Air Pump N Ug Filter

[arniearnie]

Hi

can someone recommend a good air pump for FW tank 280 gl please? Also, i have bought a external canister filter, should i also buy a UG filter too? I heard UG filters aren't that good but getting confused now -helppppp!

Cheers, Arnie

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, if you already have an external cannister filter I would not bother with an undergravel filter (they have lots of maintenance issues and have been largly relegated to being an extreme low price solution used more in the past than in current times.)

Filters have three main types of filter functions: Mechanical filtration (the catching of particles), Chemical filtration (the use of special types of media on a temporary basis for certain special functions) and finally Biological filtration (the main business of growing and maintaining two specific species of bacterial colonies on "biological media" (which just means media that has a lot of surface area for the - like open-cell sponges) so that the two main poisons, ammonia and nitrite(NO2), are processed through from the fish to being nitrate(NO3) that is not so toxic and can be removed via the weekly gravel-clean-water-change.) An undergravel filter only really performs biological filtration and can sharply limit the types of live plants one can have and can cause a fair amount of trouble with the sorts of maintenance procedures needed.

Here in the beginners section we often help beginners start off with a good general "sizing" recommendation for the flow rate of an external. One has to try and find the true specifications of the filter, rather than the marketing points about what size tank it is supposed to handle. In the specifications you want to try and find how many liters or gallons it is supposed to be rated to move in an hour. You then take this pump output per hour (which even in the specifications will have been made to look as good as possible rather than the realisitic rate you'll probably really get) and compare it to the volume of your tank (general volume is ok, you can just ignore substrate or other complications since the whole exercise is very general) and what you're looking for is a "turnover rate" figure: you generally want at least 4 to 6 turnovers of your tank volume per hour to be in our rather general recommendation. The range of what people do goes all the way up to 10x turnover and higher for the high-tech planted tanks but getting beginners in to the 5x area is usually quite a nice starting place for success.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[arniearnie]

Yes, if you already have an external cannister filter I would not bother with an undergravel filter (they have lots of maintenance issues and have been largly relegated to being an extreme low price solution used more in the past than in current times.)

Filters have three main types of filter functions: Mechanical filtration (the catching of particles), Chemical filtration (the use of special types of media on a temporary basis for certain special functions) and finally Biological filtration (the main business of growing and maintaining two specific species of bacterial colonies on "biological media" (which just means media that has a lot of surface area for the - like open-cell sponges) so that the two main poisons, ammonia and nitrite(NO2), are processed through from the fish to being nitrate(NO3) that is not so toxic and can be removed via the weekly gravel-clean-water-change.) An undergravel filter only really performs biological filtration and can sharply limit the types of live plants one can have and can cause a fair amount of trouble with the sorts of maintenance procedures needed.

Here in the beginners section we often help beginners start off with a good general "sizing" recommendation for the flow rate of an external. One has to try and find the true specifications of the filter, rather than the marketing points about what size tank it is supposed to handle. In the specifications you want to try and find how many liters or gallons it is supposed to be rated to move in an hour. You then take this pump output per hour (which even in the specifications will have been made to look as good as possible rather than the realisitic rate you'll probably really get) and compare it to the volume of your tank (general volume is ok, you can just ignore substrate or other complications since the whole exercise is very general) and what you're looking for is a "turnover rate" figure: you generally want at least 4 to 6 turnovers of your tank volume per hour to be in our rather general recommendation. The range of what people do goes all the way up to 10x turnover and higher for the high-tech planted tanks but getting beginners in to the 5x area is usually quite a nice starting place for success.

~~waterdrop~~

Hi thanks for that advice.

can you tell me how to clean a brand new tank?

Thanks

Arnie

 

[waterdrop]

Just use lots of fresh tap water and a clean aquarium sponge (I use coarse aquarium filter replacement sponges that I cut up) to scrub and wipe down all the surfaces and corners. Use common sense to feel when it seems clean and debris free. Never allow soaps around tanks or especially in them. Don't use household glass cleaners on the outside either, just some vinegar if you need something more than tap water.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[arniearnie]

Just use lots of fresh tap water and a clean aquarium sponge (I use coarse aquarium filter replacement sponges that I cut up) to scrub and wipe down all the surfaces and corners. Use common sense to feel when it seems clean and debris free. Never allow soaps around tanks or especially in them. Don't use household glass cleaners on the outside either, just some vinegar if you need something more than tap water.

~~waterdrop~~

Thanks for the advice Waterdrop, you are a star!