Filtration Help Needed

[rixy]

hi,i have the following set up

jewel rio 240 aquarium
original jewel internal filter
eheim pro 11 2028 external

1 x 8 inch senegal
1 x 4 inch delhezi
1 x 4 inch palmas polli
3 x 3 inch gold severums
few tiger barbs
1 x 3 inch bristlenose
1 x 3 inch rubbernose

now my question is,even though i have decent filtration,should i take out the jewel internal filter and get another external?whats the cheapest external with a self contained heaterwhat external would you suggesti'm on a bit of a budget so no eheim pro 111's lol.all suggestions most welcome.

ps, the eheim pro 2224 with media is £68.95 and the tetratec ex 1200 with media is £69.95.these seem the best value for money so far.

pps i am a heavy feeder and so the water never looks crystal clear.i dont use carbon in either of the filters.now,if i cut down on feeding,will that give me the perfect clear water,or,do i need carbon,or,do i need something else.

 

[Rooster]

Would have thought the 2028 was more than enough for the job... just how much "heavy" feeding do you do ?

Carbon is only of benefit for removing chemicals... not usually needed in a mature tank apart from removing meds.

 

[jayjay]

Filter floss is good for 'polishing' the water, I use it in my filters. I'd go for the one with the strongest flow personally. Then set one of the externals for biological filtration and one for mechanical. Carbon is not needed at all I feel.

 

[rixy]

i feed too much,i need to cut down.i feed about 4 times a day thanks for the advice jayjay

 

[jayjay]

4 times a day!? You're right you do overfeed unless you feed tiny amounts. I just do one feeding a day, too lazy to move 4 times

 

[rixy]

lol.i'm trying to feed up the delhezi and the palmas polli.both are very thin( lfs ) the severums are greedy sods so they can eat till they burst.i now do 1 good feed a day and thats it.water now looks a lot clearer.funny thing is though,i took of my tank background at the same time.maybe the black background was showing up little bits in the water.i posted pics of my tank on other forums and they said how cyrstal clear the water looked and how did i get it so clear.maybe its just me being fussy.