Tank and filter setup

CICL

Jack Dempsey
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Apr 26, 2008
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Hi guys. Just wanted to know what setup you have for your aros. Especially for filtration, number of filters, brands, media used, turnover rate etc. Was running 2 canisters at 2000L/h each for a 500l tank. Roughly a turnover rate of 8 times per hour. Any brand you would recommend?
 
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tlindsey

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Hi guys. Just wanted to know what setup you have for your aros. Especially for filtration, number of filters, brands, media used, turnover rate etc. Was running 2 canisters at 2000L/h each for a 500l tank. Roughly a turnover rate of 8 times per hour. Any brand you would recommend?

islandguy11 islandguy11
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mrrobxc

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I have mine in a 600 and have a 125 gallon sump with Poret foam for my mechanical filtration and a ton of Seachem matrix for my bio. The pump is 4000 gph. I have an Ultima 2000 pond filter paired with the sump that handles the bulk of the bio that is paired to another 4000 gph pump. I run two powerheads as well. I forget the lower rating on them. I have a ton of flow.
 
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islandguy11

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Here's what I have on each of my two 325g/1,230l solo Arowana Tanks:
-- 1 X SunSun 704a (no UV). Each canister is level with its tank so not losing much flow from head pressure. They've got one medium course sponge pad and the rest is filled with Ehiem Substrate Pro and OF (Ocean Free) 3DM Tetris media. There's a coarse pre-filter sponge on the intake.
-- 1 X 15-tray (3 levels) Asian-style overhead shower filter. These have medium & fine filter pads plus Substrate Pro, 3DM and also Azoo Active Filter 4 in 1 media.
-- 1 X 36 watt UV sterilizer (which should and eventually will be upgraded to 55 watt units).
-- The OHF and the UV are fed by a 12,000 liter/hr DC pump in the tank, and has a coarse sponge pre-filter on the intake. This pump is dialed down to about 1,800 l/hr for UV and about 2,500 l/hr for the OHF (after taking into account some decent head pressure).
-- 1 X quite big sponge filter + 1 air disc, good back-up in case of power outages.

I also do daily waste siphonings on these bare bottom tanks, so all of my filters stay quite clean -- even after 7 months no servicing of the Sunsun 704's they're really clean (proving canister filters don't have to be so-called nitrate factories).

I'd call the above filtration a bit more than sufficient for Aros' current size, but will likely need to be expanded in the not too distant future. I might try sumps for the first time, as they're certainly best overall, but not sure yet.

For canister recommendations Fluval FX6 seem to be most popular/reliable. Eheim users also love their dependable units. If cost to value ratio is important many are happy with their Sunsun 704's (which I suspect you might already have) and there's also a newer and bigger Sunsun HW-5000 with a claimed 4,600 l/hr and adjustable electronic control (though reviews have been somewhat mixed during 1 yr run production, esp. with regards to the joke 9w UV sterilizer). At any rate the 2 canister filters you have seem enough for a 500 liter tank imo but depends on your bioload.
 
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CICL

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2008
36
6
38
MU
Here's what I have on each of my two 325g/1,230l solo Arowana Tanks:
-- 1 X SunSun 704a (no UV). Each canister is level with its tank so not losing much flow from head pressure. They've got one medium course sponge pad and the rest is filled with Ehiem Substrate Pro and OF (Ocean Free) 3DM Tetris media. There's a coarse pre-filter sponge on the intake.
-- 1 X 15-tray (3 levels) Asian-style overhead shower filter. These have medium & fine filter pads plus Substrate Pro, 3DM and also Azoo Active Filter 4 in 1 media.
-- 1 X 36 watt UV sterilizer (which should and eventually will be upgraded to 55 watt units).
-- The OHF and the UV are fed by a 12,000 liter/hr DC pump in the tank, and has a coarse sponge pre-filter on the intake. This pump is dialed down to about 1,800 l/hr for UV and about 2,500 l/hr for the OHF (after taking into account some decent head pressure).
-- 1 X quite big sponge filter + 1 air disc, good back-up in case of power outages.

I also do daily waste siphonings on these bare bottom tanks, so all of my filters stay quite clean -- even after 7 months no servicing of the Sunsun 704's they're really clean (proving canister filters don't have to be so-called nitrate factories).

I'd call the above filtration a bit more than sufficient for Aros' current size, but will likely need to be expanded in the not too distant future. I might try sumps for the first time, as they're certainly best overall, but not sure yet.

