Filtration on my 70 gallon

[njr_]

I am upgrading from a 50 to a 70 gallon and have always used canister filters, but I really want to try hang on back filters due to maintenance, cost and just a difference.

Do you think I could run a tidal 110 happily on my 70 gallon tank, or should I also add another tidal 55 to partner the 110?

 

[GaryE]

It's a wide open question. Without knowing what you plan to set up in the tank, how it will be stocked and how it will be decorated, the only answer is in the ratings on the filter's box. That doesn't help.
So what are you doing with the tank? What fish, what planting etc?

Personally, I have no tanks even close to that size that have one filter. I always go for two. But I keep fish that like their water to be moving.

 

[njr_]

It's a wide open question. Without knowing what you plan to set up in the tank, how it will be stocked and how it will be decorated, the only answer is in the ratings on the filter's box. That doesn't help.
So what are you doing with the tank? What fish, what planting etc?

Personally, I have no tanks even close to that size that have one filter. I always go for two. But I keep fish that like their water to be moving.

Thank you for your reply mate, my tank will be stocked with
1 blue acara
2 gold dust geo
1 pleco or catfish
5-6 larger tetra species

Will also be planted

 

[TNG]

I have two 240L tanks, each tank runs a Tydal 75 during the day and a 55 at night.
I'd say a 110 on your 70G is plenty, but have you seen the size of the 110? It's close to foot long!
Compared with the 110, the 55 doesn't pick up much debris as its intake tube is not deep enough.

 

[njr_]

I have two 240L tanks, each tank runs a Tydal 75 during the day and a 55 at night.
I'd say a 110 on your 70G is plenty, but have you seen the size of the 110? It's close to foot long!
Compared with the 110, the 55 doesn't pick up much debris as its intake tube is not deep enough.

How does the tidal as cope with your 240, are they good enough and keep water clear?

 

[GaryE]

Having a filter go off at night seriously affects its efficiency. They should run 24/7 to keep up the flow of oxygen and food to the bacteria and archaea.

The fish you have or want to have like moving water, Geos especially. I don't really know gold dust geos. I just tried to see info on them and they look more like steindachneri types than say winemilleri types. That's a solid bioload, so I would go with max filtration.

I haven't used tidals, but ran a 120 gallon/450 ltr tank with 5 Geophaus winemilleri for years, with 2 Aquaclear 110s. They did the job, and would be comparable to the tidal 110. Personally (you always get conflicting advice on forums!) I'd run a 110 and a 75 if they could fit on the tank. Big HOBs are wonderful, but bulky. Option 2 might be two 75s.

If you have the two filters and stay with weekly 30% water changes, you should do just fine with Geos. The "hump" Geos tend to be hardier than the usually available ones, and again from photos with no international, scientific name, gold dusts look to be Geos with humps.

 

[TNG]

How does the tidal as cope with your 240, are they good enough and keep water clear?

The 75 does a pretty good job, although I add fine wool in the filter in addition to the coarse sponge that comes with the filter. One thing with the tydal is that if you hear guggling sounds from the filter, it's because water in the tank is not deep enough.

 

[TNG]

And another thing, I only run the filters to circulate water and oxygen levels in the tank. Don't really care much about the bacteria in the filters as my ammo and nitrite are always zero with each filter running 12 hrs a day. Do bacteria die with filters running 12 hrs a day? I have no way of checking it out.

 

[Magnum Man]

On my 55 gallons and larger tanks, I run 2 hob filters ( 2 are almost always better than 1 ) I also add aeration, in the form of a large sponge filter, air stone, or air bar... I prefer the Tidal's over the Aquaclear's ( I still use a couple Aquaclear's ) the Tidal's are more suited to customization... the 75's have been a more convenient size, I have some tanks with them hung on the short sides of the tank...I never try to run 2 sizes of filters... you can turn the flow down on the Tidal filters, though I never do, and in fact make easy modifications to increase the flow...

 

[njr_]

Thank

Having a filter go off at night seriously affects its efficiency. They should run 24/7 to keep up the flow of oxygen and food to the bacteria and archaea.

The fish you have or want to have like moving water, Geos especially. I don't really know gold dust geos. I just tried to see info on them and they look more like steindachneri types than say winemilleri types. That's a solid bioload, so I would go with max filtration.

I haven't used tidals, but ran a 120 gallon/450 ltr tank with 5 Geophaus winemilleri for years, with 2 Aquaclear 110s. They did the job, and would be comparable to the tidal 110. Personally (you always get conflicting advice on forums!) I'd run a 110 and a 75 if they could fit on the tank. Big HOBs are wonderful, but bulky. Option 2 might be two 75s.

If you have the two filters and stay with weekly 30% water changes, you should do just fine with Geos. The "hump" Geos tend to be hardier than the usually available ones, and again from photos with no international, scientific name, gold dusts look to be Geos with h

Thank you mate, my tank is 66 gallons in total and will be very planted, so I may try and run the 110 and a 55. How does that sound

 

[njr_]

On my 55 gallons and larger tanks, I run 2 hob filters ( 2 are almost always better than 1 ) I also add aeration, in the form of a large sponge filter, air stone, or air bar... I prefer the Tidal's over the Aquaclear's ( I still use a couple Aquaclear's ) the Tidal's are more suited to customization... the 75's have been a more convenient size, I have some tanks with them hung on the short sides of the tank...I never try to run 2 sizes of filters... you can turn the flow down on the Tidal filters, though I never do, and in fact make easy modifications to increase the flow...

Would I get away with just running the 110 on my 250l? Or would I need another. Performance wise the 110 sounds like it can deal with a 66 gallon on its own

 

[GaryE]

There are two aspects I would consider. First, the 110 alone will keep your water clear. That's the easy part.

What's crucial though isn't clarity, but biofiltration. I've looked at tidals, and they look as easy to modify as Aquaclears. I get rid of all mechanical filtration pads and such, and go with sponges and other biomedia in the filter. A fully loaded up today 110 might well do it. They are expensive, and buying two, even a 110 and a 55 is a chunk of change.
All equipment can break though. That's where 2 filters come in in my world. When one breaks down, you aren't running out to buy whatever you can get. And when you clean the media, you always diminish the biofiltration to a degree. If you change it, that can be extreme. So if you alternate cleanings between two filters on different maintenance schedules, you're in a good position there.

If you put 2 aquarists in a room, you have 5 opinions. All we can do with that is give you our reasons, so that you can add a sixth opinion to the mix!

 

[njr_]

Great response thank you, so in terms of inside the can of the 110, would you have say (bottom to top)
The filter sponge provided
Filter floss for clarity
Then pack it full with bags of bio media

 

[GaryE]

I don't even use filter floss. It clogs, and isn't very reusable. Landfill...
The sponge is mainly bio, but it catches particulate matter. 2 sponges are better than one if you go with one filter, as their cleaning can be alternated. Cleaning is just squeezing them out - a 2 minute job.

Geos dig, and that does affect clarity a tiny bit. But no useful filter really handles clarity. That comes with not overfeeding and doing regular weekly partial water changes.

 

[Magnum Man]

that is one of my modifications, I also double sponge, and one advantage having MTS ( multi tank syndrome ) with just having the same filters, means less spare parts to buy, I bought a 6 pack of replacement sponges, for the Tidal 75's, so I could double sponge all of mine... having multiple brands or sizes of filters is not as practical, and cleaning the dirtiest sponge keeps good bio going... also, as sponges plug up, they filter finer particles, at reduced flow... which is also why I modified mine to flow more...