Canisters And Oscars

[guppymonkey]

I got a canister filter for my oscar tank and I have to say that I am kind of disappointed with it. I figured that it would do a good job but it seems to take more work than my power filters. I should have thought about how easy it was going to clog up with all the mess that my oscar makes. I have only had the filter a month and I have already had to clean it twice. In a 55 gallon tank with 2 additional power filters I thought it would take longer to clog. There is one oscar and he is full grown but still seems like more work than it should be.

 

[Gatorbait]

I haven't had much luck with canisters. I gave up on them a while ago but some swear by them so there has to be something about them. They just aren't for me, I guess.

 

[demonmagus]

I got a canister filter for my oscar tank and I have to say that I am kind of disappointed with it. I figured that it would do a good job but it seems to take more work than my power filters. I should have thought about how easy it was going to clog up with all the mess that my oscar makes. I have only had the filter a month and I have already had to clean it twice. In a 55 gallon tank with 2 additional power filters I thought it would take longer to clog. There is one oscar and he is full grown but still seems like more work than it should be.

does the oscar kick up sand into the filter?

 

[Tolak]

What make & model of hob & canister are you running?

 

[LisaLQ]

With a fully grown oscar, it's possible that you'll need a couple of canisters - depending on the model. Most oscar forums recommend at least 5 x filtration (ie if your tank is 55g, you need to find a filter or filters that would cover 5 times that size), some even recommend 10 x filtration.

It could just be you have too small a canister to cope with an oscar. They are massive waste producers after all

 

[Gatorbait]

I agree with Lisa. For tankbusters like my red mota's, haitiensis, umbriferums, piranhas etc. I always have a minimum filtration of 10x. I shoot for 15x generally.

I think that was the same line of thinking Tolak was going for, if you could answer his question it may help a lot.

 

[fairladyangel]

I agree with Lisa. For tankbusters like my red mota's, haitiensis, umbriferums, piranhas etc. I always have a minimum filtration of 10x. I shoot for 15x generally.

I think that was the same line of thinking Tolak was going for, if you could answer his question it may help a lot.

oscars are prone to causing particulate blockage, try fitting a course filter sponge to the intake (something you can whip off and clean easily) or even two attached to a T piece, or use more open pored filter media and return the water to the tank via an overtank trickle filter with a fine sponge so the big stuff runs through but gets caught before it it gats back to the tank you can use a simple plastic biscuit box for the filter box or build it out of glass,water turnover is less important than filter effectiveness

 

[Gatorbait]

I agree with Lisa. For tankbusters like my red mota's, haitiensis, umbriferums, piranhas etc. I always have a minimum filtration of 10x. I shoot for 15x generally.

I think that was the same line of thinking Tolak was going for, if you could answer his question it may help a lot.

oscars are prone to causing particulate blockage, try fitting a course filter sponge to the intake (something you can whip off and clean easily) or even two attached to a T piece, or use more open pored filter media and return the water to the tank via an overtank trickle filter with a fine sponge so the big stuff runs through but gets caught before it it gats back to the tank you can use a simple plastic biscuit box for the filter box or build it out of glass,water turnover is less important than filter effectiveness

Thank you for the reply. Sounds like you have a great setup there!

With the fish I keep, you can't add sponges and tubing to their environment as anything new they will rip to shreds.

Turnover is definitely less important than filter effectiveness if you have to have one or the other but when you have both it's best. Higher flow rates keep the fish in good health (I even turn on 2 powerheads for a few hours a day on top of the filtration to give them excercise), and helps the mechanical filtration by moving all the waste and leftover foods around so my filters can pick it up.

 

[cheesy feet]

Get some filter wool.You can put it anywhere in any filter (basically).It's cheap and stops big bits of gunk clogging up filters

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah it's probably just not enough filtration tbh, we run 3 externals and 2 internals to clear up after our oscar in a 92 gallon tank.

the smaller size means the filters gonna have to work harder too as the water is easy to pollute.

 

[guppymonkey]

Right now I am running a Magnum hang on the back canister (can't recall the gph but its rated for 55g), an aquaclear 300 (thats the gph) and my eheim ecco 2236 which is 185 gph and rated for up to 80 gph. Its a 55 gallon tank with one adult oscar. I tried to put foam around the intake but the oscar must think its a toy because he just drags it off and shakes it apart in the tank. He usually doesn't touch the intakes to the filters otherwise. He has a bunch of plastic plants in there to keep him busy.