best mechanical filtration ?

[Toby_H]

And the winner is......^^^^^^^

Pond filters don't polish the water, Pool filters (cartridge & sand) can be large but are costly to run.

HOB's are limited by flow.

Canisters can have polishing pads so that's a plus (some are difficult to clean out tho).

Sumps & W/Ds can be set up to rival Diatoms...almost.

But diatoms have their problems too, they work so well that they clog up very quickly (their suppose too). So they are usually just used for final polishing of the water before returning it to the tank.

Dr Joe

.

Ya really think?? If a tank is dirty and you put a diatom filter on it the diatom will be clogged very quickly and will therefore be rendered useless… Diatom’s are great for fine tuning a well filtered tank… but to suggest it (alone) is a good mechanical filter is misleading… that’s not what they’re made for…

And if you put polishing media in pond filters they do polish water…

Questions like this are impossible to answer, because by adjusting details that were not set up during the original question you can drastically alter the “correct” answer…

 

[ronin_man]

lol guys i wasnt looked at starting a huge debate, i just wanted to hear what everyone has had luck with.
my situation is this i have a 150g filtered by a 33g sump(all bio) a Rena Xp4 and a AC110 i was wondering if i should replace to AC110 with something better suited to mechanical, i have found through experience with this set up that i have to clean my Rena about 3 times as much as my AC i have both set up with 2 different filter foams as well as 2 different polishing flosses.
i check my AC each time i clean my Rena and it seems like it has very poor mechanical filtration. the only thing that seams to need cleaned each time is the top filter floss as it cloggs quick in and filter i use it in.
right now i have this as the set up in my AC(from top to bottom)
Bigals brand filter floss
HBH brand polyfiber filter pad
Bigals brand foam insert for AC filters (smaller foam spacing that AC brand)
AC brand foam insert

any ideas on how to make my mechanical better in this filter or is this to much mechanical for the AC to handle?

any thoughts ?

heres some pics of the media in case you guys havent seen these or know of them.

 

[ronin_man]

bump

 

[arl]

MY settling tank worked great for me.

 

[cichlid2006]

i agree with Dr Joe that a diatom is the best mechanical filtration out there answering the question asked.
in my opinion the best and most efficient mechanical filter you can buy that is also practical to run constantly is a eheim classic as there is zero chance of bypass due to its design.

 

[Oreo]

I have come to love sponge filters. They're so cheap, easy to clean & do a fine job polishing normal good-condition tank water without any pre or post mechanical filtering needed. I use whole-house filter units with my own home-made sponge filter cartridges followed by my bio-filter unit, UV, and pump in that order. I'll put my water against anyone else's for consistently good turbidity levels.

Having said that, a well designed settling chamber with a bottom-drain to empty sludge easily is an awesome addition to any type of filter allowing for much longer run times between cleanings.

Commercial water plants typically use a coagulant (coagulants are available for aquariums) and settling tanks followed by sand filters of some sort.

 

[ronin_man]

i agree with Dr Joe that a diatom is the best mechanical filtration out there answering the question asked.
in my opinion the best and most efficient mechanical filter you can buy that is also practical to run constantly is a eheim classic as there is zero chance of bypass due to its design.

well im pretty sure my Rena Xp has a no bypass design as well as if i dont keep up on my cleaning my GPH goes for a real crap.

anyone have any idea about the AC110 set up?
anyone have any experience with just useing this filter for mechanical.
any help would be great.

 

[plecostic]

I use my AC110 for mechanical only with just two sponges. What I notice is even though from the outside, it doesn't look like it got much, but when I clean it, there's a ton of stuff it trapped and you can see just how powerful it really is. I would even say the AC's do better than canister for mechanical filtration which is why I use my canister for biological only.

 

[Oughtsix]

I have a Diatom D-1 which is a little smaller than the Diatom XL. A friend gave it to me about a year ago. After letting it sit around for a while I finally gave it a try one cloudy tank day. In a half hour the tank was clearer than it had EVER been before. There is nothing else I have found that will come close to them for water clarity...

EXCEPT for:


A Hayward EC40 DE pool filter. It has around 25 times the filter screen area of the Diatom XL. I have had mine for about 9 months and I am still on the first charge of DE powder. I was running it on a 1/8hp magnetic drive pump in my 110g tank... but the 110g sprung a leak on Monday. So now I am running it on my 35 Hex with a little QuietOne 3000 pump. I just connected up the 3000 tonight and it is running fine.

The best part... the Hayward EC40 is only about $220 on Amazon including delivery. Actually the best part is the incredible water clarity. Well actually the best part is the almost complete lack of any maintenance and cleaning I have had to do since I have owned it.

Pretty much all of the hassles of the Diatom XL filters are gone with the Hayward.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?457011-Canister

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?434493-Mechanical-filter-for-a-sump