For canister recommendations Fluval FX6 seem to be most popular/reliable. Eheim users also love their dependable units. If cost to value ratio is important many are happy with their Sunsun 704's (which I suspect you might already have) and there's also a newer and bigger Sunsun HW-5000 with a claimed 4,600 l/hr and adjustable electronic control (though reviews have been somewhat mixed during 1 yr run production, esp. with regards to the joke 9w UV sterilizer). At any rate the 2 canister filters you have seem enough for a 500 liter tank imo but depends on your bioload.

haha i am not suprised by your filter setup. We, asian people tend to go all in when doing things lol. but looks like yours, is overkill haha. asian style overhead filter you mean bakki shower like those used in koi ponds i guess. mainly for biological filtration with ceramic rod called bacteria house media. But then you'd have to pass clean water through the shower.

i did not use any mechanical filter. i was removing all solid waste everyday and doing 50-70% waterchange once every 2-3 days. my 2 canisters were cleaned once a year and still were not dirty. it depends on the location where you put the intake tube. i used to put it at middle level so it would not suck in solid waste laying at the bottom.
 
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islandguy11

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haha i am not suprised by your filter setup. We, asian people tend to go all in when doing things lol. but looks like yours, is overkill haha. asian style overhead filter you mean bakki shower like those used in koi ponds i guess. mainly for biological filtration with ceramic rod called bacteria house media. But then you'd have to pass clean water through the shower.

i did not use any mechanical filter. i was removing all solid waste everyday and doing 50-70% waterchange once every 2-3 days. my 2 canisters were cleaned once a year and still were not dirty. it depends on the location where you put the intake tube. i used to put it at middle level so it would not suck in solid waste laying at the bottom.
Actually I'm caucasian lol but it's probably irrelevant :) The OHF shower filter I'm talking about is this type as you can see on one tank:

GHXB New Tank Lid 5m2.jpg

Been meaning to put in some slabs of slate I've prepared, besides partially blocking the white bottom (big mistake) they'll give a bit more area for BB to grown (as I've put globs of silicone under them to keep them just a bit off the bottom so food/waste won't get stuck below them).
 
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CICL

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2008
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38
MU
Actually I'm caucasian lol but it's probably irrelevant :) The OHF shower filter I'm talking about is this type as you can see on one tank:

View attachment 1401464

Been meaning to put in some slabs of slate I've prepared, besides partially blocking the white bottom (big mistake) they'll give a bit more area for BB to grown (as I've put globs of silicone under them to keep them just a bit off the bottom so food/waste won't get stuck below them).
haha i saw you were in thailand and thought you were asian. my bad sorry.

nice clean setup. i thought that your OHF was more like a bakki shower which is highly effective with ceramic rod and that the water first went through your canister and then clean water to the shower.

your submersible pump has 2 outlet, 1 on the side and 1 on the top. but i dont understand the side 1. i believe the top 1 is connected to uv and OHF.
 
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CICL

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2008
36
6
38
MU
Actually I'm caucasian lol but it's probably irrelevant :) The OHF shower filter I'm talking about is this type as you can see on one tank:

View attachment 1401464

Been meaning to put in some slabs of slate I've prepared, besides partially blocking the white bottom (big mistake) they'll give a bit more area for BB to grown (as I've put globs of silicone under them to keep them just a bit off the bottom so food/waste won't get stuck below them).
686343ce31fac887508bbcb2149cd37.jpg


my late arow back in 2011
 
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islandguy11

Redtail Catfish
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Sep 17, 2017
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my late arow back in 2011
That was a beautiful Golden.

haha i saw you were in thailand and thought you were asian. my bad sorry.

nice clean setup. i thought that your OHF was more like a bakki shower which is highly effective with ceramic rod and that the water first went through your canister and then clean water to the shower.

your submersible pump has 2 outlet, 1 on the side and 1 on the top. but i dont understand the side 1. i believe the top 1 is connected to uv and OHF.
No worries -- actually I've lived half of my 52 years in Asia so maybe I'm kinda half-Asian lol. But my OHF is much smaller than a bakki shower set up. The main return of internal pump goes to a t-split, with one line going to UV and another to OHF, each of which has a separate return into the tank, they're not inline (because I want to be able to adjust flow rate of UV w/o affecting flow rate of OHF). The OHF empties down that grey plumbing hose, which makes it totally silent, while the UV return line on the side helps move most waste to one end of the tank for easy siphoning.
 
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