Filtration for 180G - single Oscar

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Toady2moo

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 27, 2010
6
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NSW, Australia
I have a single 10 inch long oscar living in a 180 gallon (6 x 2 x 2ft) tank and am hoping to sometime in the near future do up his tank and maybe include some new filters. At the moment I have a medium size sponge filter (rated for a 240L tank) as well as two internal filters - 1400lph and 600lph in his tank and everything seems to be going well (don't ask me the parameters cause I need to get a new test kit) and Boscar has shown no signs of illness or stress in the three years he's lived in there.

I have a 1500lph canister filter that I got well over 5 years ago for a smaller 90G tank and has never been used (due to original tubing not been long enough and they have since disappeared) but I'm cautious about using it because I've heard mixed things about this brand, that the O rings and what not wear out quickly and spares for it are not too easy to come by here in Australia (plus finding tubing the right size and inflow/outflow may prove pricey)

I am not planning on adding any more fish to this tank due to the fact Boscar has always lived as a solitary fish and I fear that he'd attack and kill anything I put in there. What kind of turnover and filtration should I be looking at for when I 'do up' his tank? Please remember that we don't have a large selection in Australia and money is pretty tight. (I'm seriously tempted to get two 285G sponge filters and have one running at each end of the tank instead of the internal filters.)

Any suggestions more than welcome.
 
Three years in a 180gal and that Oscar is only 10"?

I would do two (2) FX5's with all six (6) trays of media for filtration. I'm not really of sponge filters for larger fish.



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I think he got a bit stunted as a young oscar living in a smaller tank. FX5's retail for roughly $500 here so a bit out of my price range
 
you should get a test kit and see if you have any ammonia issues, if you don't and your water clarity is good then i would be happy and leave it alone
 
Toady2moo said:
I think he got a bit stunted as a young oscar living in a smaller tank. FX5's retail for roughly $500 here so a bit out of my price range
Click to expand...

I agree with the fx5 or a eheim 2217 + otto.

You can get a new fx5 here for 400 they may drop soon due to the new model. They can be picked up online second hand for 250-350. gumtree-local fish forum.

2217 you can pick up online for 220$ and an otto for 50$

The least amount of filtration I would go is 1-2 x otto 2000 lphs.

In aus its much easier to pick items up second hand in good condition for a decent price vs buying new. I know nsw has a cichlid association they should have a forum.
 
Toady2moo said:
I think he got a bit stunted as a young oscar living in a smaller tank. FX5's retail for roughly $500 here so a bit out of my price range
Click to expand...

I bought an fx5 on amazon a few days ago for 265.

EBay has then new roughly same price.

I don't recommend them, but petco online had them on sale for 248. They were sold out last I spoke with them, but may have gotten more. I would recommend the other two places first.

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CaymanMoon said:
I bought an fx5 on amazon a few days ago for 265.

EBay has then new roughly same price.

I don't recommend them, but petco online had them on sale for 248. They were sold out last I spoke with them, but may have gotten more. I would recommend the other two places first.

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Click to expand...

He is not in the US. Hints why he said "here".
 
CaymanMoon said:
Yes, but I figured eBay and amazon ship international. I buy stuff from Australia n China all the time. Maybe I'm wrong though. It's quite possible, happens often :)

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Click to expand...

Amazon only sells certain items to us, the whole trade system down here sucks.

Here are some links to good online shops in aus that are the cheapest imo.

http://www.thereefshop.com.au/ <---- Mainly for saltwater but they do have a good range of freshwater + prices.

http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/ <---- Like a 2$ fish shop, lots of cheap unknown products and then they have the known brands too.

http://www.amazingamazon.com.au/ <---- Will ship to you and can price match online shops etc I buy my reptiles from here but they are good for fish supplies!

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/home.php <--- Lots of big known brands. Bens the best for large orders imo. flat shipping of 7% and he will beat everyone else's prices, His yet to let me down!

Theres a few more but these are the best IMO.

http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/forumdisplay.php/34-NSW-ACT <---- Second hand sale forum, I can already see eheim filters for 50$ on the first page in NSW.

http://www.nswcs.org.au/ <---- NSW cichlid society, they have auctions every 3 months I believe where you can buy fish/equip


I hope these help you out with the budget.
 
Thanks Squirtle, most of my aquarium stuff I got from Age of Aquariums, love the flat shipping fee cause I looked at a site for a new test kit and they wanted $15 just to ship a kit!!

CaymanMoon, the problem with buying from the US is that a $50 filter might cost $70 or more to ship here - then there's the issue of having to buy a power converter because we run on 240 volts, not 110.
 
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