Sump Or Fx5? For 7Ft Tropical Tank?

[ramis]

hello guys just wonderin through everyones experience what would you prefer for a 7ft tank, a sump or a FX5, at the moment i got 2 external filter already but im thinking of adding a fx5 or sump help me decide

 

[kizno1]

I would go sump. At a guess they tanks what 850L? A fluval fx5 does 2400lph(well is says it does but it will be less with the media in). I always aim for 10X turn over. so that means you would want about 8500L turn over an hour so you would be looking at 4 FX5 by the time you take away how much the media slows it down. Plus sumps are alot cheaper all you have to buy is one pump to buy 4 fx5 will cost you around £600.

 

[VaegaVic]

A second the sump idea, just buy a pond pump and you're ready to go.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are concerned about optimizing the filtration and cost is no object, a simple sump is the best you can possibly get. Sumps can be quite expensive because they involve getting a tank that holds a large fraction of your existing tank's volume and then turning that extra tank into a filter. It can be and is done quite regularly by salt water people because they have more trouble getting adequate filtration than most freshwater people. I have yet to find a freshwater tank that really needed such monstrous filtration abilities and justified having a separate tank that I use simply as a filter.

 

[sean0151]

Hi
I have just read Kizno1 reply to OP and am quite shocked he recommends 10x water turnover,I dont mean to question it but is that amount nessecary or just preferance.
What is the general feeling about level of filtration,obviously the more the better but what would people class as adequate.
I run quite a heavily stocked 600ltr tank with one fx5 and the water readings and clarity are superb,as Kizno1 states this would be about 4x water turnover so am i under filtered or not?

Regards
Sean

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Sean,

Be prepared that such a discussion (the virtues and vices of various turnover rates, from 4x all the way up to 15x) if you were to get enough TFF members going on it could fill pages and pages and never get resolved. If you were to devote a few weeks of evenings to exercising the search mechanism on the TFF site here, you would be sure to find long previous discussions.

Just think of the many and varied beautiful habitats beneath the water surfaces of the world. Are they all the same? There are beautiful rushing rivers. There are lovely sparkling marshes, glinting from the evening sun setting over the Amazonian jungle. There are mountain lakes with fresh streams rushing in. Every sort of flow rate is out there, free for the taking if life forms want to adapt to it.

Our aquariums are no different. There is no right or wrong way to emulate natures flow rates, only feeble attempts by hobbyists to make a tiny "painting" of something which they might stand in awe of, were they lucky enough to travel to see the real thing in nature.

What I have learned (to my great enjoyment) from TFF is that the truly experienced masters of making little "environments" are aware that the range of usable water flows is wide if you know what you're doing. A really experienced and hard working fishkeeper can have a sparkling and very still display that is like a quiet lake that might have even a tad less than 4x turnover I suspect and might be maintained with frequent water changes and maintenance or by contrast might be a heavily planted NPT and be relying on its plants and soil more than gravel cleaning. At the other end, one sees beautiful hardscaped big tanks with lots of big fish and no plants and water flowing like crazy, keeping the substrate clean and showing off the big fish. Or perhaps one sees one of the huge beautiful planted tanks from our friends over in the planted tank section, where again, a huge turnover rate is helping to hold down the trace ammonia and keep the algae at bay while overhead the huge lights are pushing the plants to grow and they are busily soaking up all the CO2 they can get from a pressurized CO2 system. Shoals of tetras happily swim among these beautiful plants getting their morning exercise against the strong flow of the sump pump.

~~waterdrop~~ (ah, morning is such a nice time)

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Nice post! just what i need in the latter half of my working day. Almost hypnotic...

As for the topic in hand... i have no idea. the idea of such a big tank somewhat scares me...

 

[kizno1]

Hi
I have just read Kizno1 reply to OP and am quite shocked he recommends 10x water turnover,I dont mean to question it but is that amount nessecary or just preferance.
What is the general feeling about level of filtration,obviously the more the better but what would people class as adequate.
I run quite a heavily stocked 600ltr tank with one fx5 and the water readings and clarity are superb,as Kizno1 states this would be about 4x water turnover so am i under filtered or not?

Regards
Sean

Less can work but thats just my opinion and what i always aim for. In a 7 foot tank i would guess they have quite big fish like big cichlids and catfish which are very messy so would need filtration that can stand up to the amount of waste these fish will make. I dont think 10X turnover will cause any problems i have About 12X on my 30G. It has a fluval 405 which does about 1300lph and are bothered by it. Its up to you really if the waters fine and theres enough water moment then there cant be much wrong with it.

 

[ramis]

thanks for the reply guys, and yeah both choices got positive and negative side on it, but i think for less work and hassel i will just get a fx5

btw in my tank are 3 flowerhorns


many thanks

ramis

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If you are buying new, £137.50 might tempt you...
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fluval-FX5-External-Filter-New-UK-Model-/310184913438?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item4838762a1e
My one for Nelly's old 5x2x2 arrived yesterday from that Ebay store, on second working day after purchase.

Depending on the fish you had in mind, you might also like the look of a Hydor Magnum8 for £106.21, again I received one yesterday and my riverine fish in the 540l love it!
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-HYDOR-KORALIA-MAGNUM-8-CIRCULATION-PUMP-12500LPH-/150455452490?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item2307d8034a

 

[kaivalagi]

There's always the option of adding a second fx5 later on if more flow is desired, having 2 identical filters has it's bonuses such as the same spare parts and media ability

 

[ramis]

yeah i saw that fx5 but the thing is how can you chase them when it broke down, it does has 3 years warranty, unlike when you buy on shop £170 once it broke down bring it straight to them and replace right away, abit scared buying on ebay especially when they dont have their own shop

 

[kaivalagi]

All good manufacturers have a support number you can call, for the most part I've seen people get replacement parts sent free of charge that arrive in about a week

There's good reason to have 2 identical filters though with the wait time for spares

 

[OldMan47]

Sean, a 10x turnover rate is one that many of us here would find excessive but it is not an unusual number for a plant person to put forth. Plant people will consistently propose numbers in that range take care of algae. I have no experience that says that such huge turnover rates are really needed. In my own experience, using an NPT with about 2.5 WPG lighting, I find that the plant people are out to lunch on the tank's needs. A simple tank with a more standard 4x recirculation rate seems to be more than enough for nice plant growth with minimal algae growth. Although I am sure the plant people will have something different to offer, that is what my own experience tells me.
.

 

[BigIan]

As has been said, its down to YOUR tank, you have different fish with different needs with different equipment to every one else. You want different things from the tank to every one else so the turn over rate is as much a preference as to what decor we put in the tank, there is no right answer.


And as for the original question, i would go for the sump option, can be made cheaply out of pond equipment, or even build your own canister filter out of a barrel and 2 pond pumps?
and it would leave you with greater flexibility and increase the total volume of water in the system.