75g Filtration

[xanflisher]

I'm not necessarily new to fishkeeping, however, I've never had a tank this size. I have a 55 gallon with 2 HOB filters, but I'm not sure if a similar setup would work for a new 75g with a flowerhorn. I've considered building an overhead sump with a flower box and filter media but I'm not sure if this is a good idea or if it will suffice.

I'm not necessarily keen on spending $200+ on filtration, but I also want the best for the tank I plan on getting. The 2 HOB are great with filtration but aren't so good at sucking up things on the bottom of the tank, and I feel as if that's going to be kind of important for the aesthetic of a bare bottom tank.

 

[Wills]

If your HOBs are providing enough biological filtration, how about adding a little powerhead low down to stir up the bottom level of the tank. I have a tiny Hygger one that is programable so it can ramp up and down the lowest setting is 3000lph which would get the waste up the water columns for the HOBs to pick up. I think it was about £60 from Amazon, but Hygger have a bigger presence in the USA so might be easier to find.

 

[xanflisher]

If your HOBs are providing enough biological filtration, how about adding a little powerhead low down to stir up the bottom level of the tank. I have a tiny Hygger one that is programable so it can ramp up and down the lowest setting is 3000lph which would get the waste up the water columns for the HOBs to pick up. I think it was about £60 from Amazon, but Hygger have a bigger presence in the USA so might be easier to find.

So you think I should get 2 HOBs and a powerhead for the 75 gallon? I'm not concerned with my 55 gallon here, was just providing context with what I have currently.

 

[Colin_T]

It's a good idea to have some substrate on the bottom of aquariums so fish know which way is up and which way is down. A dark substrate will also reduce glare from lights and let the fish show better colours.

If you are concerned about gunk in the gravel, use a gravel cleaner when you do water changes. You don't need much gravel, 1/2 inch is fine unless you want to grow plants, and these can be grown in pots.

@Wills suggestion of a small powerhead near the bottom is also a good one. You can put it on a timer so it comes on for a hour several times a day. Most powerheads can has sponges fitted to the intake and this can help trap gunk too.

 

[xanflisher]

It's a good idea to have some substrate on the bottom of aquariums so fish know which way is up and which way is down. A dark substrate will also reduce glare from lights and let the fish show better colours.

If you are concerned about gunk in the gravel, use a gravel cleaner when you do water changes. You don't need much gravel, 1/2 inch is fine unless you want to grow plants, and these can be grown in pots.

@Wills suggestion of a small powerhead near the bottom is also a good one. You can put it on a timer so it comes on for a hour several times a day. Most powerheads can has sponges fitted to the intake and this can help trap gu

Thank you but this isn't what I'm asking. I'm asking what's a good method of filtration for a 75 gallon tank. I have a 55 gallon with 2 HOBs, and I only brought up this slight debris problem because I think it would look worse if I did something similar in the 75 gallon. I know how to clean my tanks and I'm not looking for suggestions on the substrate, it's for a flowerhorn.

My main question is how should I filter this tank? Would a DIY planter box overhead sump with the links attached suffice, should I be looking at getting 2 more HOBs and a powerhead for the 75, or should I just throw a couple hundred for a canister filter at that point.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

My main question is how should I filter this tank? Would a DIY planter box overhead sump with the links attached suffice, should I be looking at getting 2 more HOBs and a powerhead for the 75, or should I just throw a couple hundred for a canister filter at that point.

Have you looked into a canister filter? Making an overhead sump is a lot of work and will probably run you more than $200.

 

[xanflisher]

Have you looked into a canister filter? Making an overhead sump is a lot of work and will probably run you more than $200.

More than $200??? I'm not looking to make some high quality acrylic sump, just one out of a flower box. Would run me around $40 max to build, not including whether I make it an airlift or use a submersible pump.

But yes, that's my issue. Canisters like the Fluval 407 run at $220, so I'm curious if I could build that and it be suffice.

 

[Wills]

More than $200??? I'm not looking to make some high quality acrylic sump, just one out of a flower box. Would run me around $40 max to build, not including whether I make it an airlift or use a submersible pump.

But yes, that's my issue. Canisters like the Fluval 407 run at $220, so I'm curious if I could build that and it be suffice.

Sorry I thought you had 2 hobs on this tank already.

I agree with some of the posts above a substrate would be good but with a fish like a flowerhorn I can understand why you want to go bare bottom. Though are you going for a really high grade expensive flowerhorn or just a regular one (not that theres anything wrong with regular ones) but if its a super expensive graded one you do need to keep the water super clean and no sharp edges etc to damage their hump but if its something closer to their wild relatives like a Trimac a more nautral set up with substrate, little bit of hardscape would be nice.

But back to filtration, basically in a 300 litre tank I would be aiming to achieve a turn over of around 7x lph for 2100lph. I like external filters as its less kit in the tank, external heaters are nice too either an inline or the Oase Biomasters. Some of the HOBs these days are pretty nice too but. If you wanted to go DIY it comes down to media capacity which you would want space for between 5 and 10 litres of media (bio balls, matrix, ceramic rings etc) plus some mechanical filtration (foam).

Wills

 

[Colin_T]

I would just stay with the 2 hang on back filters you have.

