75 gallon or more - What kind of filtrations...

[Stewey]

I am curious to know what kind of filtration you are using if you have a 75 or more gallon aquarium. I have seen canister filters like an FX6 but I have also seen some people that have big tanks with a couple "hang on the back" filters.

What do you all recommend?

Thanks
Stew

 

[Jexnell]

Really depends on the individual and some other factors. The best filtration is a sump. The increased water volume and the personalization you can do for your specific fish. But it comes with a lot more weight of a second smaller tank under your main tank. So if weight is not an issue it is the best route to go.

With all that said, HOB's and canisters are the simpler route.
Hobs are easy to clean with everything right there. Thier draw back is they are noisy if you don't keep your water level high.
You see how the HOBs runoff ramp is actually touching the water, this cuts down the splash noise it makes greatly.

Canisters are generally really quiet as the returns tend to be underwater so you don't get the splash noise. But they tend to be the most difficult to clean. Having to disconnect the hoses, open it up, clean it, hook it all back up after cleaning.

Cans and sumps have the greatest risk of a water catastrophe. Where as Hobs has the least risk.
I live in an apt so weight is an issue for me so I use a combo of cans and hobs on my 125's.

 

[Stewey]

Jexnell,

Wow, thanks for such a thought after response. I have a couple follow up questions.....

Do you use HOB’s only for any of your big tanks or is it a combo of those and can’s?

What are your thoughts on the Fluval HOB’s?

Thanks
Stew

Really depends on the individual and some other factors. The best filtration is a sump. The increased water volume and the personalization you can do for your specific fish. But it comes with a lot more weight of a second smaller tank under your main tank. So if weight is not an issue it is the best route to go.

With all that said, HOB's and canisters are the simpler route.
Hobs are easy to clean with everything right there. Thier draw back is they are noisy if you don't keep your water level high. View attachment 1359041
You see how the HOBs runoff ramp is actually touching the water, this cuts down the splash noise it makes greatly.

Canisters are generally really quiet as the returns tend to be underwater so you don't get the splash noise. But they tend to be the most difficult to clean. Having to disconnect the hoses, open it up, clean it, hook it all back up after cleaning.

Cans and sumps have the greatest risk of a water catastrophe. Where as Hobs has the least risk.
I live in an apt so weight is an issue for me so I use a combo of cans and hobs on my 125's.

 

[Jexnell]

Jexnell,

Wow, thanks for such a thought after response. I have a couple follow up questions.....

Do you use HOB’s only for any of your big tanks or is it a combo of those and can’s?

What are your thoughts on the Fluval HOB’s?

Thanks
Stew

Ok so I have two 125's and a 55gal.
The 55 has two Aqua clear 50's
The 125's have a Fluval FX4 and an Aqua Clear 110.

Most people shoot for five to ten times turnover rate for thier filtration. Really depends on the stocking level.

Most manufacturers list the flow rate of thier pumps with no actual media in them to slow the flow rate. So take away about 30% of what they list, this will give you a more realistic flow rate.

So my 125's have a listed combined flow rate of 1200gph (gallons per hour) minus the 30% is 840gph or 6 turn overs an hour.

I have not used the Fluval HOBs. I do highly recommend the Aqua clear line of hobs. They don't have the stupid cartiges to replace all the time. They are very user friendly as in you can put what you want in it. Also the best part is you can get all of thier parts as replacement so never have to buy a new filter. Just new impeller or what have you. I dropped one of my AC50s, broke the main case of it. Ordered a new one for 10bucks and moved all the guts over instead of buying a whole new filter for five times as much.

 

[Jexnell]

A little clarification

Fluval makes a line of hobs named C2, C3 and C4. I have not used them.

If I remember right Fluval bought out the Aqua clear company and now makes those with the Fluval name on them as well as the Aqua clear name.

 

[Oughtsix]

Another benefit of HOB's is that they oxygenate the water which a canister does not unless you use a noisy spraybar on the canister.

After using HOBs and Canisters in the past I use sumps exclusively now.

 

[Zanzag]

O fix the aeration issue with canisters why not just place a sponge filter or even just have an airstone so the bubbles all meet the output.

 

[robcope]

Canisters can be used to aerate the water. Just point the nozzle so it agitates the water Both my FX4 and Cascade 1200 have adjustable outputs that can be pointed up to agitates the water, this aerates the tank as well as any HOB. I use both Aqua Clears and canisters. Both work great.

 

[NCHornet]

Sumps are great but usually used on larger tanks 100 gal plus, this doesn't mean they can't be used on smaller tanks, because they can. I love canister filters and use them on all my tanks under 100 gal and I also run them in combination with a sump on the 240. I have both the Fluval FX4 and FX6. These things can hold a ton of media and if setup right can result in pretty long periods between cleanings. Last week I finally purchased a SunSun 303B filter. I have been wanting to try one of these for quite some time now. It's not their largest filter but it certainly holds a lot of media as well. I was very surprised at how quite it is, much quieter than either of the Fluvals. I don't use the UV Light, and I doubt the gph is what they claim, but for the money I honestly feel it is the best bang for your buck. If this one lasts a decent amount of time I believe I would have a hard time paying the price for an FX filter again.
Later
NCH