A new filter

[Easykill1978]

Hi,

I have a 15G (53L) freshwater fishtank. I have been considering a 3 stage canistor filter from aqua one (does 500L/hr). It states that it is suitable for fishtanks from 50~100L.

Would that be ok to use in my tank? (by my calc at optimal level of perfomance i would cylce the water thru the filter 8~10 times per hour..)

I want to replace my internal filter, also want to use it to suck the crap out of the tank (clean the substrate) and then clean the mechanical filter, at the moment to properly clean my soil i loose around 40% of my water which is way too much. But I will still replace water in my tank (around 15% per fortnight).

PS Is that too fast, the filter will be mech, biological, biochemical...?

 

[Igor The Cat]

I would recommend an Aquaclear 30, and clean you substrate with a Gravel Vacume.

All Filters are Biological from helpful bacteria growing on the media, be it gravel (a UGF or RFUGF), floss (Most filter types) which also provides Mechanical filtration, or a Chemical media (Carbon, etc..)

I believe the Aquaclears now ship with a reusable sponge for Mech., Carbon for Chem., and some ceramic dedicated Bio. media. but im not 100% sure on that as i havent bought one in a while because they last forever.

cheers

-Java

 

[Easykill1978]

i do have a gravel vacum, it just sucks a lot of water out...... that is why i tought of the canister filter,, will look for one, i just dont like bubbles in my tank or water falling in it (i have live plants.. )

 

[Igor The Cat]

You shouldnt need to Vacume ALL of you substrate every W/C so maybe you need to get a smaller Vacume. Also with a HOB filter like the Aquaclear you can fill up the tank to the point that the water from the filter is not dropping down into the tank, But unless you have sensitive plants that require as much C02 as possible a canister is overkill for this size of tank, not to mention there arent many good canisters for this small a tank (the Ehiem Ecco is the only one that comes to mind)

For a year or 2 I ran a 10gal medium light (1.7wpg) planted tank with a AC30 and injected DIY CO2 directly into the filter intake and as long as i kept the water level up it worked fine.

cheers

-Java