It's not like your increasing the number of fish. Your simply increasing the tank size and water volume so the 2 hob filters should be fine.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I run multiple filters on most tanks. I have two 75 gal tanks. One contains a lot of plecos and the other is a heavily planted community. Both tanks have an older Eheim Pro II 2026 canister. The pleco tank also has two powerheads with large sponges on the intake. The planted community also has an AquaClear 70 (300gph). Both tanks have Hydor inline heaters attached to the canisters. I just had to replace one of the Hydors after it ran for almost 20 years.

I should mention the Canisters are also pretty old. I actually have three of these running. The oldest has run since late 2002 or early 03 and is still going strong today. I have a spare 2026 on the shelf for parts and the larger 2028 model on the shelf for future use.

The nice thing about canisters is you can place both the intake and return almost anywhere in a tank you want. I clean mine only twice a year.

 

[xanflisher]

Sorry I thought you had 2 hobs on this tank already.

I agree with some of the posts above a substrate would be good but with a fish like a flowerhorn I can understand why you want to go bare bottom. Though are you going for a really high grade expensive flowerhorn or just a regular one (not that theres anything wrong with regular ones) but if its a super expensive graded one you do need to keep the water super clean and no sharp edges etc to damage their hump but if its something closer to their wild relatives like a Trimac a more nautral set up with substrate, little bit of hardscape would be nice.

But back to filtration, basically in a 300 litre tank I would be aiming to achieve a turn over of around 7x lph for 2100lph. I like external filters as its less kit in the tank, external heaters are nice too either an inline or the Oase Biomasters. Some of the HOBs these days are pretty nice too but. If you wanted to go DIY it comes down to media capacity which you would want space for between 5 and 10 litres of media (bio balls, matrix, ceramic rings etc) plus some mechanical filtration (foam).

Wills

Oh yeah I'm goin for gold Gonna buy a great flowerhorn from J4, that's why I'm not doing substrate and want adequate filtration without paying $200 on top of the hundreds I'm already spending. I was going to attempt to build this overhead sump with this planter box, using an airlift (pvc with an airline) or submersible pump. In that case, would I be looking for a 2100lph pump? Or how would I know how much an airlift would turnover? An airlift looks very inexpensive simply because I'll need an aerator anyways.

I would just stay with the 2 hang on back filters you have.

It's not like your increasing the number of fish. Your simply increasing the tank size and water volume so the 2 hob filters should be fine.

My 55 gallon is not a flowerhorn tank, I was describing what I already had and how I'm not sure if a similar setup would work for a new 75 gallon & flowerhorn I plan on buying.

I run multiple filters on most tanks. I have two 75 gal tanks. One contains a lot of plecos and the other is a heavily planted community. Both tanks have an older Eheim Pro II 2026 canister. The pleco tank also has two powerheads with large sponges on the intake. The planted community also has an AquaClear 70 (300gph). Both tanks have Hydor inline heaters attached to the canisters. I just had to replace one of the Hydors after it ran for almost 20 years.

I should mention the Canisters are also pretty old. I actually have three of these running. The oldest has run since late 2002 or early 03 and is still going strong today. I have a spare 2026 on the shelf for parts and the larger 2028 model on the shelf for future use.

The nice thing about canisters is you can place both the intake and return almost anywhere in a tank you want. I clean mine only twice a year.

They do seem quite old considering I can't find any! Seems like Fluval is more in, even when I google Eheim I only see Fluvals available from reputable places. Not sure if I want to spend the $200 on a canister or see if I can DIY a sump for way cheaper.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have one tank that has 2 established filters, use one of the filters on the new tank so it will be cycled straight away. Then add whatever else you like to filter the bigger tank.

Get a hydroponic basket and some of the light weight beads they use and set it above the tank. Use a small water pump to pump aquarium water up into the container and it will drain back into the tank. Have plants in the container and you should have nice clean water for the fish.

 

[xanflisher]

If you have one tank that has 2 established filters, use one of the filters on the new tank so it will be cycled straight away. Then add whatever else you like to filter the bigger tank.

Get a hydroponic basket and some of the light weight beads they use and set it above the tank. Use a small water pump to pump aquarium water up into the container and it will drain back into the tank. Have plants in the container and you should have nice clean water for the fish.

Yeah thanks, I plan on it. Also going to be using some old aquarium water so that the bacteria doesn't die. I think that's my main concern; if the DIY flowerbox filter can turnover enough water to adequately filter the aquarium or not. I'll have all the proper biological, mechanical, and chemical filtration components necessary, I'm just not sure about the gallons per hour. I have looked into adding plants to it but I'm not sure how I would light them, definitely don't hate the idea.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The old tank water will do nothing for the bacteria, they do not live in the water and what they usually need is in one's tap water except for the ammonia. With live plants you may need to add some ferts for them.

You should be able to extend the intakes on most H.O.B.s I run a lot of Aquacleares and for some I have three of the tubes ganged together. I also tend to run multiple filters on tanks and, with two H.O.B.s, I will set one with the intake longer (deeper), and the other with it shorter (shallower).

 

[denogginizer]

Hello fellow Michigander.
The HOBs seem like they would be fine while you search for something bigger like this: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/for/d/ferrysburg-fluval-fx5-canister-filter/7464816897.html

I have a used FX6 on my 75 gallon and it moves plenty of water!