Okay, as stated I am looking for a mechanical filter only. Something I can hook up to the tank when I blow the fish crap off the bottom and let run for a few hours to clean the water. This is in a 315G tank. I have a feeling I am going to have to go with an Fx5 but if there is something out there that will do the job, I'd love to hear about it.
Mechanical Filter Recommendations?
- Thread starter BadOleRoss
- Start date
Fx5 seems like it would be a good choice because of the high flow rate. But what about just running a pump/powerhead hooked up to undergravel jets? This won't provide additional filtration but it will blow crap off the bottom so it will get picked up by your overflow.
We have an old AC500 HOB, same as an AC110, that we use for just that. We just stuff it with filter floss and let it run a few hours when we want to polish the DT and not set up the diatom filter.
For extreme mechanical filtration on our 300 gallon tank, we use two spa filters run off a Hammerhead pump. We love the results.
We have an extremely swift current in the tank, and the Hammerhead periodically spits out air. The plumbing for our mechanical system is also used for quick and easy water changes, with water quickly removed from the tank by gravity flow. We have a 55 gallon holding tank on a high shelf that's plumbed into the mechanical system. To add water to the tank, we simply open a valve. We also turn the water on in the utility sink which has a line up the the 55 gallon holding tank. We can very quickly pump water into the main tank via the Hammerhead pump.
You can see the water action in this tank refilling clip. Our fish love water changes
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/pacumom/Pacu/?action=view¤t=WaterChange.flv
We love our simple system so much, that we plan on using four large spa filters with two Hammerhead pumps in addition to two Ultima 2000s on the large tank upgrade we are doing.
The spa filters are 100% mechanical only, and do a really great job. We were told that the dirty filters could be bleached and reused, but we find it easier to just replace them with new ones when we start seeing particulates in the water.
We have an extremely swift current in the tank, and the Hammerhead periodically spits out air. The plumbing for our mechanical system is also used for quick and easy water changes, with water quickly removed from the tank by gravity flow. We have a 55 gallon holding tank on a high shelf that's plumbed into the mechanical system. To add water to the tank, we simply open a valve. We also turn the water on in the utility sink which has a line up the the 55 gallon holding tank. We can very quickly pump water into the main tank via the Hammerhead pump.
You can see the water action in this tank refilling clip. Our fish love water changes
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/pacumom/Pacu/?action=view¤t=WaterChange.flv
We love our simple system so much, that we plan on using four large spa filters with two Hammerhead pumps in addition to two Ultima 2000s on the large tank upgrade we are doing.
The spa filters are 100% mechanical only, and do a really great job. We were told that the dirty filters could be bleached and reused, but we find it easier to just replace them with new ones when we start seeing particulates in the water.
As far as undergravel jets, too late! It's a planted tank and I am not going to mess with the substrate at this point. A HOB wont work because the tank in a plywood tank and the lip on the tank is about 4 inches. I have not seen a HOB that wide recently. Pacu, love the spa filters and if I had a room that backed up to the tank I would install something like that. Great idea, I have looked at spa filters before. Guess I am going to have to go with the Fx5. I can get it for around $200 and it will be easy to take on/off between cleanings unless I can squeeze it under my stand which is doubtful.