I Need A Filter

[manwithnofish]

I think I purchased an Oceanic 70 gal. tall tank (36"wx18"wx25"deep). Have not received it yet. I know less than nothing, (but I'm happy). I need lots of advice, so I bought some books. I'm planning a FW community planted tank. Can't decide on a filter systems. I bought some stuff online to go with the tank. So far, I ordered 3 - 15lb bags of Flourite (original) substrate; 2 - 20lb bags of "Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate"; Freshwater Master Test Kit; a 300 watt heater; and a thermometer. None of which has arrived yet. And that's it! I am ManwithnoFish. Right now, I really need some feedback on filters.

 

[Faythee]

I like my Aquaclear Power Filter

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=3610

It has planty of room for media and has a waterfall effect that you can adjust to slow or high. Works very well for me and improved the water clarity/cleanliness in my tank.

 

[luque]

do you want an internal, or external? external being more expensive but are better, etc

 

[celaeno]

i recommend a marineland bio-wheel power filter. just make sure the wheel always spins at a fast rate so the fishes' waste is processed as quickly as possible by the beneficial bacteria on the wheel.

 

[manwithnofish]

So far, the information I have found tends to be leading me toward canister filters. Dr.F&S site has a comparison chart which says that canisters are the most effective mechanical and chemical filters and about as good as the rest for biological filters. Others have said that the canister is the best for large tanks. So if we narrow the quest to a canister filter, there is a lot of testimony swearing that their brand is the best. Apparently, there are a lot of good products on the market in this category, so it's going to be difficult to sort it all out. So I'd love to find product reviews of a few of the most popular models. Comments welcome!

 

[manwithnofish]

What does it take to get a reply at this forum? Is there any value here. I'm seeing a LOT of post being made with very few replys and in many cases zero. I mean how much more to the point can one get than to attempt to get some discussion around a filter system.

 

[kribensis12]

Well, many people dont know alot about filter's, they just buy them and figure that is it, so there is your awnser to why there arent many replies. Second of all, do you have alot of veiw's? If not, that means many people arent interested in your thread. Third of all, if you wna tsometihn glike a sanister, get Fluval, i dont know to much about them, but from what i've been told, they are the best out there. They are also over a 100 dollat's. You might want to try and get 1 or 2 HOB instead though. I would go with a AquaClear Filter, as they are easy to clean, simply made, so they can be fixed without replcaing anything, just a little know-how. ALso, you can add thing's like Bio-Ball's, which increase the amount of space for beneficial bacteria. Also, you can get thing's like ammonia remover's, carobn bag's, and other stuff. It comes wth a simple sponge, wich traps all the floating particale's, and has room for bacteria. You dont EVER have to replace that sponge as it only needs to be wrung out in fish tnak water, unless it detirorates, and isnt getting the job done. This filters are the best ones you can get for your buck. I own a Bio-Wheel but they get mucked up too easily, adn i have issue's with the wheel moving. I had to throw one away as it wasnt working right after i comepletely cleaned it our with a totth brush, vinger/water mix, rag, special cleaning tool for filter's, and some elbo gease. Nothing worked.

 

[rdd1952]

Posts like the last one tend to turn people off and you may not get any advice. I had not seen the post until now. As far as the number of posts and lack of replies, the forum seems to be a little slow at the moment.

I would definitely suggest an external/canister flter. They aren't as popular in the states as in the UK but IMO, are much better. Maintanence is much easier (once every 2 to 4 months versus weekly with a HOB filter) and they offer much better filtration too. I have 2 Fluval 304s on my 75 gallon and they have worked great (almost 3 years old now). Most people tend to prefer the Eheim filters but I can't personally speak for them as I have no experience with them. They do tend to be a little more expensive than Fluvals. Rena makes great air pumps but I've never heard much about their filters either pro or con. I'm not certain where you would find reviews of filters but as a general rule, you probably can't go wrong with Eheim or Fluval.

You've probably already done enough reading to know that it is suggested that the filter have a rating of at least 5x the tank volume so you need at least 350gph. More filtration is always better as it will allow you to stock more heavily. The only time that beomes an issue is if you want to stock fish that don't like a lit of current but that isn't an issue for most fish.

