Ehiem Wet & Dry Filter

[forever]

Any folks use this? I have it on my 300l cube, the water has not ever been what i would call crystal clear, but the fish are very healthy as are the plants, about a month ago i bought a cheap internal power head to provide a bit more flow, this came with a small sponge filter, since i put this in the water is much much clearer (crystal in fact), its got me thinking i should remove the Ehiem for a better filter, my thinking is that because the Ehiem does not have any sponge type media this is the issue? I dont think i can add sponge to the Ehiem as it upsets the flow of water/air??
Can anyone comment?
 
thx

 

[paradiddle]

If you notice a BIG difference adding more filtration it basically means your other filter isnt coping with the load, always go one further with filters in my opinion, example:
Like you say your tank is 300L,
Dont get a filter that says it does for 100L - 300L, as this means its more efficient at the lower end of these sizes, what id recommend is a 400L - 600+, or even 600+ if you can afford it, 
 
filtration is the only thing i think you shouldnt attempt to save money on, buy the best your money can afford!
 
Everything else can be skimped on such as cheaper lighting and substrate etc etc...
 
OVER FILTRATION IS THE WAY TO GO!
 
I currently turnover minimum 3000! yes, 3 0 0 0 litres per hour in my 260L tank, and id go more if i could fit more filters in my cabinet

 

[DrRob]

Can also be a very simple thing like pore size on the media. Floss is widely used to polish water as it takes out all of the really small bits, but it's almost impossible to clean, so it is a replace job. It also clogs and slows the filter down very easily, which can impact on the biomedia.
 
Given half a chance I run two filters, one with a good loose fitting biomedia filling and the other with well fitting foam and floss for mechanical grunt, the latter clogs regularly and needs the most cleaning when I've got those set ups running.

 

[Mark300zx]

Yes the filter is just for biological filtration, I would probably run the other filter as mechanical and the wet and dry as biological?

 

[forever]

Thanks it's as I thought, I need to run a filter to clean/take out the small particles, can anyone recommend a filter to go with this one ?

 

[Mark300zx]

I don't think you need anything massive as the wd filter is doing the main work, so maybe something like a small canister e.g.eheim 2213, with just mechanical filtration, sponges and wool?

 

[forever]

Thanks was thinking the same, will look our for one in the classifieds..

 

[forever]

so i was thinking of this http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aquarium-1/aquarium-filters/external-filters/aquarium-external-filter-1000-l-h-9w-uv.html or http/www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aquarium-1/aquarium-filters/external-filters/aquarium-external-filter-1400-l-h.html, one has a higher flow rate one has UV, not i already have a high flow Ehiem, so would the UV be better???

 

[DrRob]

Flow rates on those aren't as good as they look, they struggle when obstructed so may not be the best for mechanical grunt, and to be honest I've not see the point in the UV, but each to their own. Could be a worthwhile loosely packed biofilter and use the eheim for the mechanical.
 
Do remember the electricity consumption when you calculate costs, some of the APS's are cheap to buy and expensive to run. Great media capacity though (but that makes them difficult to fit in a cabinet).

 

[forever]

Well thats out then as i am looking for mechanical grunt