Fluval aquarium upgrade

[Roob]

Hey all, my first post here. I have a 66 gallon fluval shaker setup, i love this tank. Currently set up with about 16 cichlids, want to continue to overstock but the setup came with a 407 canister and the cabinet is too small for say. An fx 4. Or fx6. And the hood and lid are so flush by design I can't figure out how to double up my filtration without cutting the aluminum sliding lid, not to mention this would kind of kill the aesthetic. Would love to here how others have accomplished this, don't want to have to try to drill holes in the bottom of the tank. May have to tho, any ideas are welcome.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Why do you want to upgrade. A 406 is a great filter for that size of tank.

In answer to your question though, id cut the lid, and get something like a project box to mask the hole.

 

[Roob]

Ok love that idea, at least for my 36 gal topfin curve. Factory filter hole is too big. And lost a fish recently, been reading overstocking requires extra filtration and I am in the mindset of too much is better than not enough. Would actually like to have a 107 or 207 for my current uv light. Then a fx 4 or fx6. Cichlids are **** machines, but I really would like to put 5 or 7 more fish in

 

[Roob]

Ty for the reply BTW. Is that what I search for, Is project box? And this tank set up is kind of unique. The hood, Frame and sliding lids(open left to right) pose a unique challenge. I actually question if the fluval hose setup would even wrap around if I did cut a slot out

 

[Aiken Drum]

The ribbed hoses can bend quite a lot. The fluval filter comes with a rim connector to run the hose through. I assume your shaker connects up through a drilled bottom so maybe your 407 didnt come with these connectors as they arent needed for your specific aquarium. But a shop bought 407 will have these connectors.

Any electrical supply shop should know what a project box is. Or just Google electrical project box if you want to buy online. They come in a variety of sizes.

If you dont like that idea then either an internal filter or drilling the bottom are the only other options i can think of. Fluval tanks arent made with tempered glass so they will drill, but doing so voids the warrenty.

A 407 will potentially hold 4kg of biomedia. If 1 tray is used for sponge and polishing pads, that leaves 3 trays each of which can hold 1kg of biomedia. So in practice it holds 3kg. A very heavily stocked tank needs 1kg/ 100 litres of water. So a 407 is good for a heavily stocked 300 litre/ 75 gallon tank. Any more filtration is over doing IMO.

 

[Roob]

That is a really solid answer ty, I didn't even think to try the hose mount from another tank to see if it fit. And as for my 407. It's currently basically factory set up. With a slightly larger bag of charcoal. And a bag of coral. I'm open to recommendations, and i assume ideally I would drill another set of holes. But draining the tank, and storing fish to maybe bust the tank is terrifying

 

[Aiken Drum]

https://youtu.be/8D0v5E8qAfA?si=xWcho_ezqG3D4Qtr

I set up 406s in this manner. Exchange biohome for the biomedia of your choice.