 

[kribensis12]

Posts like the last one tend to turn people off and you may not get any advice. I had not seen the post until now. As far as the number of posts and lack of replies, the forum seems to be a little slow at the moment.

I would definitely suggest an external/canister flter. They aren't as popular in the states as in the UK but IMO, are much better. Maintanence is much easier (once every 2 to 4 months versus weekly with a HOB filter) and they offer much better filtration too. I have 2 Fluval 304s on my 75 gallon and they have worked great (almost 3 years old now). Most people tend to prefer the Eheim filters but I can't personally speak for them as I have no experience with them. They do tend to be a little more expensive than Fluvals. Rena makes great air pumps but I've never heard much about their filters either pro or con. I'm not certain where you would find reviews of filters but as a general rule, you probably can't go wrong with Eheim or Fluval.

You've probably already done enough reading to know that it is suggested that the filter have a rating of at least 5x the tank volume so you need at least 350gph. More filtration is always better as it will allow you to stock more heavily. The only time that beomes an issue is if you want to stock fish that don't like a lit of current but that isn't an issue for most fish.

what's wrong with my post?

 

[rossyboy]

How very rude.

I wouldn't be suprised if nobody wants to help now

 

[Tolak]

Filtration is dependant on stocking in most cases, in a tank that size freshwater community covers a lot of different species. Planted tanks tend to run best with a canister, in the event that you do run co2 you will want less surface movement.

Filtration also depends on how deep your pockets are, we don't know if you are manwithnomoney as well. Eheim makes the best canister filters around, experienced aqarists are for the most part in agreement on that point, though as with anything else you will find difering opinions. If you are manwithnoproblempartingwithabuck I would get an Eheim 2028, you will be set for a good long time, and it is a very well made and easy to maintain filter.

 

[Iron Man]

I've had an Eheim 2217 classic canister for oh going on 5 years now and its still silent and smooth as glass. If you are going for mainly mechanical filtration you may want higher water flow which is what Fluval offers with their top filters. If you are looking for mainly biological and chemical then the Eheims cannot be beat in my opinion.

If you're packing the tank full of live plants and not much fish it would be best to focus more on mechanical filtration IMO also.

No one has mentioned the Magnum HOTs yet. From what I hear they are excellent mechanical filters. Do they still sell those? lol

 

[fourthtimelucky]

kribensis12, I think rdd1952 was referring to the OP not you!

Manwithnofish - your font and phrasing could be interpreted as shouting / attitude. Obviously you are frustrated, but there are other tactics you could use. I have found that if you don't get as many replies as you would like then sometimes it helps to summarise your original post (for example, set it out as a list of two or three separate questions) then people will feel more comfortable answering one individual query even if they don't know the answers to all of your questions. The more specific information you supply (e.g. your budget, the space you need the filter to fit into etc) the more replies you are likely to get. You should also bear in mind that there are people from lots of different timezones on the forum so sometimes you have to wait a bit before you get an answer. Most of the posts that get no replies whatsoever are when people have asked a question that has already been answered a million times - information they could easily have found by searching the site's archives.

If you have now decided on an external filter, it might be worth posting in the diy & hardware forum, there are some very knowledgeable people on there who would be able to answer specific questions about individual models in terms of flow rate, reliability etc which I think is what you are looking for in order to make your decision.

I think there is a LOT of value to these forums, they taught me so much and I am sure there are many others who agree.

 

[h_ceri]

There are loads of articles on external filters on the website (this is how I decided on mine), and these include a review topic on a number of filters in the hardware section. Maybe you should read through those before "shouting" when you don't get a reply for a day or so.

*edited to include the link*

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Hardware...-Users-Reveiws/

 

[manwithnofish]

How very rude.

I wouldn't be suprised if nobody wants to help now

This reply was not very useful. It neither addressed my orignal question about filters nor did it address my valid point that many threads simply drift to the 3rd page with absolutely mininal (or no) replys. I personal think this forum needs some serious reorganization.

But thanks to all the others who took time to share your opinions and experiences. That is the value of a forum such as this.