Easy To Use Canister Filter

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I had two AC110'S on a 120 for a while. I put extra bio media in both in place of running carbon. If the tank is going to be heavily stocked, I would recommend more than two AC110'S. With that said, AC110'S are extremely reliable, easy to clean, and probably the best HOB out there imo.
 
I have 2 Penguin 350 filter's on the 125. Each filter has 1 box of Fluval Bio Max Ceramic ring's and 2 cut out blue sponge's. I don't have any problem's with the water. I was just curious about the canister filter's.
 
Penquin is good and simple filter and you can fit up to 4 Penquin 350 in the back if you have super heavy fish load. A thin substrate in your tank will accommodate plenty of beneficial bacteria and you really don't need the ceramic rings as long as good water movement is maintained. You will likely have to clean the blue sponges frequently because the media capacity is small, but cleaning is so easy that it's no big deal. I bought cheap poly batting from craft shop and cut my filter pads which I trash and don't recycle.
 
tiger15 said:
Penquin is good and simple filter and you can fit up to 4 Penquin 350 in the back if you have super heavy fish load. A thin substrate in your tank will accommodate plenty of beneficial bacteria and you really don't need the ceramic rings as long as good water movement is maintained. You will likely have to clean the blue sponges frequently because the media capacity is small, but cleaning is so easy that it's no big deal. I bought cheap poly batting from craft shop and cut my filter pads which I trash and don't recycle.
Click to expand...
Hi. I just have the one Oscar in the tank and I do about 50% water change every week.
 
2 ac110s and your good to go. Not saying cans aren't good I'm running a 2262 atm and have had an fx6. If you follow fluvals directions the fx doesn't hold any more bio than an ac110. I filled all three trays will bio and don't think its that much more than 2 ac110s would hold and that's including mech.

Dawn order 30 ppi of poret foam from swisstropicals (much better than the foam that comes with the ac) you will have to cut it but that's easy if you use the foam that came with the ac110 as a guide. 2x 2 inch foam pads and the rest bio and your good to go.

save your money no need to get a can for an Oscar in a 125 ac110s are highly underated
 
I misquoted myself earlier what i meant to say is based on size alone it is not hard to realize canisters do not have to be cleaned as often. Sorry!
 
AC110 has large media capacity and is equivalent to a HOB canister with the advantages that it is easy to clean , transparent and open to the atmosphere. Canister is a black box you can't see or smell the condition inside, and being a closed system, it is also vulnerable to anaerobic.

If a canister is used for mechanical, it needs to be cleaned frequently. A mechanical media traps fine and it doesn't take long to clog the first inch of the media and the flow will slow down. If water bypasses the mechanical media, or a canister is filled with ceramic rings only, it will take a long time to get clogged but then the canister is not functioning as a mechanical filter.

There is nothing wrong to use canister for biological only as many people do, but you still have to clean it regularly to restore the biological efficiency. I am wondering if anyone has tried this. Fill up the canister with ceramic rings only and pressure flush it with tap water by hooking up the intake to the faucet without opening the canister. That way you can achieve regular cleaning with no hassle.
 
duanes said:
I believe biomedia is mostly misunderstood.
The media touted as best, has millions of pores for BB can live in.
But if media is full of gunk, or pores are slathered in layers of old bio-film, then anything within those pores is in a dead zone. BB need aerobic conditions and contact with flow to use the ammonia and nitrate, if water is sliding over bio-film, this is compromized. If a canister is not cleaned regularly it loses efficiency. I believe that not cleaning canisters often is not a good idea, and because they are difficult to clean in comparison to other filters, they usually are usually not.
I don't see being under pressure, having to mess around with large O rings, and worrying air lock preventing start of flow as being user friendly.
Maybe the new models are better, and less troublesome, but I gave up on canisters years ago for all the above reasons, and it would take a lot of data to the contrary to do so.
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of filter(s) do you run? Sump?
 
All forms of filtration have their place (cans, sumps, hobs)

But this is a 125 with an oscar. Keep it simple 2xac110s should be fine for this tank. Plenty of room for bio, purigen, mech
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom