Aquarium Filtration 101

**meganutz** · 09-27-2010, 5:24 PM

Absolutely not. Lower bottom is best though. Not too far down as you don't want gravel to be sucked in.

**meganutz** · 09-27-2010, 5:25 PM

Congrats on your future tank!!! Now the fun begins!!!

**meganutz** · 09-27-2010, 5:26 PM

WOW. sounds like a serious project. good luck with that!!!!

**meganutz** · 09-27-2010, 5:29 PM

Always go with a wet/dry for tanks 125 and up. Especially if your heavily stocked. Wet/drys just do things that canisters and hang ons can't.

**LoganBlade** · 10-01-2010, 2:17 PM

Okay. Bio load. Can it be handled by bottom gravel and decorations. How much Bio matter do you need per 10gals.

Asking because sumps are huge compared to a HOB. a 400 on a 55gal is good or just okay. now square footage maybe 1.5 Square feet of Filter material. maybe another 1.5 if you fill one of the containers with bio media.

How much is enough.

**Helangkawi** · 10-08-2010, 1:33 AM

Originally Posted by Wolf3101;1175019;

Canister Filters

A canister filter is a self contained remote unit that connects to the aquarium by hoses. The water is moved through the filter media in the body of the sealed unit and then returned to the tank. One of the advantages of this design is that they can be used in installations with very limited space. They have a much larger capacity for filter media than the HOB units but the media is never directly exposed to the air, thus limiting the efficiency of the bio media inside them. They have a lot higher flow rate than the HOB units and can go for much longer periods of time between servicing. Canisters are a sealed system and this allows them to provide a greater mechanical filtration than other common types of filters although this is limited by their lack of a true pressure rated pump. They are unfortunately much harder to clean when the time comes for a service. The units have to be turned off…disconnected from the hoses…and moved to another area to be cleaned. The difficulty of this process varies from brand to brand but in general they are all fairly close to the same. After servicing is complete the canisters must be purged of air to operate properly and with some units this can be a problem.

i just got a canister filter (given away after bought a used 4 foot x 2 foot x 2 foot tank)

and right now i don't know anything about canister, is it easy to use? more reliable than a sump tank filtration system?

thinking to use it, and at the same time thinking about using a sump tank

because currently the tank still not fill with water, and if i want to do a piping work, maybe now is the best time

if decided to use current canister filter, no piping work require, previously the tank owner used canister filter as the filtration media

could some one put a suggestion on this please?

*i will put an arowana, with tinfoil in that tank

**creatress** · 11-07-2010, 9:41 PM

WOW! Great information. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

**Helangkawi** · 11-25-2010, 1:29 AM

hey guys,

welcome myself to filtration 101 as a noob in canister filtration system

i would like to seek for any expert opinion on what should i put as the media for canister filter

current canister had 4 trays, and each tray contained

-bottom level tray, fill with volcano rockc
-3rt level tray, fill with filter mat (2 layer)
-2nd level tray, fill with bio ring
-top level tray, again with filter mat (2 layer)

is it already good enough for 4 ft x 2ft tank? and how often normally it takes to clean the canister?