Big Tank Filtration

[cane76]

how would you filter a 260g tank without a sump?i have a cycled eheim 2217 ready to put straight on to get it started but i need a powerful external thermofilter or 2 any recomendations?

 

[saboy]

Have 3 fluval fx5s on it, should do the job nicely, and not too expensive

 

[cane76]

what is the most powerful thermofilter eheim make?

 

[saboy]

I had a reread of my previous post, with your filter you have already , 2 fx5's should do it.


here is the best thermofilter I think

http/www.justbuyonline.co.uk/eheim-2329-...lter-o-310.html

 

[grayboy1]

tbh 1 fluval fx5 would do it with a smaller filter of some sort so that u can stagger maintenance. 2 fx5s is overkill. i have an fx5 myself so i feel i have the right to comment

 

[andywg]

Why no sump? If you are going that large then you really do want a sump. A wet/dry tower would give you all that you need and be far better and more flexible than the FX5 or any eheim. The added gas exchange would be a great bonus for any large fish in there too, and I assume you will be moving your larger fish to it.

However, if you are really determined not to use a sump, you can do worse than look into Tunze products. They tend to specialise in SW setups (having invented the protein skimmer) but do some pretty cool FW stuff, such as a nitrate filter that works by growing plants in a hydroponic way on the side of the tank.

 

[CFC]

On a tank that size a sump is the only sensible option really, running multiple canisters is a real killer on the electric bill (trust me i know) and maintainance becomes a chore when cracking open a filter and cleaning the media becomes a weekly job.

 

[T1KARMANN]

4 x eheim pro 3s and they would still be cheaper to run that the 2 x rubbish FX5

The money you save on the cheap budget fx5 you will lose of the running costs

the FX5 also has less mec media in it that your current 2217

2 x fx5s will give you 12L of mec media
2 x pro3 will give you 24l of mec media which is as much as most sumps

their you go the fx5 is just one big sponge in more ways that one it sucks up elec

http/www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopi...0&highlight=fx5

 

[andywg]

Ouch, the FX-5 got teh pwned!

Twice as much to run, filters less efficiently and is over twice as loud.

 

[CFC]

I think every Eheim owner knew what the outcome was going to be, and to be honest when you pay twice as much for something it HAS to be better. Its like comparing Skoda to BMW, both do the exact same thing; the BMW is twice the price but worth the money if you have it.

 

[T1KARMANN]

the BMW also wont brake down as much and the resale price is better

 

[cane76]

what sized sump tank would be needed for a 280g tank?

 

[dylema]

I have noticed a couple of you guys saying the FX5 is rubbish or inefficient etc. Reading the article comparing it to the Eheim it doesn't come across as well perhaps but is still more efficient than some other filters. If we ignor the obvious BMW nature of the Ehiems, is it not still a pretty good filter, espsecially for a tank with messy fish that need the "big sponge" factor in a filter? I don't own one but am contemplating purchasing one.

The FX5 is less than half the price of the eheim 2080 (online at Australian shops). Even with the ehiem being more efficient it will take 10 years for the power consumtion of the FX5 to catch up with the price of the ehiem. And to add more onto the efficiency thing... With an actual flow rate of 1991 lph at 50watts for the FX5 and 1207 lph at 30watts for the ehiem thats 39.81 lph/watt for the FX5 and 40.2 lph/watt for the ehiem so to my eye thats pretty close.

Just my two cents

Dylan

 

[andywg]

what sized sump tank would be needed for a 280g tank?

Ideally the largest you can fit while still doing maintenance.

I myself would try and get a nice low and wide sump so you can have a decent size trickle tower with bio balls in there. Cap that off with a drip tray covered in filter floss (exposed to air, not submerged) and you should do fine. Though remember to clean the floss as it gets nasty really quickly.

I would aim for a minimum of about 20-30 litres of bioballs, but obviously more is better.

I have noticed a couple of you guys saying the FX5 is rubbish or inefficient etc. Reading the article comparing it to the Eheim it doesn't come across as well perhaps but is still more efficient than some other filters. If we ignor the obvious BMW nature of the Ehiems, is it not still a pretty good filter, espsecially for a tank with messy fish that need the "big sponge" factor in a filter? I don't own one but am contemplating purchasing one.

The FX5 is less than half the price of the eheim 2080 (online at Australian shops). Even with the ehiem being more efficient it will take 10 years for the power consumtion of the FX5 to catch up with the price of the ehiem. And to add more onto the efficiency thing... With an actual flow rate of 1991 lph at 50watts for the FX5 and 1207 lph at 30watts for the ehiem thats 39.81 lph/watt for the FX5 and 40.2 lph/watt for the ehiem so to my eye thats pretty close.

Just my two cents

Dylan

Firstly, it is a fluval cannister. They are reknowned for lasting two years or so before failing catastrophically and dumping tank water all over the floor (and draining the tank). Not good.

The BMW analogy should not be ignored. Look how many Eheims are still being used years after they were made. then compare to fluvals. How many x03 series come up for sale on ebay? very few because they break first. There are ancient eheim classics for sale that still work perfectly.

Secondly: the Fluval doesn't do the most important thing for a filter very well: change ammonia to nitrate. The sponge thing is just a gimmick, messy fish does normally not mean there is debris floating around like after a hurricane, it means a large amount of ammonia produced.

It's not just the Wattage per flow rate, it's also the wattage per ability to filter. Add to that the cost of replacing the fluval at least once, if not twice in the expected life of the Eheim and you see where the savings come in.

When you look, most of the people who don't like Fluvals have owned them and had nightmare problems, and that is why they don't like them. They then bought Eheims and had no problems. Fairly simple really.

 

[CFC]

As a minimum the sump has to be able hold all the water that sits above the weir and is left in the pipe work without overflowing in the event of a powercut. In your case with a 280g tank working on the principle that 3" of water is flowing over the weir at 34.9g (280/24=11.6g per inch ) and the pipes hold 5 gallon you would need a sump of 40 gallons plus the volume of the media, say you have 10 gallons of bio media this brings the size of the sump up to 50g as a minimum size.

With a large sump i wouldnt bother with the added cost of a pro 3, just invest the money in a big sump pump with a large volume turn over like a Eheim 1264.