Stocking And Filtration

[Confish]

hey you probably are getting bored of me but i just want to get the stocking so i have happy fish im getting this stocking in a rio 240 4ft long 55uk G 63 us G

1 GT or JD
1 convict
1 jewel
1 senegal birch
1 clown pleco
1 tiger loach
1 featherfin catfish
my other question is would the juwels internal filter be enough or would i have to get an external as well. if so what should i be looking at i dont know anything about external filters

 

[nmonks]

The Juwel internal filter is an excellent biological filter but a poor mechanical filter. It quickly becomes clogged with silt, and has very little "suction" so tends to leave solid wastes (fish faeces for example) in the aquarium.

Something like an Eheim 2217 would be an excellent supplement. If you decide to remove the internal filter completely, something many aquarists, including myself, eventually do, adding a second canister would make sense. For the types of fish you're after, a turnover of 8 times the volume of the tank per hour would make sense. That's a little under 2000 litres per hour, or the equivalent of two Eheim 2217 canisters. On my Rio 180 I used an Eheim 2217 and a Fluval 104, a total of 1480 l/h, a turnover of about 8.2 times per hour. That works fine with the royal plec, various glassfish and characins, some puffers, and a trio of cherry-fin loaches.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Confish]

The Juwel internal filter is an excellent biological filter but a poor mechanical filter. It quickly becomes clogged with silt, and has very little "suction" so tends to leave solid wastes (fish faeces for example) in the aquarium.

Something like an Eheim 2217 would be an excellent supplement. If you decide to remove the internal filter completely, something many aquarists, including myself, eventually do, adding a second canister would make sense. For the types of fish you're after, a turnover of 8 times the volume of the tank per hour would make sense. That's a little under 2000 litres per hour, or the equivalent of two Eheim 2217 canisters. On my Rio 180 I used an Eheim 2217 and a Fluval 104, a total of 1480 l/h, a turnover of about 8.2 times per hour. That works fine with the royal plec, various glassfish and characins, some puffers, and a trio of cherry-fin loaches.

Cheers, Neale

ye i have noticed that the internal filter does not really clean the fish faeces. so is a mechanical filter one that takes actual particles out.? would it be a good idea to get an external filter while still have the internal filter? and are the ones that hang over the top any good? and are external easy to maintain and such im a proper newbie to external filters sorry

 

[nmonks]

so is a mechanical filter one that takes actual particles out.?

Mechanical media takes the particles out. This is the filter floss or coarse sponge, and the idea is you rinse it out on a regular basis.

would it be a good idea to get an external filter while still have the internal filter?

Sure.

and are the ones that hang over the top any good? and are external easy to maintain and such im a proper newbie to external filters sorry

I don't think hang-on-the-back filters are that good. For one thing, the inlet and outlet are next to each other, so it's tricky to get a decent flow of water all around the tank and at all levels of the water column. With an external canister you can put the inlet at the bottom right, and the spray bar at top left, and thereby create a much more thorough mixing of water. It's true than external canisters are tricker to open up and maintain, but that's really not that big of a deal. Get a filter with [a] two taps on each hose, so you disconnect the thing with minimal dripping; and a filter that has some sort of self-priming mechanism (if you want, I find sucking the outlet hose quicker and easier*).

Cheers, Neale

*And probably also means I have really good antibodies against water-borne bacteria!!! Just kidding.

 

[Confish]

cheers for all the useful information do you think it is necessary to have one though with my stocking? as being a student i dont really have the money to spend on a canister filter.

 

[pirate monkey]

I have a juwel tank, had it running for about 8 months with just a juwel filter, but especially with a sailfin in there it was hard work to keep it tip top - cichlids are pretty messy fish! I now run a Tetratec Ex1200 external as well, the juwel filter I just fill up with cheap filter floss to polish water, letting the external do all the hard work.

I would say it is not essential provided you can keep on top of the water changes - but then christmas is coming up

 

[Confish]

I have a juwel tank, had it running for about 8 months with just a juwel filter, but especially with a sailfin in there it was hard work to keep it tip top - cichlids are pretty messy fish! I now run a Tetratec Ex1200 external as well, the juwel filter I just fill up with cheap filter floss to polish water, letting the external do all the hard work.

I would say it is not essential provided you can keep on top of the water changes - but then christmas is coming up

haha yeye true think i might look into one for xmas and i like the idea of the cheap filter floss as the jewel filter stuff is expensive and needs changing alot.