Filter for 75 gallon long?

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elbereth

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2018
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Toronto, Canada
Hi folks! As some of you may have read in my other thread, I plan to get a 4' long for my polypterus in the near future. I need some advice on filtration so I thought I'd start another thread.

I haven't found a tank yet but it will definitely be 4' long, 16"-18" wide and ideally about 20" tall - so about 75 gallons. How much GPH should I aim for for three or four polypterids in such a tank and what would be some good filtration options to achieve that? The filters have to be as silent as possible. No HOBs please! (I find that even if the water level is high enough to prevent slashing, the motor produces a dull hum that is audible at night.) And no canisters. I'm currently considering two powerheads (turned into HMFs or sponge filters) in the back corners or something from the Fluval U series.

Any advice would be much appreciated, as always.
 
You pretty much answered your own question. You don’t want to do HOB, don’t want to do canister, I doubt you want to do sump it makes noises. Yah leaves you left with that you mentioned. although I find the bubbles popping on sponge filters louder than my ac110 hob
 
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There is no silent option. Agree with Dloks Dloks and DMD123 DMD123 those are two of the best filters you can buy and both make just as much if not less noise than a air pump.


Even a sump can be built to give off less noise than an air pump
 
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DMD123 said:
Why no canisters? Eheim classic 2217’s are silent...
Click to expand...

Several reasons. I had an Eheim 2213 at one point. It was super silent but a pain to prime. I knew that if I used it on this tank I'd barely ever clean it. I wonder how effective the flow would be given the long hoses needed for a 4' long tank. And seeing as I'll probably turn the aquarium stand into a bookshelf, I won't be able to put the canister beneath the tank. I'll have to put it off to the side beneath the bed... so I'll definitely never take it out again to clean it, lol!

Dloks said:
You pretty much answered your own question. You don’t want to do HOB, don’t want to do canister, I doubt you want to do sump it makes noises. Yah leaves you left with that you mentioned. although I find the bubbles popping on sponge filters louder than my ac110 hob
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I narrowed it down but there are other options besides powerheads. Has no one ever used internal filters on a polypterus tank? And as for the bubbles, I turn off the Venturi effect at night.

Looks like I was too hasty to give up canisters, huh? Well, I'd be curious to see how the Sunsun compares to the Eheim but the chain of stores I usually shop at doesn't carry it. I'll have to hunt around and see if there's another brick-and-mortar store in the city that does. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
 
elbereth said:
Several reasons. I had an Eheim 2213 at one point. It was super silent but a pain to prime. I knew that if I used it on this tank I'd barely ever clean it. I wonder how effective the flow would be given the long hoses needed for a 4' long tank. And seeing as I'll probably turn the aquarium stand into a bookshelf, I won't be able to put the canister beneath the tank. I'll have to put it off to the side beneath the bed... so I'll definitely never take it out again to clean it, lol!



Not necessarily. I narrowed it down but there are other options besides powerheads. Has no one ever used internal filters on a polypterus tank? And as for the bubbles, I turn off the Venturi effect at night.

Looks like I was too hasty to give up canisters, huh? Well, I'd be curious to see how the Sunsun compares to the Eheim but the chain of stores I usually shop at doesn't carry it. I'll have to hunt around and see if there's another brick-and-mortar store in the city that does. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Click to expand...
Order online. With anything there’s maintenance. Canister will need to be clean and sponges will need to be rinsed.
 
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elbereth said:
Several reasons. I had an Eheim 2213 at one point. It was super silent but a pain to prime. I knew that if I used it on this tank I'd barely ever clean it. I wonder how effective the flow would be given the long hoses needed for a 4' long tank. And seeing as I'll probably turn the aquarium stand into a bookshelf, I won't be able to put the canister beneath the tank. I'll have to put it off to the side beneath the bed... so I'll definitely never take it out again to clean it, lol!



Not necessarily. I narrowed it down but there are other options besides powerheads. Has no one ever used internal filters on a polypterus tank? And as for the bubbles, I turn off the Venturi effect at night.

Looks like I was too hasty to give up canisters, huh? Well, I'd be curious to see how the Sunsun compares to the Eheim but the chain of stores I usually shop at doesn't carry it. I'll have to hunt around and see if there's another brick-and-mortar store in the city that does. Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Click to expand...

2217 comes with double tap vavles all you would need to do is prime it once.

Any canister can be modified with small ball valves, unions, and other adapters.to create a diy double tap.
 
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Dloks said:
Order online. With anything there’s maintenance. Canister will need to be clean and sponges will need to be rinsed.
Click to expand...

I need to see it before I buy it. And I know everything requires maintenance. But different filters are easier to clean than others.
 
jaws7777 said:
2217 comes with double tap vavles all you would need to do is prime it once.

Any canister can be modified with small ball valves, unions, and other adapters.to create a diy double tap.
Click to expand...

That's true.
I forgot to mention the other reason I didn't like my Eheim 2213. The first time I set it up, I found one of the hoses leaked. I fixed it but if I hadn't happened to notice it, that leak could have gone unchecked for quite some time.

EDIT: I might rethink about the canister, but back to my original question. Would two HMFs work? Anyone ever tried a similar set-up?
 
elbereth said:
I need to see it before I buy it. And I know everything requires maintenance. But different filters are easier to clean than others.
Click to expand...
That might be hard with a sunsun. I've never actually seen a brick and mortar carry them. I've always ordered from amazon/ebay
 
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