Most Economical/best Filteration On Big Tanks

[odannyboy]

planning a 4x2x2 or 5x2x2 tropical community setup.im on a bit of a budget.what do people think is the best filter system? taking into account electricity,maintaence, and looks. fiddely sump or two canisters/ one big canister, two internals etc advise appreciated!

 

[The-Wolf]

tetratec ex1200

 

[GoldLenny]

Rena Filstar xP3 or xP4 for the larger tank. I've had my xP3 and an xP1 for 3 years and they are work horses and easy to maintain. My blog has a "Filter Profile" on my xP1 that shows the entire breakdown and cleaning of them.

 

[Paul_MTS]

Ehiem every time for me. Would go for a Pro 2 2028 on that size tank.

Sumps work out more that cannisters if you build and set them up properly.

 

[rdd1952]

For that size tank, I would definitely recommend dual filters and heaters.

 

[steelhealr]

I was going to suggest the same..dual heaters and dual AquaClears. SH

 

[CFC]

If the tank is to only be stocked with small (under 6") community fish then a single Eheim Classic 2217 kitted out with Efi substrat pro biological media would be pleanty of filtration.

I use Eheim Classics on most of my tanks, they are basic but cheap and reliable.

 

[odannyboy]

so nobody is keep on internals?ive never had one but im suprised.

 

[Underwurlde]

planning a 4x2x2 or 5x2x2 tropical community setup. I'm on a bit of a budget

That, my friend, is what you call a well hidden oxymoron!

Anyway, my vote goes to Eheims as mentioned above.
Either a cheapo £70+ Classic 2217 will do up to 600L, ok for either setup.
Or a £110+ Pro II 2028, again suitable for either setup.

<edit>
Nothing wrong with internals IMHO, they just get in the way of looks of the tank...

Andy

 

[CFC]

Internals are ok but they just dont make them big enough to function properly in tanks much bigger than a standard 4 foot tank so you would need at least 2 of them.