Which External Filter?

[shaz-killie]

would you recommend for a 660litre tank as this is the size i'm thinking of increasing to eventually so might as well get the filter that will do the job.

 

[8inary]

i went through this same issue sometime ago with a bigger tank, i went with the fluval fx5 - 2 of them 'for overkill filtering' - each one is a very capable filter pushing out more than most others on the market. the fx5 is fairly cheap and therefore buying 2 offers a real benefit in keeping your tank super mineral water quality all the time, plus, you will always have a back up in case one fails.

this will start off many responses and some will have their fave filters, however the fx5 is a clear fave for me - having used both eheims and fx5

 

[raptorrex]

cant think of a single filter for the job. but it will need 3300lph as flow. so 3x FX6, 3x Eheim Pro3 2280 or 3x eheim 2250. you may even be better off with a sump!

 

[Davo86]

would you recommend for a 660litre tank as this is the size i'm thinking of increasing to eventually so might as well get the filter that will do the job.

When it comes to tanks of this size i guess its quite important to know what the stocking will be, For example a group of Oscars would need much more filtration than a mammoth but general tetra community,

IMO you will definitely be looking at 2 Externals and i would go with something like 2 FX5s or similar

 

[shaz-killie]

thanks for the replies, stock is going to be discus

 

[markandhisfish]

2 eheim 2080 all the way if you ask me more efficient and reliable than fluval and also less power consumption so cheaper to run

as 8inary says you will get lots of responses for people "championing" their fave brand and i must confess to being an eheim fan .

the fx5 is indeed a fine filter but imho eheims have the edge

have you considered a sump?

 

[shaz-killie]

well the tank I am looking at buying comes with a sump tank I think. never used a sump tank before so just thought about externals

 

[8inary]

my tanks is a bit bigger than the one you are getting, and i run 2 fx5s. as said before the water is always mineral quality

http/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DLGa8d9L1SY&...re=channel_page


heres a vid

 

[markandhisfish]

now thats 1 fantastic tank. whats the dims?

 

[shaz-killie]

oh very nice, I'm just hoping my floor would hold the weight

 

[rabbut]

Reliability is key in a large Discus set-up, as if the filter goes belly up, so (most likely) will the fish if the back-up takes a while to catch-up to the increased load. For this reason alone, I'd go Eheim. Tetratec, my favorite brand, don't do a filter large enough to do a tank of that size, that is of reasonable price, even relative to Eheim

Fluvals FX5 has so far been reliable, but so were Fluval 04's at this point. Now, a lot of members on here say they will never run a Fluval again due to the 04 series. The 05 series appears, from my position at work in aquatics retail, to be having similar reliability issues to the 04's. I would not trust a Discus set-up to anything with a Fluval badge on it This said, the specs of the FX5 can't be sniffed at for performance, especially if you modify it.....

With the size, have you considered a wet and dry sump? These are far more efficient than an exturnal, and more flexible also. If space is a premium, or you have a poor cabinet, obviously will need to stick to exturnals, but a sump set-up as a Wet and Dry is the best option for you IMO if you can accomodate one You can also hide equipment in it, which is a nice plus point

HTH
Rabbut

 

[shaz-killie]

personally I rate Eheim over fluval as well and the cabinet has got space for a sump tank (as i have no knowledge of sump tanks) what would I need to get to run the tank this way?

 

[fishman3]

deleted....... and severely beaten for hijacking...!

 

[Truck]

you shouldnt hi-jack threads seeing as you have your own already!

 

[8inary]

Hi Phil, welcome to the forum, can you repost in your own thread? it saves on hijacking someone else's thread