What Filter For 220 Gallon?

[DarkSoul]

I see alot of filters only able to filter an aquarium up to about 150gallons, what kind of filter would one get for a 220 gallon aquarium?

How many times should the water in the tank be exchanged per hour anyway?

Do you not use a canister for a tank this large? just a sump?


Just curious questions, nothing serious.....right now anyway

 

[Ben]

i would imagine you use a sump with external and internal filters

ask CFC though, he has a 205 gallon tank, close enough

 

[Wanda hornsey]

my 130+ galloon hard to tell as its a bit strange inside has two filters one for 100 gallons and 2 in-built filters, seems to have everything under control, we have one at each end by the way

 

[blitztidus]

I would go with one filter for every 50 to 80 gallons, that, in my experience, works best.

 

[clareriley]

I know someone with a 230usG tank and they use 2 fluval4 plus. one at each end.

 

[bunjiweb]

I would use 2 eheim2217s or an Eheim Pro3 for that size tank.

Ben

 

[Iron Man]

You may be able to get Eheim 2217s to work. I have one that was slow as a snail with water flow. Wouldn't mechanically filter anything or produce a lot of water flow. I found out a secret though.

Cut the hoses (esp the output hose) as short as you can. This will turn it into a blazingly fast monster.

My 55 gallon is now a literal whirlpool.

 

[dthoffsett]

How many times should the water in the tank be exchanged per hour anyway?

Ideally you want the water to be cycled 5-7 times an hour. So for a 220 gal tank you would need a total flow rating of 1100 - 1540gph.

 

[DarkSoul]

What about 2 Eheim 2329 Wet/Dry Filters?

and possibly a sump as well.

The two 2329 have a combined throughput of about 555 GPH, and would exchange the water 2.5 times an hour.... combined with a sump wouldnt this provide excellent filtration?

Would it be better to run two filters seperatly on each end of the tank, or would it be just as good to use a Tee and run both filters on one intake tube and spraybar?

Im just asking asking because hopefully within a year i will have a tank this size, and i want to make sure that when i get a monster like this, im going to have proper filtration.

And honestly it would most likely be a freshwater tropical fish/planted aquarium.... lighting will be the worst part i think.
But i do have about 2500W of both MH and HPS lights

 

[Iron Man]

I wouldn't restrict the flow of an Eheim canister anymore than what they already have designed into it. Their motors are heavy duty and made for pumping water through a lot of tubing, so they last forever....but I don't know about bottle necking two canisters into one hose/spraybar.

It will greatly diminish their performance at best.

If you're going to spend that much on filtration, there's always the huge/more powerful 2260. Its a monster....but I'd still use something else for water flow too.

If its going to be a planted tank....stay away from wet/dry filtration, as this will dissipate precious CO2 and you won't need that extra kick of wet/dry as plants will do a lot of your filtering for you anyway....according to the number of plants you have, etc.

 

[DarkSoul]

When you Tee off a connection you need to use larger tubing.

Im going to buy another 2213 for my current setup a few months down the road, but to Tee it off, you would use the provided 12mm tubing off the filter spouts (intake and output) then Tee them right there, and then use larger tubing (perhaps 16mm ID) to run from the Tee to the bars in the tank. this reduces the bottle neck, it will also increase the pressure but reduce the flow slightly.

anyway thats my thought on the Tee'ing

If you use a sump do you need a filter? does the sump not also act as a filter?

 

[bunjiweb]

Dont put them in line, ever.

Iron Man, your comment on the 2217s having a slow turnover is usually down to how you start them. If they are started properly, by syphoning water into the cannister from the bottom up, syphoning water to the end of the outlet pipe, conencting it all up then plugging it in, you shouldnt have ANY problems with flow rate.


Ben

 

[DarkSoul]

i dont mean inline, like the output of one filter goes to the input of the other, i mean the water gets divided into two canisters, then after exiting the canisters, is merged again and pumped into the tank.

 

[Iron Man]

That's how I always syphoned it....its the easiest way and the most natural way....but syphoning the unit has nothing to do with its performance once its running.

Longer smaller hose/piping will slow down the most heavy duty pumps and the Eheim is no exception. The pump itself is rated around 265 gph but its not putting our near that because of the hose it has to pump through. Shorten it and it makes a HUGE unbelieveable difference. Its the only filter on my tank now. I can't put anything else on there or it will be too much water flow.

i dont mean inline, like the output of one filter goes to the input of the other, i mean the water gets divided into two canisters, then after exiting the canisters, is merged again and pumped into the tank.

That's doable with large enough piping/hose....but I wouldn't do anything to restrict their flow.

 

[andywg]

On a tank that size I would want larger fish, therfore I would go sump every time.

Increased volume, increased oxygenation, and the ability to hide all the bits of equipment no-one likes to see in their tank (heaters are a prime one).

Plus, with a sump you can chose all sorts of different filtration methods, be they algae base, DSB, FSF, or wet/dry. And you have somewhere to store fish that are interfering with other tanks.