Filters with the lowest maintenance
- Thread starter 1commander
- Start date
I have a 180, i do it once every 2 weeks, about 30-40% of my 180 gallon tank. works VERY well. just sucks because i dont python my gravel, so there is alot of crud in there
Zeppelin3k;1151582; said:my ocean clear, without a doubt!!!! it has a hose hookup, so hook up a hose, and turn 3 nobs and it cleans itself right out. beats the wet/dry
Zeppelin3k;1151793; said:
How does that beat a wet/dry? I have my 300 on a drip sytem, wet/dry, and 2 powerheads. I went 4 months between changing prefilters (which took 2 minutes). I never do a gravel (sand) vac.
Yes a filter WILL eventually break down the excess food....ECT. but the point to mechanical filtration is to REMOVE that from the water...not just from the tank....the filter is really nothing more than an extention of your aquarium after all. if your not taking the junk out of it frequaltly...then by defination it's STILL in your tank and is still affecting your fish.
Heres another way of looking at it...you can collect up large floating pieces of junk in a net...then twist it off and leave it in the tank. It might LOOK a bit cleaner but it's not clean.
Heres another way of looking at it...you can collect up large floating pieces of junk in a net...then twist it off and leave it in the tank. It might LOOK a bit cleaner but it's not clean.
IMHO filter maintenance is dependent upon level of filtration and bioload not type of filter. If you don't have a lot of filtration on a tank with a heavy bioload then you will have to perform more maintenance.
For smaller tanks, I'd say Eheim cannisters (I have a 2217 on my 55G planted) and for big tanks, wet dry (sump).
1commander;1151572; said:
Waste in your filters is no better than waste in your tank.
Whether the waste is trapped in your filters or sitting in your tank it's still being broken down and turned into nitrates by your biological bacteria. You have to actually remove the waste from your system for it to stop affecting your water quality.
If the waste is all in your filter you have to clean the filter pads and maintain the filter to get it out of your tank. If the waste is sitting on the bottom of your tank you have to siphon it out.
The point is that no matter where it is you're going to have to remove it from your system somehow. The main benefit to having effective mechanical filtration is:
1. More asthetically appealing. Because the waste is in your filters and not the tank you don't see it.
2. Less siphoning. Because more waste is ending up in your filters you can simply replace the polishing pads or clean them.
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Don't let good filtration fool you into think your tank is cleaner. IF the filters are maintained regularly and properly this is the case. If you falsely assume that because the waste is not visible in your tank it is not there, and thus don't maintain your filters often enough it will only cause more problems rather than helping.
rallysman;1151804; said:
its hooking a hose up to my canister and back flushing it.... sorry i dont have a drip system and can not hook one up, maybe i could have my mom do all my maintenance, and then it would beat anything you ever do. sorry, but IMO, which i do have one if i am correct, but IMO, its the easiest filter to clean out of all of my tanks. I dont see how a wetdry could be much harder or alot more difficult, your not really fighting a fair fight. Apples and oranges
In terms of ease of use, filters with auto backwashing are clearly going to be easier to use than filters which require media changes even if those filters requiring media changes are open wet and dry filters.
Im experimenting with a filer which has an auto backwash facility at the moment. Its a pond pressure canister filter:
http://www.swelluk.com/pond/pond-filtration-24/pressurised-335/fish-mate-pressurised-pond-filters-599.html
The idea being that once every couple of weeks, as stated elsewhere on this thread, you can simply turn a knob and flush any solids suspended in the sponge prefilters within the canister. Doesnt even require the operator to get their hands wet let alone clean anything manually.
Backwashing like this delivers the additional benefit of providing a solids export path, as discussed, which would other wise be contributing to the bioload by their decomposition.
Im experimenting with a filer which has an auto backwash facility at the moment. Its a pond pressure canister filter:
http://www.swelluk.com/pond/pond-filtration-24/pressurised-335/fish-mate-pressurised-pond-filters-599.html
The idea being that once every couple of weeks, as stated elsewhere on this thread, you can simply turn a knob and flush any solids suspended in the sponge prefilters within the canister. Doesnt even require the operator to get their hands wet let alone clean anything manually.
Backwashing like this delivers the additional benefit of providing a solids export path, as discussed, which would other wise be contributing to the bioload by their decomposition.
