"Koi-lo" wrote in message
...

Do you have some kind of sand or soil under the surface?

Nope - no sand or soil - regulation aquarium pebbles - approx 3mm diameter.

Has anyone checked the flow rate of the D1 - ?

How would anyone do that?

measuring the volume in a given period of time (outlet flow into a bucket) -
then convert to gallons per hour or whatever...
i did it without too much trouble on my eheim (suspected it was low - and it
was - 50% of rated) but it will be more difficult to measure the vortex
flow - esp. without an extra pair of hands to help...

Mine sits on the floor and the tank stands are regulation height. The
hoses are the hoses that came with the filter and are aprox 4' long.

Hmm. ok - no difference there then...

Inlet & outlet tubing - 4 foot long each.
Pump inlet/outlet sits 3 foot below top of tank

I don't understand this - 3' below top of tank? ????

yeah, from where the pump connects to the hose - ie. the base of the vortex
jar is 4 foot below the tank (sitting on the floor) and the pump inlet &
outlet is 1 foot higher. Therefore 3 foot below the top of the tank. (pump
is pushing thru a 3 foot head of water)

My intake & return *strainers* are both only about 2" below the
waterline.... maybe I should lengthen the intake strainer leg ? worth a
try....


Then when the DE gets discolored CHANGE IT.

Hmmm ok.

Don't let it run until the flow slows down.

Thats where it doesnt make sense to me either - the flow doesnt *seem* to
drop off as the DE gets discoloured... strange.

Are you using mains or well water?

mains.

Is THAT crystal clear from your tap?

well, I would assume so because my fathers tank (next suburb - same water
supply) is SUPER CRYSTAL clear - he has got a cheap ass tiny HOT filter -
drives me nuts that his tank with minimal care & attention and super
low-tech filtration gets to a super clear state - arghhh !!!! hehehehe
:-D

Thanx Mate !