding the
use of Diatom Powder, this is something that has been used in the hobby for
quite some time. We used to include it with our Magnums until we discovered
that diatom powder is a carcinogen in an airborne state. This stuff is known
to cause cancer. For that reason we stopped recommending its use. The micron
cartridge by itself can filter out particles as small as 4 micron. With the
use of diatom powder I think it brings that number down to 2 micron, not
that much difference really when referring to such a small particle size.
If you do choose to use diatom powder, simply hang the Hot Magnum on the
tank. Take a small container, such as a milk jug with the top cut off, to
isolate the intake and return tube. With the container full of water and the
tubes isolated, turn the filter on and add an amount of diatom powder to the
small container. The filter will continue to circulate the water inside this
small container. Allow it to run until the water appears to be clear again.
All of the powder is now going to be attached to the micron cartridge.
Simply lower the small container to introduce the intake and return tubes
back into the tank. Do not turn the filter off, as this may cause an amount
of diatom powder to loosen up and shoot back into the tank when its turned
on again which may have an adverse effect on the fish.
Is sounds to me like the person on line had gotten a hold of some older
stock if he had found instructions regarding diatom powder in the manual. We
have not recommend this stuff for at least 10 years. I hope this is some
helpful information. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further
questions or concerns.
Thank you,
Matt Bennett
Marineland Customer Service
1-800-322-1266 x4474