Canister Filter Media & Heater question for new tank

Staggie

Staggie

Go Da O
Sep 30, 2005
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0
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Adelaide, South Australia
Hey All,
Just got my new 180 Gal tank delivered today, :dance2: so now its time to get my *** into gear and start getting the rest of the bits i need.... I've never had a canister before so i got no idea where to start...

Ok so the filters i'm looking at are 2x 400gal/hr caniter filters, they are of the 4 tray variety and yeah. One of my mates has suggested set up one for bio filtration and the other for mechanical filtration, is this the go or should i be doing something different, as i said this canister thing is all new to me. Also need to know recommeded media for them. If anyone else has any other ideas on filtration please let me know.

Now to the heaters, just an easy one, are 2x 300w going to be enough for a tank this size or should i go more, my other tanks are a lot smaller (2" & 3") and can only go with my experience from them.

Thanks in advance,
Kym
 
ou should be fine with two 300 watt heaters, one on each end. The canisters you are looking at will turn your water iover 4 times an hour. Most people like to turn theirs over more, but what you are going to stock would help answer that. I persoanly would go with more filtering and only spend your money once.
 
Filtration turnover rates depend on the format of the filter. Canisters tend to be more efficient, so require significantly lower turnover rates than do HOBs, which are much less egfficient and house less media volume for comparable tank volume. The numbers seen on forums like this are most often for HOBs and do not apply to good canisters.

I do always separate my biofiltration and mechanical filtration into separate unit for ease of upkeep.
 
I would not suggest using one canister for mechanical and one canister for biological filtration. The biological filter would get clogged. I would have both of them half and half. The first 2 chambers can hold mechanical media, while the last 2 hold biological media. Do this for both filters. If you want, you could add chemical media inside the second chamber with the mechanical media.

Also, you could make both filters mechanical and chemical filters with the first 2 chambers mechanical and the last 2 chemical media. Then, for biological filtration, you could add biowheels as the output for both canisters. This would probably be the best and most efficient method, but if you don't want to spend more $$$$$, the first idea will work great too.

As for the heaters, 2 x 300W should be nice.
 
Thanks for the replys so far guys...
Has helps me out a lot so far. There are going to be a few large fish in the tank, 1 x Tiger Oscar, 3 x Large Clown Loach, 1 x Salmon Catfish and a couple of other cichlids. Hope this helps.
Now with the media I know the principle behind bio & mechanical but just need to know which different types of media eg brand etc in which tray. as i said i'm new to this canister thing.

Cheers,
Kym
 
get some bulk bioballs & fill the bottom of 1 tray in each canister topping off with Fluval ceramic rings.(not the smooth ones but the volcanic looking white ones with bumpy surface) Should use a box o rings & a bag o balls.1 compartment should be coarse sponge. Ehiem has a new media called matrix that looks similar but dont get cycle I think its called in the small round ball media as its too small & will clog up easily.Fill comparments loosely as not to strain the units. If you jam all compartments the turnover rate will decrease.Dont buy two heaters,the filters will raise temp .After useing heaters I removed them & the tank stays @ 78-80 on its own @ 100g.someone(even you) could bump the setting dial & stew your fish
 
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Thanks for that,
What order should i put the media in, eg tray 1 being bottom, tray 4 being top... also i do need heaters as my house gets **** cold in winter. inside get to about 9 degrees C on a bad day.
Thanks again,
Kym
 
I know of filters set up for all biological with a sponge on the intake to catch the junk. That would let you catch the junk in a spot you could clean easyer and thus let the filters go longer between rinse outs.

Water flow direction would determine which media went first. bio stuff goes after mechanical...

A heater you could consider is the hydor inline heater. It goes in the vertical section of your filter return. one less thing in the tank. Reviews on that heater are good. If you were concerned that one wouldn't be enough you could put one on each filter return. All water returning to the tank would be at the selected temperature.
 
from what i've been reading the hydor inline heater isn't the greatest in my situation, the temperature in my house fluctuates a fair bit so really need the heater(s) inside the tank to try keep it stable. the only thing i'm worried about is the oscar smashing them. Do the Fluval heater guards work??? was thinking about getting 2x 300w fluval tronic heaters.
 
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