Filtration Recommendations Please

[KateW]

Morning All

I have a new 5 x 2 x 2 sitting outside awaiting a thorough scrubbing. There is plenty of time before it is up and running, but I am trying to make a shopping list. After substrate I think the volume will be 550 litres or 150 US gallons. Stocking will be a peaceful community, not anything big and messy. Except maybe a mid-sized plec.

What kind of filtration would you suggest? Would it be better to have two smaller externals to building some redundancy and spread the maintenance schedule?

Any thoughts gratefully received

 

[MBOU]

I would advise getting two filters! The tanks going to have a lot of moneys worth of stock in it and if anything happens to one filter... a backup will be important! Dont down size the filters too much as if one stops working, they need to be good enough to hold the tank stable.

Personally... I would say go for something like 2 x AquaManta EFX 400 or 2 x TetraTec 1200.

You could go 2 x Fluval 406 or even 306 but as much as I love the Fluval filters, they arent really man enough for big tanks, they dont have much media in andwould be less likely to hold the tank stable.

I also wouldnt bother getting the 05 (305/405) range of Fluval filters because as good as they were (ish...) and as cheap as they can be picked up... they are no longer made, they havent been made in over a year now and Hagen will soon stop making all spare parts for them. Then not long later, you'll end up with two useless filters that cant be repaired, for the sake of £20-£30, get a better filter!

 

[Lufbramatt]

I'd be looking at the fluval FX5, eheim 2260, eheim 2080 or two of the eheim pro 2075 or classic 2217's . . . put a Hydor ETH heater on each of the returns for heater redundancy too.

alternatively you could put a sump underneath it and fill it with poret filter foam and alfgrog, stick the heaters down there too.

 

[basboi85]

i would say as above get 2 external filters due to the size of the tank/litres and if one was to stop working at least youll have a back up that can handle your needs until your other one is fixed,

my external ehiem filter is rated 440lph and ive only got a 100L tank and just to help a little bit extra ive got a little internal fluval filter

 

[KateW]

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it.

Glad to know everyone agrees on the two filter option - good point on doubling up on heaters. Are the inline heaters just as reliable and easy to fit?

I'll do a little research on all those filter suggestions, the variety of choices is a bit baffling! I'm not sure I actually understand how sumps work, so I think I will leave that - plumbing has never been my strong point...

 

[Dazzler666]

I've just got my 5ft tank which came with fluval 305's do that's what I will be using .... For the time being at least. Defo suggest using two externals as you can never really have to muth filtration!!!

 

[Lufbramatt]

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it.

Glad to know everyone agrees on the two filter option - good point on doubling up on heaters. Are the inline heaters just as reliable and easy to fit?

I'll do a little research on all those filter suggestions, the variety of choices is a bit baffling! I'm not sure I actually understand how sumps work, so I think I will leave that - plumbing has never been my strong point...

The Hydor inline heaters are great, can't rate them highly enough. Just a case of cutting the return line from the filter to the tank and connecting the ends of the pipe to the ends of the heater. Left mine plugged in with no water in it for 3 days by mistake once and still works fine 6 months later I use one 300 watt Hydor ETH on a 350 litre tank and the temperature is rock steady.

Sumps are basically a second tank under the display tank that can house all your filtration, heaters and other equipment, even a partitioned off section for keeping fry safe while they grow or algea scrubbers to remove excess nutrients from the water. The water siphons down to the sump, runs through the filtration system and then gets pumped back up to the display tank. Seems to be a fair bit of maths and fiddling involved, as an engineer I can't wait to get a huge tank so I can build a sump but fair play if you're not into that side of things! A pair of decent sized canisters will cope fine with your new tank

 

[KateW]

Thanks for the explanation! Although I have an architect and engineer in the house, I think I will stick within my limits!

I have just been looking at the hydor inline heaters, and the spec says they fit with a 16 mm hose. Some of the filters (particularly the tetratec ex 1200) specify 15.2 mm hose. I don't think 0.8mm sounds like a huge difference, but does anyone have experience of this combination? Don't want a 550 litre leak due to wrong sized hose...

 

[Lufbramatt]

They have a tapered barb type fitting on the end with a locknut to keep it tight so no worries there IMO

 

[dbanner]

I have a 450 litre jewel rio 400 with 2 tetratec ex1200's and running a single 300 watt hydor external heater. Temp of the tank is always spot on. You just cut the filter inlet pipe and it on it goes. No problem

As far as I know the hydor heaters don't fit all filter pipes but it does bit straight onto the tetratec 1200 pipes

 

[KateW]

No problems and no worries, that's what I like to hear thanks.

 

[KateW]

So I did decide to go with two Tetratec ex 1200, and they arrived this morning. I just spent a bit of time setting one up to run on the existing 185 litre, along with the current AquaOne filter (which is a bit rubbish). I can't believe how easy the Tetratec is to set up. I did it all by myself and there weren't even any floods. Build quality and ease of use is really very good.

And maybe it is the weather here (stormy) or a bit of a water change, or maybe it is the greatly improved flow, but I think I might be rescuing cory eggs shortly

Thanks all for the recommendations. Big tank set up is still a few weeks away, and I have lighting to figure out next...