how much and what are your filter consist of?

[kaz]

I like to know everyone who has canisters what media and how much of it is good. I have a 75g tank with xp3, it contains the original foams with just one order of rings and one order of bio stars and one order of zorb. however the the baskets can support more rings and starts etc. should I add to fill the whole canisters baskets or just what it comes with is good enough?

 

[rkilling1]

I have an Eheim 2026 and an XP2 both jam packed with mechanical media and nothing else.

 

[Jchillin]

I'm sorta like rkilling with mine as well...twice as much mechanical media than anything else. That would be filter floss in combo with the pads and only one basket of bio-media.

 

[JDogg]

i have a eheim 2215 on my 75 and it is stocked similar to jchilln and rkilling1 we have planted tanks, so the plants take care of most, if not all the bio-filtration. on my smaller tanks that are not plants i try to balance mechanical with bio-filtration, if not more of the bio... but those are not canister filters...

HTH

 

[dapellegrini]

I have 2 XP3's on my 72g. The bottom tray is filled with the black foam (20 and 30's). Middle tray, bottom has bio-rings, middle top and all of the top tray is full of the fine, floss/sponges.

This seems to work well for me, though depending on your setup, you may be able to bypass the biological filtration. You certainly don't need the zorb (chemical-filtration). That was one thing I ignorantly wasted money on in the beginning.

Good luck!

 

[kaz]

why do I not need the use of chemical filteration? so I really do not need biological filteration and what makes the water oxygenated? I have the black this foams at my lower baskets, middle bottom rings, middle top stars, top bottm zorb and top top floss, and they same floss is at the intake inside the tank to sort of be a pre-filter

 

[dapellegrini]

Siting Malkore's article on filtration:

Lastly, do NOT run carbon/charcoal in your filter. It will strip out certain trace nutrients in the water...nutrients the plants need. In a densley planted tank, the plants are a big part of your filtration system. Plus, carbon only lasts 7 days, and it's primary purpose is removing medications, and odors from the water. A properly maintained planted tank will have a slight 'earthy' smell. If the tank stinks like fish, you're not keeping up on water changes and/or may be over-stocked.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=55452

 

[rkilling1]

why do I not need the use of chemical filteration?

That has been debated many times. some do, some don't. many say it removes micro and macro nutrients and therefore bad. besides it only lasts so long.

so I really do not need biological filteration

that solely depends on your tank. One cannot just remove all biological media and expect nothing to happen. NH3/NH4 is the leading cause of fish deaths and algae in the aquarium.

and what makes the water oxygenated?

that depends. In my tank, its the plants and water movement. in others it could just be water movement.

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks rkilling for picking up the rest of the question...

The plants inhale CO2, exhale O2... effectively oxygenating your tank the natural way. If you don't have enough plants and are injecting too much CO2, you could add an airstone at night or as needed. I saw someone else who arranged their spraybar just above the water line, effectively adding enough aeration... Really is a case-by-case thing.

I can't imagine why you would need bio-stars and ceramic discs. I would remove one or the other and add more of the white floss.

Also, for the prefilters, I use these on my XP3's and the worked out really well:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsU...857/cl0/aquariumsystemsmaxijetprefiltersponge

 

[kaz]

well my sig has how much plants I do have and I'm not sure if that is enough. is there any way you can check for oxygen?

 

[rich311k]

If your fish are at the top gasping for air, you do not have enough O2, if they are swimming normally and breathing normally you are fine.

 

[dapellegrini]

yep, your fish are the best indication. If you see your neons or rummynoses going to the top for air, then you should add an airstone. Your Gourami will take air from the top anyways, so he is not a good one to watch in that respect.

What kind of lighting do you have (2x NO 40-watts is the standard LFS version for your tank)? Also do you inject CO2? Where did you get your plants? Do you have pics? They sound like mostly non-aquatic types you might have picked up at a local Petsmart...

It looks like you have a very light plant and fish load in your tank, unless those bambo plants are huge...

 

[kaz]

i have a shop light t12 with 2 40w 1 is 5000k full spectrum and the other is 2700k special spectrum for plants and aquatic plants. my bamboo plants have been in my 20g tank for more than a year and for the past six months in my new 75g the others about one month.
i do not have co2.