Ahh that makes a lot of sense. One of the guys at my LFS told me that a single FX4 would do the trick and to leave my power filters going to promote the growth of the b.b in the canister and said you mind as well leave them going. So what you are saying makes a ton of sense to me. As for stock right now I have 5 angles at various stages of life, 5 gouramis at various stages of life, 12 candy cane tetras a BGK that is about 4", a rope fish that is about 10" and a 3" Bushynose pleco. 2 Amazon sword plants and a bunch of hiding spots. My water parameters are Amonia 0ppm NO3 5ppm NO2 0ppm and my Ph is 7.2 I feel like the power filters do a good job but I want a great job especially because I know the BGK is going to get bigger. Any and all advice is appreciated as I do love learning about this amazing hobby.
Canister filters
- Thread starter Shukenukem
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I would use the hobs and the canister. Just make sure you keep up on the maintenance. ATM I have four filters so each week I clean one, makes it pretty easy in that regards. Also like you said fish are still growing so in time will need more filtration to keep up and bigger, more often water changes. In my case a single 6in cichlid and 6 3in or under spanner bards. The cichlid will double in size at least, the barbs will too. So I may just toss on another AC and FX when I get there.
Yeah I do mine every other week right now so adding a FX 4 would make life slightly easier. I just picked up a python been doing all my changes via siphon and bucket so this will make life so much easier in terms of changing the water. Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it. Helps ease my anxiety over what to do about filters.
'You can never have too many filters' isn't absolute, there are other considerations. One is power consumption, beyond whatever level of filtration does a good job, how much do you want to add to your power bill for redundancy? Another is that the beneficial microbe colony in your filters, etc. adapts to-- is limited by-- available nutrients. In other words, you could have ten FX4s on your tank and your beneficial microbe colony won't be any bigger than what's supported by the available nutrients. More filters simply means the same number of beneficial microbes is spread across more filters.
I'm not saying extra filters are bad; for example, it's always nice to have an extra running filter or two to start up an extra tank, if one needs repair, etc. and two filters on a tank mean you can do a major clean on one and the other won't be disturbed, but there's a point where more filters becomes redundant and adds cost with diminishing returns.
I'm not saying extra filters are bad; for example, it's always nice to have an extra running filter or two to start up an extra tank, if one needs repair, etc. and two filters on a tank mean you can do a major clean on one and the other won't be disturbed, but there's a point where more filters becomes redundant and adds cost with diminishing returns.
What are the benefits of sumps? I've read a lot and everything I've read says canister over sumps. No one has yet to chime in on sumps however and I am open to all suggestions.
How much electricity is even worth caring about? A fluval FX 5/6 will use less than 50w, here that's only about $9/month. At the average US power cost that's only $4.50. I guess over a year that would save me enough to fill up my car once...
Sumps are actually by far better due to the fact they greatly increase the water volume.
The simple solution to pollution is dilution
The draw back is just more weight. Tho you can plumb them to from wherever you want so you don't have to add the extra weight where your tank is already.
I just live in an apt. So it's easier to use canisters and hobs.
The simple solution to pollution is dilution
The draw back is just more weight. Tho you can plumb them to from wherever you want so you don't have to add the extra weight where your tank is already.
I just live in an apt. So it's easier to use canisters and hobs.
The point is: multiply that by how many extra filters? Or are you telling me you leave lights and TV on all night because 'how much electricity is even worth caring about?' As I already stated, I'm not saying to skimp on filters or don't have any extra capacity, but there is a cost to running them, so how many extra filters do you need or want to run? Well, that's up to you, I'm not critiquing how many filters you run on a tank. But pointing out that they don't run for free is valid, factual, and part of the equation for some people.
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