buying a new filter ! opinions please !

No. Take an AC 500 for example. On the box, it's rated for tanks up to 150 gallons. Thats absurd. For that big of a tank, I would get 3 AC 500s. After some time, you will know what size filters are for what size tanks.
 
NJ --well I have been doing this for some time, and I THOUGHT I had some idea of what filters were sufficient for whatever tanks.
I guess I don't though. So are you saying that my fluval on my other tank isn't good enough?? even though the water is crystal clear, the fish look beautiful, yada yada????
 
hmm. I think maybe you are getting a LITTLE carried away NJ fan. heh. If you want to spend more money than you need to on your tank thats fine! but like bee said we arent looking to spend an arm and a leg for something we probably dont need! Even the guy trying to SELL us this crap wasnt trying to sell as much as you :)
 
You will most likely be fine with a single Filstar XP3 on your 75 gallon, but then again I don't know anything about african chiclids so this may well not be enough. I am simply drawing general conclusions. NJ Devils Fan is simply a fan of overfiltering his tanks, there is nothing wrong with that. It provides some insurance and gives you some leeway. There are several different ways to maintain a healthy aquarium.
 
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I am not a big fan of overfiltration, but African cichlid tanks (Malawi, Tanganyika) are another story. Because of the high pH, the fish are extra sensitive to ammonia. If I'm not mistaken, starting at around pH 8.0, ammonia takes the more toxic form, NH3. At lower pH values ammonia takes the less toxic form, NH4+. Thus higher pH tanks such as for many African cichlids would probably benefit from overfiltration (yes I said it :rolleyes: ).

With my 20 gallon Lake Tanganyika tank I felt I was taking minimal risks by lightly stocking it (4 ocellated shelldwellers and 2 guppies) and using a Penguin Biowheel 170, giving a turnover rate of 170 gph or 8x tank turnover per hour.

BTW, am I just missing it where BigAl's sells fish online? Or do they sell fish only to Canada not to the States?
 
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Heady,

I got 2 2213 classics from ebay for about $50 each.

good luck
:)
 
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