Best filter?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
AC110 in that price range. Although you may need more. Throw in an under gravel filter and you have a great budget setup.
 
thx for the info, I now have ac110 on my wishlist :D
I dunno about the undergravel though, will it stand the weight of the rocks? And willit have any use under fine sand?

I also plan on having 2 sponge filters as a form of airiation and to growwhatever kind of bateria they grow.

I was wondering if one of those canister filters would work (in the price range)?
 
An undergravel filter has no place in a cichlid tank (or in any tank, in my honest opinion). They do not work with sand, especially fine sand, because it will fall under the plates and not allow any water movement through. Even with gravel, I think that they are crap and trap the very same. The poo and other waste gets stuck under the plates, requiring frequent tank break downs and high nitrates. Even in a reverse flow system, where powerheads are used to force water through the plates and the gravel, a bunch of fish crap (somehow... I am not sure exactly how) gets trapped underneath and creates a mess of decaying matter, making it impossible to keep the nitrates down.

I had a single betta fish in a 5.5 gallon tank with an undergravel filter. It was reverse flow (pushing water into the gravel bed from the bottom up) and I thought that it would keep the crap out of the gravel and on the aquaclear prefilter. I was wrong. One day, I had to move the tank, when I saw underneath it I was shocked "Is all that fish crap". I didn't believe it, but I removed the plates and the water turned a nice chocolate-milk-brown. This was just after 4 months with a single betta. He was on a limited food supply (in an effort to keep the water clean), had weekly to biweekly 75% waterchanges, and thorough gravel vacuumings each time.

I always had high nitrates, until I removed the UGF and got a cascade 80 filter, fitting it with some bluebonded and 5 or 6 ceramic rings from another tank. After that maintenance was a breeze and I got all the crap out of the gravel, easily and quickly.
 
tcarswell;2876905; said:
AC110 in that price range. Although you may need more. Throw in an under gravel filter and you have a great budget setup.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Add powerheads to the UG too as your budget allows.
 
wow_it_esploded;2877663; said:
An undergravel filter has no place in a cichlid tank (or in any tank, in my honest opinion). They do not work with sand, especially fine sand, because it will fall under the plates and not allow any water movement through. Even with gravel, I think that they are crap and trap the very same. The poo and other waste gets stuck under the plates, requiring frequent tank break downs and high nitrates. Even in a reverse flow system, where powerheads are used to force water through the plates and the gravel, a bunch of fish crap (somehow... I am not sure exactly how) gets trapped underneath and creates a mess of decaying matter, making it impossible to keep the nitrates down.

I had a single betta fish in a 5.5 gallon tank with an undergravel filter. It was reverse flow (pushing water into the gravel bed from the bottom up) and I thought that it would keep the crap out of the gravel and on the aquaclear prefilter. I was wrong. One day, I had to move the tank, when I saw underneath it I was shocked "Is all that fish crap". I didn't believe it, but I removed the plates and the water turned a nice chocolate-milk-brown. This was just after 4 months with a single betta. He was on a limited food supply (in an effort to keep the water clean), had weekly to biweekly 75% waterchanges, and thorough gravel vacuumings each time.

I always had high nitrates, until I removed the UGF and got a cascade 80 filter, fitting it with some bluebonded and 5 or 6 ceramic rings from another tank. After that maintenance was a breeze and I got all the crap out of the gravel, easily and quickly.
Click to expand...
Ok sorry your under maintained UGF failed :ROFL: You can always pop a cap and suck that crap out. A UGF is great with gravel I missed the part about sand so no it would not work. BTW if you vacuum your gravel enough (as I do ) then under your undergravel plates will be sparkling clean as mine have always been.
 
wow_it_esploded;2877663; said:
An undergravel filter has no place in a cichlid tank (or in any tank, in my honest opinion). They do not work with sand, especially fine sand, because it will fall under the plates and not allow any water movement through. Even with gravel, I think that they are crap and trap the very same. The poo and other waste gets stuck under the plates, requiring frequent tank break downs and high nitrates. Even in a reverse flow system, where powerheads are used to force water through the plates and the gravel, a bunch of fish crap (somehow... I am not sure exactly how) gets trapped underneath and creates a mess of decaying matter, making it impossible to keep the nitrates down.

I had a single betta fish in a 5.5 gallon tank with an undergravel filter. It was reverse flow (pushing water into the gravel bed from the bottom up) and I thought that it would keep the crap out of the gravel and on the aquaclear prefilter. I was wrong. One day, I had to move the tank, when I saw underneath it I was shocked "Is all that fish crap". I didn't believe it, but I removed the plates and the water turned a nice chocolate-milk-brown. This was just after 4 months with a single betta. He was on a limited food supply (in an effort to keep the water clean), had weekly to biweekly 75% waterchanges, and thorough gravel vacuumings each time.

I always had high nitrates, until I removed the UGF and got a cascade 80 filter, fitting it with some bluebonded and 5 or 6 ceramic rings from another tank. After that maintenance was a breeze and I got all the crap out of the gravel, easily and quickly.
Click to expand...
LOL your comparing a 5.5 gallon betta tank. Do you really want to have an UGF debate? If so start a new thread and we can battle it out. For now lets let the OP relax and get good suggestions. I admit it wont work for a sand substrate. But your findings are simply based on bad maintenance. :screwy:


Sorry about the hijack OP I won't post here any more as I have already given my advice. If this guy want's to argue you can read it in another thread. Best of luck with the AC110 try to keep the ac110 away from the bottom because of sand damage.
 
wow_it_esploded;2877663; said:
An undergravel filter has no place in a cichlid tank (or in any tank, in my honest opinion). They do not work with sand, especially fine sand, because it will fall under the plates and not allow any water movement through. Even with gravel, I think that they are crap and trap the very same. The poo and other waste gets stuck under the plates, requiring frequent tank break downs and high nitrates. Even in a reverse flow system, where powerheads are used to force water through the plates and the gravel, a bunch of fish crap (somehow... I am not sure exactly how) gets trapped underneath and creates a mess of decaying matter, making it impossible to keep the nitrates down.

I had a single betta fish in a 5.5 gallon tank with an undergravel filter. It was reverse flow (pushing water into the gravel bed from the bottom up) and I thought that it would keep the crap out of the gravel and on the aquaclear prefilter. I was wrong. One day, I had to move the tank, when I saw underneath it I was shocked "Is all that fish crap". I didn't believe it, but I removed the plates and the water turned a nice chocolate-milk-brown. This was just after 4 months with a single betta. He was on a limited food supply (in an effort to keep the water clean), had weekly to biweekly 75% waterchanges, and thorough gravel vacuumings each time.

I always had high nitrates, until I removed the UGF and got a cascade 80 filter, fitting it with some bluebonded and 5 or 6 ceramic rings from another tank. After that maintenance was a breeze and I got all the crap out of the gravel, easily and quickly.
Click to expand...
:barf::barf:

So undergravel ... does anyone have anything to say about canisters?
 
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