A Few Questions

[DoubleA]

I had adopted some african cichlids from craigslist and most of them are hybrids (From what the guy had in his tanks I'm assuming they are Demasoni/Electric Yellow mix).

Now I am expanding my fishy friends group as I personally search my LFS for individual Cichlids I find to be beautiful.

I was considering removing the hybrids from my main tank and keeping them in a separate tank, as most of them look kinda funny/ugly. They are loved all the same, but I was hoping to curb any future cross-breeding. any thoughts/suggestions on this?

And how can I go about determining sex while on the fly at a LFS, or with my existing fish? Is it better to look for fish that have already been sexed? If so, where can you find them? I would like to keep my male/female ratios as optimal as possible.

I am also floating the idea of switching to a canister filter for my 46 gal.

Here is the one I was looking at (The EFU-35):
Aquarium Filtration & Water Quality: JBJ Lighting Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter with UV

It would replace 2 Marineland Penguin Bio Wheel 150's.

Pro's/Con's to switching to this type of unit? Also how complicated is installation, and intensive is the upkeep on one of these.

If you need any other info to help answer my questions, don't be afraid to ask. I'm a knowledge sponge!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I had adopted some african cichlids from craigslist and most of them are hybrids (From what the guy had in his tanks I'm assuming they are Demasoni/Electric Yellow mix).

Now I am expanding my fishy friends group as I personally search my LFS for individual Cichlids I find to be beautiful.

I was considering removing the hybrids from my main tank and keeping them in a separate tank, as most of them look kinda funny/ugly. They are loved all the same, but I was hoping to curb any future cross-breeding. any thoughts/suggestions on this?

And how can I go about determining sex while on the fly at a LFS, or with my existing fish? Is it better to look for fish that have already been sexed? If so, where can you find them? I would like to keep my male/female ratios as optimal as possible.

I am also floating the idea of switching to a canister filter for my 46 gal.

Here is the one I was looking at (The EFU-35):
Aquarium Filtration & Water Quality: JBJ Lighting Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter with UV

It would replace 2 Marineland Penguin Bio Wheel 150's.

Pro's/Con's to switching to this type of unit? Also how complicated is installation, and intensive is the upkeep on one of these.

If you need any other info to help answer my questions, don't be afraid to ask. I'm a knowledge sponge!

The only way around from keeping them from cross breeding is to keep a speices only tank. They will interbreed as Cichlids do. As for sexing them I'd find witch ones you want to keep and look up the profiles. Some have different color forms between males and females. The only other real way is by venting witch takes some knowledge and from what I found out isn't easy to do.

For the filter I'm don't know anything about it but it sounds like a good deal. Most of us with Africans run more then one filter so you may want to still run one hob. If it was me I'd run a hob with just filter floss on it to pick up fine debris.

 

[DoubleA]

Thanks for the help, Andrew!

Did a little more research on the Canister filters and found these three that looked appealing/suitable for my current tank, and left the possibility open for transferring to a larger tank in the future.

Anyone have experience with any of these and can provide some review/feedback?

TruAqua DF-300 Canister Filter - 370 gph

Fluval 406 External Filter

Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter (EFU-35, CD-35481)

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Thanks for the help, Andrew!

Did a little more research on the Canister filters and found these three that looked appealing/suitable for my current tank, and left the possibility open for transferring to a larger tank in the future.

Anyone have experience with any of these and can provide some review/feedback?

TruAqua DF-300 Canister Filter - 370 gph

Fluval 406 External Filter

Reaction 4-Stage Canister Filter (EFU-35, CD-35481)

That would be a good idea to get what you will need to upgrade as they will and should be in a bigger tank. Hope someone chimes in on the filters. I use rena canisters and I know a lot of people use the fx5

 

[Crawdaddy]

I use the Fluval 306, and love it. It's quiet, and IMO does a great job filtering. The only issue I had was, upon initial set up, the o-ring for the top can be tricky to get in the right place. Once it's in though, no more issue with it. From everything I have read, the 306 is the same as the 406, only it has 3 trays instead of 4, and the size.

 

[Crawdaddy]

What size tank? I believe the 306 is good up to 75 gallons.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I have a 405 (the previous model to the 406, same 4 chamber filtration idea) and I like it, a bit noisey, but overall not bad. Holds A TON of media, which is always a bonus. Also is very strong current wise

 

[DoubleA]

I currently have a 46 gal. "Tall" bow-front. But im keeping my eyes open for something bigger (especially in width).

