What Type Of A Filtration System Do You Have?

[tropicalmumma]

We have a little ornament type one at the moment, but will be buying a bigger tank once we move and have looked at the different ones available.  The one that sits at the bottom of the tank looks less intrusive for the fish, but are they effective?
 
We so far have guppies, a betta and a catfish but will be adding to that.

 

[xion0374]

Filter on the bottom of the tank are not very good, espicially if fish poop gets through them, they decay and turns into ammonia which you cant vacum out with a syphon.
 
Filter inside the tank such as submerge filter are decent if you have small tank or you dont have room to put a hang on back filter.  These type of filter dont provide the best filtration you need when you increase your fish loads.  But these are second best at being quite not loud at all.
 
Hang on back filter is a medium size or medium rate filtration system that does medium jobs versus cannister filter.  They provide enough filtration for a medium size tank from 20 up to 55, anything bigger than those size I would recommended getting a cannister filter.  However to maximized your filtration you need to double up the gallons of water it filters per hour, say for example you have a 55g and your hang on back filter pumps 200gal per hour, you need to get a another filter of the same size that also pumps 200gal, this makes it efficient due to the fact it can turn over water faster, which cleans the water more efficiently.  However space avaible for media is limited but not as limited as submerge filtration.
 
Cannister filter are and by far the best cannister filter on the market, there not the cheapest too.  The can range from $75 to $200 depending on the size of the tank and how much water you want to turn over.  They are the best due to their cargo space, they can handle more media and provide one of the best filtration you can get.  Plus their the quitest filtration too.
 
A fourth kind of filtration is a Do It Your Self Filter involing pcp pipes, you can desgin and build one anywhere from 1ft to 6ft+ of pcp which can house even more media for the bacteria to grow, the more the media you have the more room for bacteria to grow and consume ammonia and nitrite.  These type of DIY Cannister Filter cost less than half the Cannister filter which is already preassemble.  The only expensive part to this DIY is the pump but it is managable, but you need to research and learn more about how to properly make one.  Some people are able to make their own which can turn out to be a success or a big failure, preparation is key to success.
 
For my tank 55gal, I have a 200gal per hour hang on back biowheel filter, its very quite and does a good job, I dont plan on getting another biowheel filter because I'm planning on making my own DIY cannister, I say about 4ft to 6ft for my 55gal, once my bacteria has bloom.  And cannister filter can go for a few month without mantainence.
 
Think about it long and hard, you need to determine what size tank you gonna be purchasing, how much water you want to turn over meaning filter per hour, and what kind of media you want to have in your filter plus the size of the cargo for media as well.
 
Good luck.

 

[tropicalmumma]

Not sure about gallons, but it's a 6ft tank we'll be getting.  I did look at one of the ones that go at the bottom of the tank and it really didn't look that fantastic.  Thanks for the response

 

[Zante]

If you're talking a tank that size I'd go for a sump. You can also use it to hide all the equipment such as heater or submerible UV (if you have it). Also it increases your water volume and makes it earier to add medicine if you need to medicate the tank.
 
Makes it also easier to do water changes and will contain as much media as you need.

 

[the_lock_man]

Yeah, agree with Zante, Everything he said. Go for it.

 

[tropicalmumma]

Thank you for the advice, it will need something to suit that amount of water, obviously the one we have for the small tank is not going to be enough.