3 Canisters for 180G

[kevin007]

high levels of filtration is to keep waste off the floor of the tank... it does nothing to reduce the necessity of water changes nor to reduce the required frequency...

Water changes remove nitrates, excessive filtration does not... water changes adds minerals and such, filtration doe not... water changes removes organics which can lower PH (think tannins), excessive filtration does not...

That's almost like saying "My car is dirty, I had better get new tires"

I hope that didn't sound degrading at all... I typed it with a smile meaning for it to be humorous...

Yup, I understand, maybe keeping a tank very understocked will help.

 

[MurderedOut]

Running 3 Eheim Pro3e 2078's canisters on a 150-gallon, still do daily 50% water changes.

so you change out 75 gallons EVERY DAY!?


wow...so you go through 27,375 gallons a year?

is that necessary?

 

[Tom_cullen]

Running 3 Eheim Pro3e 2078's canisters on a 150-gallon, still do daily 50% water changes.

that soudns excellent but you must go through so much water conditioner ?
27,375 Gallons that is So much water! your bills must be sky high.

 

[sterling_mcdaniel]

but have you seen his fish??
I believe that is on his jaguar's tank (correct me if I am wrong)
But that fish is amazing!!

 

[Tom_cullen]

but have you seen his fish??
I believe that is on his jaguar's tank (correct me if I am wrong)
But that fish is amazing!!

i totally agree with you mate his jag is beautiful, but thats not what i was getting at. I was just pointing out his out goings on his fish must be so much! i mean if he earns enough good luck to him and i comend him.

 

[crisper]

2 fx5 and 1 Eheim 2217 sounds great. You could probabaly do fine with 1 fx5 and the 2217. So if you don't use your other fx5 i can take it off your hands for you.

 

[Aquafreak]

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but here's what I have found over the last 6 years with my 150.

I traded for 2 Eheim 2215's based on the wonderous things I had heard about Eheim Canister filters. I put them on the tank, and obviously it was not near enough filtration. I considered adding a XP3 or 4, but read negative things about the 4. I also considered the FX5 until the price tag slapped me right in the face. I'm not a huge fan of the canisters to begin with, simply because the gph reduces so quickly and they are difficult to keep clean (IMO). I remembered that I had 2 big Tetratec's on the tank when I first set it up, and they kept the water right on despite an immense amount of fish (I was an Aro addict at the time and felt I needed multiples of every kind, plus my wife's Gourami's and GK, catfish, etc.) In fact, I never had cleaner, clearer water since the Tetratec's.

Anyway, I have since added 2 Aquaclear 110's to the tank and finally have the water quality I had before...without the Eheims. But it hasn't eliminated or even decreased the amount of water changes I do. Filtration only helps to buffer toxins/unwanted waste in between water changes. In fact, most filtration will not dramatically reduce solid fish waste because the intakes are not anywhere close enough to the gravel, and that even holds true for undergravel filters.

Also remember that, biological population/action is dependent upon the amount of "food" a system can support/provide. Less food (ammonia, nitrite, etc.)= less microbial activity. Ornamental pond enthusiasts often refer to this as Biological/Ecological Balance. After a certain point, more filters don't necessarily mean more biological filtration...just more maintenance or more things to go wrong!

My 2 cents...and please correct me if I'm mis-informed!