the case for overfiltration

professor_rob

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2010
306
4
33
Brisbane, Australia
Now im just showing off. Rummynose tetras red color fades as water quality declines... through almost 3 feet of liquid nothing their noses are shining brighter than Rudolph's.

View attachment 1029906

I think this thread should have more posts than all the dirty tank threads combined. Lets see those tanks so clean any fish would be happy to call them home :cheers:
Nice pic.

Also note it is easier to over filter on smaller tanks. Chucking another canister on my system won't make as much different. I might have to try smaller micron filter socks (50 at the moment) and also thinking about adding purigen to one of my sumps. My tank uses 2 sumps. One has filter socks and an empty chamber I am thinking about adding the purigen to, that drains to a wet dry with all the bio media.


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mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
Im in the process of slapping a 40b under a 90g. I feel thats atleast a little excessive. Thinking about a trickle tower with a coarse bonded filter pad in the top drawer, followed by floss, and then About a*gallon of bioballs. Possibly a chamber of biomax under the bioballs underwater. Ive got lots of room to play in the 40b. Besides the tower, in the sump im gonna have 4 large sponge filters, 4 or 5 old box filters, some pothos growing emersed and a refugium for fry. Plus the mag 9 is going to be pulling through a large sponge prefilter aswell. I know the boxes and sponges may be unnecessary but I like keeping lots of them active for starting tanks. Or say an expensive canister on another tank decides to quit, I have a fall back, albiet an unsightly one.

Still on the fence about a UV

do you think this is adequate for a moderately heavy stocked african cichlid set up. Would you reccomend uv?
 

DB junkie

Gold Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jan 27, 2007
9,039
1,875
2,053
Iowa
Sponge and box filters? Under stocking?

I must be in the wrong place, I thought this was MONSTER fish keepers? Seems more like Midwest cichlid.... :ROFL: :nilly:
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
Dont knock box filters. They have their place. Ive got 4 filled with ceramic rings and floss. They polish the water incredibly well in small tanks. I can run several off a few watts, little to no maintenance. They work much better than small HOB filters with disposable cartridges that seem to have taken their place. I plan on keeping them along with the sponges in the sump more so to keep them seeded than to keep my cichlids alive. But they cant hurt.

Even a normally stocked cichlid tank looks overstocked to "normal people" lol

my goal is to keep water changes down to 1 large one per week. I dont wanna be doing them every single day.

Is the UV going to help with actual water quality or more so the visible "perceived" water quality or clarity? Alot of people say they are unnecessary in FW tanks.
 

spiff44

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Dec 20, 2007
924
68
561
Midwest
There are two ways to use UV.. sanitizing the water, or as a clarifier. (based on flow) If your running as a sterlizer then it also clarifies. Its very useful on any aquarium. Especially in crowded conditions... its pretty much the best single thing you can do to dramatically increase your tanks redox.
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2014
1,375
58
66
Wisconsin
Ok, thanks. Im going to look into what size would be appropriate for the 90. Im Thinking of running a small pump in a "loop" in the sump versus the main return, since im guessing contact time is what makes the uv do its job.
 
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