Matten Filter for 300 - Umbee or Amphilophus heavy stocking

[nzafi]

NW Cichlid Keith and Yoimbrian There is a formal calculation that goes into determining the size of matten filter needed. Here are the links. The aquariacentral link pretty much translates the german site. Just keep in mind there is a certain calculation for corner matten vs a regular matten filter.

https://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/hamburger-mattenfilter-hmf.79104/

http://www.deters-ing.de/Berechnungen/Berechnungen.htm#Mattengroesse

 

[nzafi]

I am really curious how this will progress. The reason I setup a HMF filter on my 180g was because I plan on setting up a 500-600g tank and was thinking of doing HMF on that to save on cost. Unfortunately my experiment came to an end due to disease and needing to sanitize everything (had to toss my poret foam).

U urodoji seeing you use these exclusively, you have any pros/cons against a sump? I think one thing that stuck out to me was that due to low flow there was significantly more build up of waste on the bottom of the tank. I had a bare bottom so it was very obvious. Not sure I would do that again.

 

[Yoimbrian]

N nzafi I did those calculations. For 3 turnovers per hour and 7.5 cm / min linear velocity I need over 7,000 cm2 of surface area. At 24" tall that would be about 48" long, almost exactly double what two of the corner filters provides.

I sent that math to Swiss tropical s and Stephen stated those recommendations are more for aquaculture where the tanks are WAY overstocked and they are powerfeeding, and that the two corner filters would be more than adequate.

So, like I said it almost seems too good to be true - but I can't find any examples of people that use them that don't like them....

I guess worst case I just drill and add a sump ...

 

[nzafi]

Stephen gives different advice from that website. He also recommends 3x turnover or 4 I believe, when that website is very specific about doing 2x turnover. He also recommends thicker poret foam vs that website recommends 2in. I don't want to discount his advice as he has run many many tanks and done experiments so has tons of experience. He definitely knows his stuff. When I researched HMF I want to a lot of german sites and found many folks sticking to the calculation in that website. There is german fella on this site that is running his 660g with a corner HMF based on that site.

 

[urodoji]

U urodoji seeing you use these exclusively, you have any pros/cons against a sump? I think one thing that stuck out to me was that due to low flow there was significantly more build up of waste on the bottom of the tank. I had a bare bottom so it was very obvious. Not sure I would do that again.

I chose to go this route because I’m frequently away from home for months at a time. Maintenance on a mattenfilter is as minimal as it can possibly be. No holes in the tank, no plumbing to deal with, etc. Heaters and media can be hidden behind them. It can run on air pumps, and works extremely well.

 

[NW Cichlid Keith]

The bracing on the walls goes 8" out, so one quarter of a circle with an 8" radius would be filter length of 12.5".

It seems pretty small to me, but that's what he suggested. I also think that is what JasonsPlecosCichlids used (based on pictures, he never stated it from what i see), so that's why I'd like an update from him.

you could also do a larger radius corner filter, but even 8" may look weird and be hard to hide.

I'm just so intrigued by the concept of it all, seems almost too good to be true to almost never clean a filter and still have clean water. Honestly the biggest selling to me is the electricity savings - using a small air pump instead of a large pump in the sump saves ~200 watts - about $400 / year where I live.

Yeah, I like the energy savings too - and no chance of leaking, plus another tank for Fish below Vs sump.

I have no doubt about the bio working - just not sure if it will be enough mechanical

 

[Yoimbrian]

I agree 100% - mechanical is my concern as well.

If it failed the only option without emptying the system and starting over would be a siphon overflow to a sump or pressurized filter - but that would negate the entire point of the matten (If im doing a sump for mechanical might as welll just do fluidized bed in sump for bio...).

And there just aren't that many people that use them on large scale that are commenting about it a year later....

So, you go first, I still have a few months

 

[NW Cichlid Keith]

I agree 100% - mechanical is my concern as well.

If it failed the only option without emptying the system and starting over would be a siphon overflow to a sump or pressurized filter - but that would negate the entire point of the matten (If im doing a sump for mechanical might as welll just do fluidized bed in sump for bio...).

And there just aren't that many people that use them on large scale that are commenting about it a year later....

So, you go first, I still have a few months

Will do - mine just came in and I'll get it up and running when I get back from Thanksgiving. I'll try first w/ just the Matten filter. If that fails, I'll try w/ a few internal pumps (BTW, the propellers move way more water than normal powerheads for the same amount of electricity) towards the bottom, pushing the debris to towards the Matten filter. If that fails, then I know the Matten filter will only work for small fish or non-display aquariums. I got one as well for my sons 10 gallon. It will be grossly overstocked w/ stuff he catches out of the creek, so that will be another test as well.

 

[nzafi]

Below are two links to large tanks. The first is a 900g tank with corner HMF and the second is the 660g I mentioned with corner HMF.

Both tanks look great and I would say mechanical is only a concern depending on how clear you want the tank to be. When I ran mind I didn't really have cloudy water at all, it was very clear. Will it be as clear as running 100 micron socks via 10x turnover, obviously not.

Don't underestimate how many of these setups there are. They just not are not populer in the US. In Europe and especially Germany they are extremely popular due to space constraints. I definitely would not do a bare bottom tank with this as alot of debris does settle to the bottom. I would avoid specific fish like plecos and rays. Plecos may ruin the filter and rays from what I hear need intense bio and mechanical.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/sponges-and-a-265.652989/page-3#post-7377081

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...as-aimara-and-self-bred-h-malabaricus.603193/

 

[nzafi]

Yoimbrian Did swisstropics tell you how he calculated the size he recommended to you? I am curious because based on the website my filters would need to run about 15in up the side which will take up a lot of room. Would like to get away with 10 or 12in instead.