I will be setting up a 180 next. I will use it to keep some pup rays in. Will 2 FX5's be good filtration, or what else would be?
180 Gallon Filtration
- Thread starter tomka123
- Start date
Imo all filters have advantages and disadvantages which is why I try to use combinations on my tanks....I would use 1 fx5 and a sump.
X2, I like a combo on all my large tanks.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
X3
Rays are heavy waste creators. More filtration is better. The combo of the fx with a sump That's got good turnover rate will be better.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I have an aqueon pro flex wet/dry sump sitting around & I ordered an eheim 2080 professional 3... Is that a good combo?
I have both of those on my 75G tank. The Aqueon ProFlex sump is quite good, a little flimsily built, but a really nice design. Do you have the model four which I think is the biggest size? I think that it would work well for your tank. I have the model 3 in the picture.
The 2080 I wouldn't recommend though. While it has a ton of room for media, the max-flow rate of it is quite low and the mechanical filtering capability of it suffers from this. It is adequate on my 75G tank but I don't think you'll be satisfied with it in a 180G. I suggest you return the 2080 and order a 2262 or FX5 instead, both of which will have a much better flowrate and be more effective at mechanical.
The 2080 I wouldn't recommend though. While it has a ton of room for media, the max-flow rate of it is quite low and the mechanical filtering capability of it suffers from this. It is adequate on my 75G tank but I don't think you'll be satisfied with it in a 180G. I suggest you return the 2080 and order a 2262 or FX5 instead, both of which will have a much better flowrate and be more effective at mechanical.
Yeah, I do have the bigger proflex model. The reason I got the eheim was because I got it through a wholesaler at a very cheap price that did not sell fluval products. Do you still suggest returning it even though I have the bigger pro flex?
Yes I do.
Your Proflex Model 4 sump will be fine for the 180 and is best suited to bio-filtration since you can cram an enormous amount of media into it. The sump should be able to hand what ever kind of bio load you throw into your tank. Also, the water that feeds into a sump is generally drawn from the surface via overflows and suspended particles in the water have to be near the surface to get sucked into that overflow. I've found, at least in my tank, that they have a hard time getting to the overflow and making their way into the sump.
A big canister filter with an intake near the bottom of the tank does a much better job of mechanical filtration. To be effective though it should have a good flowrate and be able to suck any nearby particles into the intakes. The Eheim 2080 has an advertised flowrate of 450gph, in reality it is probably much less than that. Now divide that number by two since the 2080 has two intakes and you will likely have around 150-200GPH per intake. Not much! Especially on a 180G tank. The 2080 is a better biological filter since it has a huge media capacity and a slow flowrate. But since you already have that sump to handle your bio load, I would look for a better option for mechanical filtration so you can have nice clear water. The Eheim 2262 would be a better choice IMO.
Your Proflex Model 4 sump will be fine for the 180 and is best suited to bio-filtration since you can cram an enormous amount of media into it. The sump should be able to hand what ever kind of bio load you throw into your tank. Also, the water that feeds into a sump is generally drawn from the surface via overflows and suspended particles in the water have to be near the surface to get sucked into that overflow. I've found, at least in my tank, that they have a hard time getting to the overflow and making their way into the sump.
A big canister filter with an intake near the bottom of the tank does a much better job of mechanical filtration. To be effective though it should have a good flowrate and be able to suck any nearby particles into the intakes. The Eheim 2080 has an advertised flowrate of 450gph, in reality it is probably much less than that. Now divide that number by two since the 2080 has two intakes and you will likely have around 150-200GPH per intake. Not much! Especially on a 180G tank. The 2080 is a better biological filter since it has a huge media capacity and a slow flowrate. But since you already have that sump to handle your bio load, I would look for a better option for mechanical filtration so you can have nice clear water. The Eheim 2262 would be a better choice IMO.