 

[DoubleA]

I have a 405 (the previous model to the 406, same 4 chamber filtration idea) and I like it, a bit noisey, but overall not bad. Holds A TON of media, which is always a bonus. Also is very strong current wise

How noisy would you say that is? And what sort of media(s) do you add to one of these things? I had never even seen/heard of one before about a month ago...

 

[Freakgecko91]

It's not too terribly bad, but if my room is near silent, I can hear it. I'm being a bit over picky though lol I filled mine with mostly filter floss and I have some ceramic and bio balls in it. Mostly, I use my canister as the main place for beneficial bacteria

 

[DoubleA]

I've decided too go with the Fluval 406, and was thinking about picking up a Koralia Evolution 750 Circulation Pump (750 gph) Will this be useful, or overkill for circulation? (Keeping in mind I do plan on getting a bigger tank soon, at least 75g)

Also noticed they have quite the selection of medias for a canister:

Fluval Ammonia Remover

Fluval BioMax Bio Rings

Fluval BioFoam

Fluval Pre-Filter Media

Which of these should I use for the best results, or all of them?

Also is there any other things to consider, misc. parts, add-ons, etc. That either don't come with the initial set-up, or compliment a canister filter that you can share with me?

http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Koralia...TF8&colid=13ID8U3YM9DPA&coliid=I35O8ZD7UZZZK8

 

[Crawdaddy]

IMO power heads are great. They help with circulation, my fish love to swim in the current, and they help keep waste from settling so the filter can pick it up. As for loading the canister, I don't know, I went with what is in mine. If you keep up with your PWC's, you shouldn't need the ammonia scrubber, your BB will take care of that.

 

[DoubleA]

So the canister should come pre-loaded with media?

 

[Crawdaddy]

It should. My 306 did. Of course they are in bags, so you have to rinse them off before using, but they should be in there. You can set them up in a custom order, or replace one with something else, I know a lot of people on here don't use the charcoal media, and would replace it with something else.

 

[DoubleA]

Yeah, I don't really see a need for charcoal either unless your tank smells bad, which I'm sure would mean there is something wrong you should be fixing rather than masking.

So the Bio Foam should be the same thing as a bio floss, right?

And what is the difference between the Pre-Filter Media and the Bio Rings?

Also, I'm in need of a new heater... was looking at this one:
Fluval E 300-Watt Electronic Heater

Will this be suitable for my current 46 gal. and possible upgrade to 75-100 gal?
Seems to have good features compared to most of the others I saw, or is it all just fillers/frills but crap for fulfilling it's intended purpose?

 

[Crawdaddy]

Yeah, I don't really see a need for charcoal either unless your tank smells bad, which I'm sure would mean there is something wrong you should be fixing rather than masking.

So the Bio Foam should be the same thing as a bio floss, right?

And what is the difference between the Pre-Filter Media and the Bio Rings?

Also, I'm in need of a new heater... was looking at this one:
Fluval E 300-Watt Electronic Heater

Will this be suitable for my current 46 gal. and possible upgrade to 75-100 gal?
Seems to have good features compared to most of the others I saw, or is it all just fillers/frills but crap for fulfilling it's intended purpose?

The foam is basically serves the same purpose as floss, just rinse it out in the old tank water during your water change. As for he heater, I tend to run two of them, each rated at half the volume of the tank, that way if one decides it doesn't want to shut off, I don't have boiled fish for dinner. Let me look into the other question, and I'll get back to you.

 

[Crawdaddy]

Yeah, I don't really see a need for charcoal either unless your tank smells bad, which I'm sure would mean there is something wrong you should be fixing rather than masking.

So the Bio Foam should be the same thing as a bio floss, right?

And what is the difference between the Pre-Filter Media and the Bio Rings?

Also, I'm in need of a new heater... was looking at this one:
Fluval E 300-Watt Electronic Heater

Will this be suitable for my current 46 gal. and possible upgrade to 75-100 gal?
Seems to have good features compared to most of the others I saw, or is it all just fillers/frills but crap for fulfilling it's intended purpose?

In the 406, you have 4 trays for media, the pre filter works to trap a lot of the bigger particles, and the bio rings are designed for your BB to live on and convert the ammonia and nitrites to nitrates. They are serving two different purposes.