Filtration

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PandorasPool

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My tank is 100L and I am currently using an 80-150 litre internal filter. The Fluval U3 to be precise. I am thinking of changing this to an external filter and can't decide between the Fluval 206 or an Ehiem filter. Which would be the better filter for my tank, and is it OK to over filtrate my tank as I will be stocking plants? Any help and advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
 
External filters are a personal choice, but I reckon most folks would go for Eheim over Fluval.
 
However, Eheim tend to be more exepensive and Fluval are a good brand and popular with many hobbiests.
 
Personally I prefer Eheims as I like the way it is built and how much filter media can be put in these.
 
And yes, it is good to overfiltrate any tank even heavily planted tanks.
 
What you want in terms of flow output depends on what stocking you have or planned.
 
just to throw another brand into the mix ... have you looked at the JBL CrystalProfi? I run two on my Rio 240 and I love em. Super quiet, super super efficient (just13 watts of power for the e901) and super easy to maintain. Very light to manouvre even when full of water and loads of interchangable media option. They've recently done away with the need for a rubber 'o' ring for sealing too which I love. No more fiddling to make sure it's in place before clamping down the lid. They also come with a 5 year guarentee :)
 
It's also worth looking at things like the aquamanta series that you can get at maidenhead aquatics, nice filters and I've been impressed by mine.
 
Good shout for the JBL's, some of them are very power efficient, which is well worth considering for something you're going to leave on 24/7. Every 10W of power you save on these saves about £9 a year at 10p a unit. They can vary by 40W at times, which, if you pay for the electricity yourself, can make an expensive filter far more economical in the long run.
 
I've also heard good things of the Aquamanta range. I've not tried one - I'm loving the JBL's too much for now :D
 
All I can state is I have a pair of Eheim 2026 Pro II. One has been running about 13.5 years and 11 of that had CO2 gas pushed through it for plants. The other is going for about 12 years. I still have to put my hand on both to know they are running. I have never owned anything Fluval save the one that came with a used tank and which I sold ASAP to get an Eheim for the tank.
 
You get what you pay for in the long run.
 
Eheim or Aqua manta, Had both and loved both :D
 
Thank you everyone for all your help and advice. I'm now going to look into the JBL and the Aquamanta too as I haven't heard of these. My husband and I have kept fish for many years (Koi) which have grown too big for the tanks and now live in a pond. We have always used internal Fluvals for our cold water tanks. This is the first time we are setting up a tropical tank. We have been told the easiest plants to start with are Java Fern, Java Moss and Anubias. We have gravel in the tank at the moment but are thinking of changing to sand. The fish we intend to stock are Guppies an Dwarf Gourami and a couple of Corydorus. Do you think that's OK for a community tank and for beginners like us?
 
 
if you want cories then you need sand substrate really as keeping them on gravel can harm their delicate mouths. 
 
I'm not sure about gourami's and guppies - they are from opposite ends of the water parameters. Guppies are hard water loving fish, gourami's and cories are soft water loving. The best advice I can give you is to find out if you have hard or soft water and stock with fish that love what you have coming from your tap. If you try to force a soft water fish (cories, gourami, SA cichlids, tetra's and rasbora's to name just a few) to live in hard water you are likely to make them sick - the same for forcing hard water fish (guppies, mollies, African cichlids to name a few) to live in soft water. Hope that makes sense :)

I forgot to say - Java fern and Anubias - whilst being easy to keep - will both need to be tied to something as they won't survive if their rizhome is buried. You'll also need to tie the moss to something unless you like the idea of it floating on the surface :)
 
The PH level that comes out of our tap is 6.5 as we tested that for our very first tank years ago and I think it is moderately soft and for the plants we are thinking of tieing them to Bogwood and the Moss to stone.
 
I'd like to offer a few comments here which I hope will be helpful.  First, back to your filter question...for a small tank (100 litres or 25 gallons is "small") you might find an external canister a bit much.  You mentioned your present filter is a Fluval U3...if I were filtering your tank I would not go above a U1 or something comparable; I'll explain why momentarily.  Internal filters do take up space of course, but on small tanks I have always found them handy.  I use a dual sponge filter on my 20g and 29g tanks, and a small internal Eheim Mini Up on my 33g.
 
