canister filter users

[ttopmustanggt88]

what canister do you use and what media do you have in the trays.


im personally using a filstar xp2 and love it. i have 4 pieces of foam in lower tray. then the next one has ceramic rings. then bag of charcoal then a white fine particle screen. does anyone have any suggestions on how to polish water other than this small white foam pad?? thanks for any help.

Welcome to AA ttop

I'm a big fan of the Filstar series myself. Reasonably priced, easy to clean, quiet, reliable and lots of capacity for various media options.

Also ttop, The small white pad is for catching small particles of waste. The charcoil is what polish's water. Charcoil generally only holds it's polishing ability for a week. I personally don't even bother with charcoil in any of my tanks.

If you really want sparkling water. Check into getting a diatom filter. Unless your keeping sensitive fish like Discus etc.... IMO you might be wasting money purchasing a diatom. How big a tank and what type set up?

Routine WC's/cleaning and feeding correctly (not to much) with the help of your XP2 should be more than enough to maintain nice, clean water. HTH

Welcome to AA ttop

I'm a big fan of the Filstar series myself. Reasonably priced, easy to clean, quiet, reliable and lots of capacity for various media options.

Also ttop, The small white pad is for catching small particles of waste. The charcoil is what polish's water. Charcoil generally only holds it's polishing ability for a week. I personally don't even bother with charcoil in any of my tanks.

If you really want sparkling water. Check into getting a diatom filter. Unless your keeping sensitive fish like Discus etc.... IMO you might be wasting money purchasing a diatom. How big a tank and what type set up?

Routine WC's/cleaning and feeding correctly (not to much) with the help of your XP2 should be more than enough to maintain nice, clean water. HTH

[ploughking]

Welcome to AA! (i know, i know)

I have no experience in filter canisters but I may get one later. Is it worth it? I'm working with an airpump powered undergravel system and a fluval 2 - should I remove the fluval and get a canister or will I be fine?

[shawmutt]

I use an xp1, and I love it. All I use is the coarse foam, not so coarse foam, and the fine filter, it keeps my water clean just fine. What particular problem are you having with your water? Is it cloudy or something?

[ploughking]

Originally Posted by shawmutt

What particular problem are you having with your water? Is it cloudy or something?

I don't really have a problem, I'm just deciding which would be best for the axolotl. BTW I'm postive on that now - it isn't 'pondering' anymore.

[Rocket2001]

I use a Fluval 303..so far i love it...water is clear..it's very quiet and fairly easy to service.

[Rocket2001]

I use a Fluval 303..so far i love it...water is clear..it's very quiet and fairly easy to service.

[ploughking]

Originally Posted by Rocket2001

I use a Fluval 303..so far i love it...water is clear..it's very quiet and fairly easy to service.

I had one of those in my old goldfish tank - it was overpowerful and most blowing the fish around. Poor things. I removed it again after a little while.

[Rocket2001]

it is powerful..outflow is through a spray bar and I set it below the water line and tilt it up to agitate the surface. Also I control the flow from the outflow valve. There is a current in the tank but the fish seem to like it

[oscarbreeder]

I use a Fluval 404 on my 55 gallon tank and I love it.
It's quiet, easy to clean and holds a ton of midea in the four trays.

I also use an Ocean clear pressurized system on my 180 gallon Oscar tank.
This is one bad canister filter.
All you need is a good water pump and it will give you crystal clear water.

[ttopmustanggt88]

im not having a problem with water clearity or quality but the filter came with 4 foam pads for the first filtering in the trays then it has ceramic rings in the bottom of the next tray then bag of carbon for now gonna replace it with something just dont know whats best to put there instead of the carbon. and the final filtering is the white foam very fine foam. it gets dirty fast. i was just wondering if i should just leave the carbon out and run it as is or add something in place of the carbon bag?? thanks for all the help and welcoming. i have a 55 gallon with one tiger oscar and assorted african cichlids. not sure what kind they are. i need to get some pics up maybe you guys can help me identify them. thanks again.

Just run the two various foams in the bottum. Then the ceramic rings topped off with the white floss and you should be fine.

Seing how you have an Oscar with various Cichlids, you'll want to make sure you do weekly (maybe even every 4 or 5 days) WC's religously to keep the water para's in check. Seeing how your tank mates are sloppy eater's you'll want to stay on top of Amon levels, as well as, do monthly filter cleanings (use spent tank water to rinse the filter media, don't rince the ceramic rings, so that you don't disturb the bacteria colony to much).

Are you sure that 55g is'nt over stocked? Those fish have the potential to get rather large. Factor in they are heavy/sloppy feeders and you might have problems in the future.

I can't stress enough how important it is to get a basic understanding of water chemistry to get the full potential out of your canister and keep a healthy, thriving tank.

[ttopmustanggt88]

yeah its probally overstocked. i plan on upsizing major in the future i just hope this will work ok for now. i have a emperor 400 hob and the xp2 so i should have plenty of filteration. i change the water ever 4-6 days about 25 percent at a time. tank is crystal clear. ph is good and amonia is always at dead 0. not sure on nitrites dont have that test kit. but everything else seems fine.

[chasgood]

New to canisters. Got a xP1 almost 2 weeks ago. Put some filter floss between the foam and the polish pad that came with it. Really like the spray bar.

[TankGirl]

I have an XP3 on my 55 and love it. I too skip the carbon and just use the coarse pads, ceramic rings, a phosphate removing media (my tap has high phosphate) and fine filter floss. I don't bother with the Filstar brand of fine pad, I just get bags of floss and pack it myself. It does need to be changed rather frequently, but the combination is very effective.

[shawmutt]

Refresh my memory...ceramic rings are just for surface area right?

[vega]

yep.

hth