Canister filters

[cole_russell]

I am considering adding a canister filter on top of my emperor 400 hob filter (w/ spray bars) for my 60 gallon mbuna tank. Is it overkill and if not any pointers would be AWESOME because I've never dealt with one before. What medias should I use in it etc. etc.

 

[CCXGT]

Well I have the exact same size tank with the exact same fish..

I'm planning on around 30 Mbuna in the end.

Currently I'm only running a Fluval 306 (filters 300 l/ph), so I won't be stocking more than 15 fish until I upgrade.

I plan on getting an FX5 soon which filters upto 1500 l/ph.

These two combined will provide around 7.5x turnover per hour.


In my eyes Fluval filters are the best in the business, yes people will disagree and yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for.


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[cole_russell]

Sounds good! Might just over filter the heck out of my tank use the hob to take care of some of the biologic filtration so I don't have to do as many water changes at as high a %. It's a struggle since I don't have a sink with the right connections for the automatic water changers or w/e they're called.

 

[treemanone2003]

I agree with CCXGT on the Fluval filters. Best out there IMO, but I will go on to say that over filtration is no excuse to cut back the # or volume of WC's. In essence you will only be filtering dirty water. In the event you get a mini cycle or lose a fish, there's no way to remove the toxins without a WC. And you won't know unless you constantly monitor your water parameters. It appears as though your in the USA and with a quick trip to any hardware store and a couple bucks you can get the proper connections to make a faucet WC system work fairly easy.


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[cole_russell]

I think it'll be a little more tricky than it seems , at the moment I've been carrying water from one end of the house to the other in 5g jugs.

 

[CCXGT]

I think it'll be a little more tricky than it seems View attachment 242239, at the moment I've been carrying water from one end of the house to the other in 5g jugs.

Well I use 2.5G buckets...
I've NEVER seen a 5G bucket...

Maybe we don't have em in the UK


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[treemanone2003]

Wow !!! That is a bit different than anticipated. Is there another sink in the house ? What about the shower ? I added an extra length of hose to make mine work from another faucet further away. No leaks and works perfectly.
Double male fitting and two small hose clamps.


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[cole_russell]

They're the jugs that go in water coolers idk if those are still 2.5g where you're at or not. Anything up to about 15g-20g is not usually a big deal anything more is a big to do though.

 

[cole_russell]

Oh, I could have sworn the other faucets were like that as well. This still has no teeth/grooves however.

 

[treemanone2003]

That really blows !!! Well Home Depot does sell fixtures too !!!


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[mikem691]

You have to unscrew the part where the water comes out. Then screw the adapter on

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[cole_russell]

So if I bought the canister I'm considering (fluval 406 canister) and in tandem with my emperor 400 I'd be filtering my tank roughly 13x per hour. How over kill is this? And if I do buy the canister what would be some good additions to buy foams, filter media etc? Tyvm for your input

 

[cole_russell]

I also have empty media cartridges for the hob zeolite carbon? Whats the best for african cichlids? Tyvm

 

[treemanone2003]

The 406
Is good for up to 100g tanks. I have it and love it and don't think it's overkill at all. As for loading up the media trays, the only thing I run is the vertical sponges and biomedia in all horizontal trays. I don't use carbon but others will also recommend filter floss at the top.


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[cole_russell]

So what if I ran zeolite and carbon in my hob and ran the bio media in the remaining trays? What sponges should I get for it and also what is the best biomedia?

 

[treemanone2003]

I can't comment on the zeolite as I've never used it. As for the carbon, the only time I would use it would be to remove meds. I do daily or every 2 day WC's depending on what tank it is so I don't use carbon. The new Fluval 406 will come with coarse sponges, fine foam block (bottom tray), bio rings (next 2 up), carbon (top tray), and fine filter pads on top of the carbon in the top tray. I use only the Fluval media and haven't changed any bio rings ever.


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[cole_russell]

If I do weekly water changes what would be the ideal %? I haven't been able to access aqadvisor recently so I don't even really have an idea.

 

[treemanone2003]

I would push anyone to do at least 50% WC's. Nothing wrong with the more the better IMO/E.


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[Delapool]

So what if I ran zeolite and carbon in my hob and ran the bio media in the remaining trays? What sponges should I get for it and also what is the best biomedia?

Some info on zeolite below. I've used it in QT as it came in the filter cartridges. I can't think of any major advantage to including it in a canister filter.

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/filters/a/Using-Zeolite-In-Aquariums.htm

 

[cole_russell]

Alright I'm gunna have to look into a way to get a sink pump to work o/w a hose through the window will have to be the solution and that suuuuccckksss.