need the experts help...lfs owner salesman or being honest???

[chuckblankenship]

So i went to my lfs today and got my water tested from my 55g tank with a peacock bass and a small cat fish. (I have a 180 gallon tank that im going to buy from my cousin for the bass tank and stand for only 400 bucks unbelievable deal i know, he just wants to get it out of his garage) anyway they said nitrites were really high in the water tested. Im sure its because the p bass has eaten like 50 Guppy's just this week. But the owner who tested my water suggested that i get a canister filter in replace of my hob filter for the 55 that my pbass is in to handle the bio load. Now i know that canister filters are great but I asked him what if i were to just purchase another hob filter to help with the bio load?

He told me that i might as well give my money away because even if i were to add another hob filter it wouldnt help. He insisted that a canister filter would really be the only option. Btw i currently have just a ****ty ass tetra ex70 filter. Even when i suggested i put two good hob filters in replace of my shiity tetra, he still said that it wouldnt help???

can someone please give me some help on this? Iwould love to have a canister filter for it, but i would rather add another hob filter to myy 55g so i can put my money towards the 180g tank stand and filters that my cousin has.

any input is appreciated thanks

 

[kallmond]

Bacteria grows on everything, it won't make that much difference if its in a cannister or a hob. Someone will undoubtedly recommend 2 AQ110's for your 55g, but anything you add will help. You could put a sponge filter in there, or a jar of ceramic rings inside the tank with a power head blowing through it.

I think your LFS guy was being a salesman.

 

[Toby_H]

you have been lied to...


Bacteria converts ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrate...

So in any mature tank, nitrite should not be a problem. Did you recently (within the last 4~6 weeks) add fish to the tank? If so it's simply a matter of waiting until the bacterial colonies build up. Simply do water changes to reduce pollutants in the mean time...


Bacteria will colonize on any sufaces in the system. In an HOB filter, a cansiter filter, on a sponge filter, on the substrate, the decor, the glass, the heater, the filter tubes, etc, etc...

A cansiter filter does/has nothing special that will cater to bacteria any better/different than an HOB.


It is true that your little Tetra ex70 is not enough filtration... but any additional filtration will be a step in the right direction.

 

[BrandonJ]

you have been lied to...


Bacteria converts ammonia to nitrite then nitrite to nitrate...

So in any mature tank, nitrite should not be a problem. Did you recently (within the last 4~6 weeks) add fish to the tank? If so it's simply a matter of waiting until the bacterial colonies build up. Simply do water changes to reduce pollutants in the mean time...


Bacteria will colonize on any sufaces in the system. In an HOB filter, a cansiter filter, on a sponge filter, on the substrate, the decor, the glass, the heater, the filter tubes, etc, etc...

A cansiter filter does/has nothing special that will cater to bacteria any better/different than an HOB.


It is true that your little Tetra ex70 is not enough filtration... but any additional filtration will be a step in the right direction.

 

[chuckblankenship]

well thats what i couldn't understand cause i said "how would it not help at all if i added another hob filter" and he just gave me this big drawn out reason as to why it wouldn't. but when he was finished i was just confused lol what would be a good hob filter that i could add to it for a reasonable price? like 40 or 50 bucks?

 

[chuckblankenship]

Bacteria grows on everything, it won't make that much difference if its in a cannister or a hob. Someone will undoubtedly recommend 2 AQ110's for your 55g, but anything you add will help. You could put a sponge filter in there, or a jar of ceramic rings inside the tank with a power head blowing through it.

I think your LFS guy was being a salesman.

what do you mean ceramic rings bc i am about to add a power head to the tank?

 

[kallmond]

I was thinking about those small ceramic rings the LFS sells as "bio media". drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of a peanut butter jar, fill it with biomedia rings, put the intake of your powerhead through the lid, and viola' instant bio filtration.

 

[chuckblankenship]

I was thinking about those small ceramic rings the LFS sells as "bio media". drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of a peanut butter jar, fill it with biomedia rings, put the intake of your powerhead through the lid, and viola' instant bio filtration.

r u talking about the stuuf you put in a canister filter?? and btw thats a genius idea lol

 

[dirtbikerider]

r u talking about the stuuf you put in a canister filter?? and btw thats a genius idea lol

Wow I really like that idea also... hmm i just mite do that

 

[kallmond]

yea, I think fluval makes it. Both the big box and my LFS sell it. its little (dime sized maybe?) white ceramic rings.

For the record, the peanut butter jar was not my idea, I saw it in a picture here onetime, and thought it was just about the cheapest way to possibly add a bunch of surface area. You could even throw a piece of filter floss in the bottom for mechanical filtration.