This latter is a recent acquisition, to replace the little internal Eheim sponge that I've had in this tank since 1995 that began falling apart (the connections have just worn with repeated use/cleaning) which is no longer available.  I found the Mini Up in a local store, and dec ided to give it a try, even though it is rated for nano tanks (though to me the high flow would seem too much in such a small tank...).  This is just a dual sponge insert with a small motor that avoids the need for an air pump.  I am very impressed with this filter.  Here's a link:
https://www.eheim.com/en_GB/products/technology/internal-filters/new-mini
 
Now to the filtration issue itself...in a planted tank you will not need chemical filtration, and biological will be over-kill if it is too great.  Mechanical is the only real need, to move the water around.  The intended fish should be your guide to how much current you will need.  Current is extremely important to fish health, especially in small tanks, as the fish have varying needs and in small tanks may not be able to adequately escape strong flow.  You mentioned over-filtering a tank...yes, this can cause issues.  For one thing, there is absolutely no benefit to over-filtering any aquarium.  Provided the filter is sufficient for the water volume and fish density, it will do its job adequately.  Increasing filters has no benefit except in emergencies.  The bacteria cannot somehow perform more or faster than the level of bacteria suited for the biological needs.  And then there is the water current issue, which can be very detrimental if it is too much for the fish species.  And faster flow through a filter is also detrimental to the bacteria in the filter itself.
 
Now to your fish.  I would not recommend gourami with guppies, this does not always work as the gourami can be pestered by the active colourful guppies charging around them.  I would also be careful with Dwarf Gourami, which is still a species that may carry the iridovirus unless you obtain them direct from a reliable breeder.  The Honey Gourami is a better option, and in your tank you could have a trio.  Gourami do not like water movement, as they occur in quiet swamps and ponds naturally, so another bow to the filter.
 
I second the change to sand substrate, especially for corys.  Avoid white, this is unsettling to fish as it is not natural.  Play sand works very well, it is smooth, and very inexpensive.  The aquarium type sands in darker colours will be considerably more expensive.
 
I would see if you can pin down your hardness for your source water (check the supplier's website) just so you have the number.  But if it is on the soft side, you have a wealth of fish possibilities, but avoid livebearers and any others that need harder water for the mineral content.  Most of the small to medium sized characins and rasbora, with a group of corys, are possible.
 
We can consider plants once we know the lighting.  Those mentioned are low-light, but you can probably expand your options a bit.
 
Byron.
 
Thank you Byron, I will ring my water board tomorrow and find out exactly what our water is and get back to everyone tomorrow. As for my U3 filter, it says its suitable for 80-150 litres that's why we bought it. It also has adjustment flow control so we can control the oxygen output and adjust the current in the tank. It has 3 outlets so we can choose between top level, mid level and low level water current so we can go from raging torrent to almost completely still. Do you think this makes a difference or should we get a smaller filter? As for the wattage of the bulb (I replied via pm about this, sorry) it is 20 watts and says it is to promote plant growth. Is this OK?
 
Before changing filters, I would want to see the intended fish species.  As I mentioned previously, filter flow is pertinent to the fish so what you intend in the end may be well suited, or may not.  I tend to under-filter to keep water currents minimal, but that is because I keep quiet water fish with few exceptions (and the exceptions have a strong current).  And all my tanks are planted to some extent, and all have floating plants which makes quite a difference to all of this.  You can adjust the flow with the U3, so that will likely be all you need to do.
 
On the light, as I suggested in my PM, this may be adequate if it is a fluorescent tube.  Any data on the spectrum or Kelvin from the box or the end of the tube might be useful to know.
 
Byron.
 
All it says for the bulb is that it is Glo Sun-Glo Aquarium bulb T-8 20W. The bulb came with the tank when we bought the tank. If you go onto www.wilko.com and type in Glo bulb you will be able to see which one it is if this helps. As for intended fish, we did want to keep guppies and dwarf gouramis but been advised they cannot be together due to water parameters. Until we find out tomorrow what exactly our water is then not sure which fish yet. The tank is being cycled at the moment ☺
 
Hi again, if your pH is only 6.5 from the tap you can pretty much bet that the water where you are is incredibly soft. I live in Yorkshire and Yorkshire water is also incredibly soft, my pH from my tap is slightly higher at just over 7 but it falls in my tank to 6,5. My bet would be that your tank may also run slightly lower in pH - especially if the gH and kH is low - which it usually is when the pH is also low.
 
With soft water (as already mentioned by Byron) you have a huge range of options for fish species - I often think there is more choice with soft water than there is with hard water. The gourami's will be fine in soft water (and as Byron also mentions, be careful with the dwarf variety, the disease they carry in incureable at this time) you can also look at any SA dwarf cichlid - there are some beautiful specimens out there - apistogramma's, acara's, rams - any of the dwarf varieties will be fine in your tank. There's also a wide range of tetra's and rasbora's and of course the corydoras that you've already expressed a liking for.
 
What I will say is do your research first. Some fish are not compatable with others. Some of the tetra's can be a bit nippy as so are not suitable with sedate fish with long fins (like the gourami that's you've mentioned) Also fish such as tetra's, rasbora's and cories are shoaling fish and so need a large group of their own kind for you to see them at their very best. You'll need to consider tank size and fish size before making decisions.
 
We're here to help so if you have questions about compatability someone will always be around to offer advice. Good luck with the tank and I'll look forward to pictures :D
 

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