External Filter Quandry...

[bobf]

At the moment I have a little 55l tank in the kitchen I used for raising some geophagus fry which have all been sold to the LFS now. This has been filtered via an internal filter. Only occupants now are two panchax who don't seem too interested in each other and a couple of ottos.

Thinking of replacing this tank with something a little bigger and would like to use an external filter.

Problem is the tank is located in a corner on the kitchen counter and drilling through to drop the pipes to an external below is not on. The filter would probably need to sit next to the tank.

I've read that the minimum distance between the water surface and the top of the filter needs to be 100mm (Eheim website), no doubt to allow the syphon effect, but this would limit me to pretty small external filters. (I would have thought though that the suction the impeller causes as the water is pushed out would be enough to keep things moving, especially as the output is not having to fight gravity too much?)

Some of the older Eheim 'Classics' however have the intake at the bottom of the canister - is this the answer to my problem or have I missed anything?

 

[bobf]

Nobody else know either?

 

[teaker1s]

the problem with a filter next to the tank you won't have enough drop to prime it properly.
at the local aquatic's place they sell 'Fish R Fun' tanks and they have an inbuilt filter in the hood powered by a power head-maybe this type tank would help your situation

 

[bobf]

I understand your point about priming, but could get round that by temporarily putting the filter on the floor/on a chair to prime it initially.

I suppose I'm really asking would it then carry on working okay if it was then picked up and placed at the same level as the tank, once it was already running?

Cheers

 

[karlp]

Providing you get a good syphon going and there are no air leaks I don't see why an external wouldn't work beside the tank. Obviously you're relying completely on the power of the pump in the external filter to circulate the water, because you have no pressure from the height drop, so perhaps go for a size up.

There are alternatives that you could consider, but not necessarily cheap or easy. Probably the most effective external filtration if you couldn't use an external cannister filter would be to set up drip trays above the tank. You can DIY this yourself. have a series of stacking plastic trays that sit above the tank. have holes drilled in the bottom of each tray. Position a spray bar over the top tray connected to a power head in the tank. Fill the top tray with fine wool mesh to provide the mechanical filtration and then put biological filter media in the trays below it, you can use coarse grain sand or ceramic media from any of the external filter makers. The water sprays onto the top tray and drips through back into the tank. Because the filter media is never totally submerged, you get very good oxygenation. Just make sure you put in some way of adjusting the flow and you want to try to choose the positioning of the holes and the filter media so the water passes through the trays quite slowly.

 

[bobf]

Thanks FM I think we are thinking along the same lines.

External cannister is favoured as not too much headroom given cupboards above. (As much width as you want though!)

I think I'll try it out with a bucket and an old filter I have (not too many fish in the bucket, of course!)

 

[srolfe]

Why not use a HOB Power Filter, A lot less expensive than a canister unless you are getting a 50G+ tank.

 

[bobf]

Why not use a HOB Power Filter, A lot less expensive than a canister unless you are getting a 50G+ tank.

Funnily enough Scott I've been looking at that very thing tonight - they are not so common in the UK (from what I can see) - no sign of the penguin biowheel but there are a few about - Ehein do some, surprising cheap too, and that is a brand I trust.

May very well do just that, thanks a lot.