Filtration for 75g. Maybe a silly question.

[jvdb]

I currently have a 30 gallon tank with a fluval 205 (rated for up to 40 gallons). The 30 gallon is scratched up horribly but the filter is awesome. I plan on eventually upgrading to a 75g African cichlid tank. After doing some research I know that slightly overstocking cichlid tanks along with over filtration and extra water changes is a good idea. So here's the silly (or not) question. Can I take. Canister filter for a 40g and use it on tho tank and then add a couple of sponge filters in addition to get to the level of filtration I need? I have read that sponge filter capacity has virtually no limit of there are enough or large enough sponges, especially if powered by a powerhead. I also have an air pump rated for a 40g. My thought is to maybe run one sponge off the air pump and one off a powerhead in conjunction with the canister. Will this be good or is this a bad idea? I don't like the idea of shelling out $200 for another canister when I have a perfectly good one on hand and could rig up a few sponge filters for less than $50 (would need to buy a powerhead which I am pretty sure I can't get away without.)


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[AlecFish]

No. A 205 on a 75 gallon and a couple sponge filters in an overstocked tank is wayyy to little. Biologically if you go this route I think you'd be fine but when it comes to cleaning stuff out of the water column you'd be seriously lacking.

In other words you want the tank to have about a 10x turnover rate; about 750 gph. You can accomplish through some powerful HOBs, such as an aquaclear 110 or the penguin bio wheels. Remember it's always better to over filter than under filter your tank.

If you're not a huge fan of HOBs, then I'd consider some of the relatively cheap sunsun/aquatop canister filters. I have the largest verso out of them both (the 525gph) version and I have been more than pleased with it.

But yeah there are loads of options and a ton of mixed opinions on which route you should take. In the end it probably wouldn't hurt to google some of this and do a bit a research prior before you jump in.

There's my 2 cents


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1998golfer]

I second the sunsun canister filters. I have 2, a 304-A and a 304-B. They are both dead silent. Highly recommended and only around $80 on amazon or ebay.. 525 GPH and a built in 9w UV bulb..

 

[jvdb]

Thanks guys. I had no idea I could get a canister for under $100 in that case it's so much easier to do that. I assumed it was gonna cost me $150 minimum.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Mudfrog]

I had the Aquatop CF-500UV and it was good while it worked for two years. Keep in mind it is a cheap filter so don't expect it around long term. It does a great job for the price though.