I have a 55 gallon cichlid community tank thats stocked somewhat heavy. Right know I have a emperor 400 pf and a aqueon 55 pf in the tank. It seems like im going threw media pretty fast in the aqueon. Should I get a canister filter or not whats the pro's on the canister filters. or should I get a used emperor 400 for 25 bucks. If i do go with a canister filter would a cascade 1000 beable to keep up with the tank or not.
filters
- Thread starter truck_317
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don't know about the cascade but i just changed to a canister and i love it,, extremely quiet and a lot of filtration
How heavy stocked is this tank?
I like the eheim filters, a 2217 would work great on your tank. If it is really heavy stocked you might want to consider a fluval FX5.
I like the eheim filters, a 2217 would work great on your tank. If it is really heavy stocked you might want to consider a fluval FX5.
What do you mean by going through media pretty fast? You should be able to reuse all media several times over until it crumbles apart.
Adding more filtration doesn't necessarily make your water cleaner. In the end, you'll still have to take care of the nitrates/phosphates/other even if you have a ridiculously overpowered canister filter. From my experience, after the gph is more than 5~7 times the water volume, then all you're doing is adding current. Of course going ~10 times the water volume is safer since manufacturer's gph claim is usually without filter media, thus actual gph is lower.
However, to answer your question, canister filters are more efficient than HOB's due to their design. You can put a canister filter anywhere out of view so that all you see is your tank instead of a big black box. Canister filters can be a real pain to clean, but newer models have made it much easier than they used to be. HOB's are a lot easier to troubleshoot though.
cascade 1000 = no cascade 1500 = yes. the 1000 just isnt big enough i have one and use it only on 40 G or smaller tanks.
ok theredchaser what i am taking about media is that i could only get about 2 to 3 weeks out of a media cartridge and that is cleaning them every week. here is another example i cleaned out the media in the aqueon pf on firday in the am and i did a water change on it in the afternoon so as soon as i did the water change the power filter was over flowing so i cleaned the media again and as soon as i just the media back in it over flowed instantly
Wow. . . That's . . . Crappy. I have HOB filters that I change the media once every two or three months. Up until just a few days ago I had 5 juvenile axolotls in a 20 gallon tank (read as: WAY overstocked) with a Marineland 150 on it and I didn't even RINSE the cartridges but once every two or three months, let alone change them. I think since I put the axolotls in that tank in February I've only changed one cartridge, maybe two. How often & how much water are you changing in the aquarium?
If you really have that much debris in the tank, a canister isn't going to be extremely effective. More effective than a HOB, yes, but not extremely effective. Canisters really shine with biological filtration, and debris in the canister clogs the media where bacteria would grow. It also results in nitrates and such growing really fast.
Were I in your shoes I'd probably put on an Eheim 2217- I have one of those on my 60 gallon and LOVE it. It pumps a ton of water and doesn't slow down even when it hasn't been cleaned for months. But, I'd put a prefilter on it to help cut down on some debris in the canister. You can take a large chunk of sponge (like for an AquaClear filter) and put it over the filter intake, and that would prevent tons of stuff from getting sucked in there. Then you can take the sponge off once a week or whatever, rinse it off, and put it back on. Kensfish.com has 2217s really cheap- actually cheaper than a Cascade 1500.
That, or I'd put a prefilter attachment on a powerhead and see if I couldn't cut down on some debris in the tank that way. And I'd do a bunch of water changes. IMO, water changes are a better way to clean the tank than even the best filter.
If you really have that much debris in the tank, a canister isn't going to be extremely effective. More effective than a HOB, yes, but not extremely effective. Canisters really shine with biological filtration, and debris in the canister clogs the media where bacteria would grow. It also results in nitrates and such growing really fast.
Were I in your shoes I'd probably put on an Eheim 2217- I have one of those on my 60 gallon and LOVE it. It pumps a ton of water and doesn't slow down even when it hasn't been cleaned for months. But, I'd put a prefilter on it to help cut down on some debris in the canister. You can take a large chunk of sponge (like for an AquaClear filter) and put it over the filter intake, and that would prevent tons of stuff from getting sucked in there. Then you can take the sponge off once a week or whatever, rinse it off, and put it back on. Kensfish.com has 2217s really cheap- actually cheaper than a Cascade 1500.
That, or I'd put a prefilter attachment on a powerhead and see if I couldn't cut down on some debris in the tank that way. And I'd do a bunch of water changes. IMO, water changes are a better way to clean the tank than even the best filter.
I use poly-fil media in my filters. I strip the cartridge of all media and use it for a divider to keep the pol-fil in place. A $4 bag lasts me months and it does a better job. It works especially well on my Emperor 400's that are on an Oscar tank. Haven't found anything as good or as cheap.
my fluval 305 works really well on my 46 bowfront. so i'd reccomend the fluval 405.
These canisters are Excellent
These canisters are Excellent
One of the aquariums I clean has a 405 in it, and I have to say, if your HOB is clogging, so will the 405. The 405 gets cleaned once a month, and every month when I get there it's so clogged the water flow is down to less than half of what it was the beginning of the month. It's on a 90 gallon aquarium with 5 African cichlids and 10-20 fry, and it's always filthy. The entire filter is just filled with black sludge from the first sponges to the last media basket. Having run the 405, a Magnum 350, a HOT Magnum, and my 2217, the Fluval would be the last choice for what I'd put on your tank.