My 180gal is now a ray grow out. On it I have an oddassy 700, fx5, 40gal sump. On it alone it has about 2300 gph. Then I have it linked via the sump to a 125gal. The 125 gal has to pro 3 canisters but they only have one intake each. I have some live plants in that tank and have some peace lillies on it. So combined with those 2 filters the whole system has about 2900gph. One pro 3 pull water from the 180gal and puts it into the 125gal. The 125gal has a hob overflow that puts it down into the sump. The 40gal sump has 2000gph running through it. It is filled with bio balls, pot scrubbies and sponge filters. I also have misc power heads around in the tanks. I do weekly to by weekly WC but that is just to get more minerals in for the plants as my nitrates never go above 10ppm.
I have one 9" Leo in my 180gal and 12x 12-18" gars in my 125gal. Once all my gars are sold if the 125gal doesn't sell I am going to turn it into a fully planted tank to act as a huge filter for my main display.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I have one 9" Leo in my 180gal and 12x 12-18" gars in my 125gal. Once all my gars are sold if the 125gal doesn't sell I am going to turn it into a fully planted tank to act as a huge filter for my main display.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I have a2080 on my 180-with a classic 2217 and an Otto 2000lph.
All I can say is one thing I have learned from listening to the advice given here.....just because it is given and stayed with absolute confidence don't mean it actually works...listen, try it for yourself and make your own judgement...I took a lot of words for gospel, did exactly what I was told to find I had wasted time...and money in some cases.
Advice included the classic "have inlets and outlets at opposite ends" which you can find people advising here and ask over the internet....I find this setup crap...I read the eheim website the advise have them at same end so I tried that...it worked
Works great....one it's configured right...one thing I got from a user here was with the 2080 have BOTH inlets at same end then place the outlet where the eheim manual says outlet at same end add inlets pointing at the water surface causing nice circular flow.
I asked some questions along the same line as this when I was setting up my 2080-I got the same responses "buy a bigger canister" ""2080 can't do more than 125" "2080 only pushes 150lph"
First off,I tested the flow, my 2080 is packed with eheim Mech Pro, and 2 trays of seachem matrix, I primed the canister and allowed it to flow into a20l bucket when I had at the same hight as my tank to simulate head loss...times the length of time to fill the bucket then did the maths (I am a mathematician by trade) I got 92% of the eheim quoted flow...
I will agree that the 2080 is not to hot on mechanical...if you want purely mechanical get a 2262 or if your in Australia a 2260 and mod it since they don't have the 2262 there...it is a$5 mod...
Sent from my HTC Evo 3D GSM using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
All I can say is one thing I have learned from listening to the advice given here.....just because it is given and stayed with absolute confidence don't mean it actually works...listen, try it for yourself and make your own judgement...I took a lot of words for gospel, did exactly what I was told to find I had wasted time...and money in some cases.
Advice included the classic "have inlets and outlets at opposite ends" which you can find people advising here and ask over the internet....I find this setup crap...I read the eheim website the advise have them at same end so I tried that...it worked
Works great....one it's configured right...one thing I got from a user here was with the 2080 have BOTH inlets at same end then place the outlet where the eheim manual says outlet at same end add inlets pointing at the water surface causing nice circular flow.
I asked some questions along the same line as this when I was setting up my 2080-I got the same responses "buy a bigger canister" ""2080 can't do more than 125" "2080 only pushes 150lph"
First off,I tested the flow, my 2080 is packed with eheim Mech Pro, and 2 trays of seachem matrix, I primed the canister and allowed it to flow into a20l bucket when I had at the same hight as my tank to simulate head loss...times the length of time to fill the bucket then did the maths (I am a mathematician by trade) I got 92% of the eheim quoted flow...
I will agree that the 2080 is not to hot on mechanical...if you want purely mechanical get a 2262 or if your in Australia a 2260 and mod it since they don't have the 2262 there...it is a$5 mod...
Sent from my HTC Evo 3D GSM using MonsterAquariaNetwork App