Filtration method

R

Riss

Medium Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
93
0
0
Brisbane, Australia
#1
Im currently in the process of setting up a 48x18x20 75g mbuna setup and am in a situation with what type of filtration I should buy.

What would be better, Firstly I was thinking getting 2 Aquaclear 300's which would do 600gph.

Or would it be better to get an external canister filter that does the same amount eg. an Otto or a Sacem Marathon.

The only problem is I can only afford to spend about $180 australian or $120 american.

What would you all do in this situation????

Thanx
 

mike the zealot

mike the zealot

Large Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
608
0
0
46
Bend, OR
www.zealotron.com
#2
get an Eheim from www.aquatic-store.com . Heavy duty filtration, and he's got better prices than big al's sometimes =0

I got an Eheim 2213 from them yesterday for my 55g planted tank... $66.90 / 116 gph

for a 75 mbuna tank I would go with an Eheim 2217 @ $126.93 / 264 gph. Eheim rates it for a 160 gallon hehe.
600 gph seems extreme to me, even for mbunas.

the cool thing about Eheim's classic series is that there's no water that goes unfiltered. The other cool thing is the emerald plastic case. it looks dope! It's truly the hot rod of aquarium filters ;P
 

Somonas

Somonas

Superstar Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
2,061
0
0
46
O-town
www.myfishtank.net
#3
2 Aquaclear 300's would do the job nicely, as would a single aquaclear 500.
If you would like redundancy and have a bit of extra money to spend an aquaclear 500 and an aquaclear 300 would make an excellent team on a 65.

A canister might be a bit out of your pricerange, but the eheim classic series (22xx) are very good filters.

I have a heavially stocked african cichlid 65 gallon with an aquaclear 500, a 150, and a mini.
 

R

Riss

Medium Fish
#4
Oct 22, 2002
93
0
0
Brisbane, Australia
#4
Oh ok...someone told me that 2 ac 300's wouldn't be enough. I thought that was a bit crazy.

Do the aquaclear's make much current in the tank??? Or too much?? I heard that ac's aren't very good if you have sand subtrate because it can get sucked into the ac? i dont know..just something i heard
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

Superstar Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
2,614
0
36
Sin City, again...
#6
i like the idea of a mixed filtration set-up.i always go overkill on filtration.mix and match what you can find.most canisters are very good a bio-filtration and you could use that as your primary filter and use 2 power filters such as the ac 300's for current and extra mechanical filtration,although ac's are good for bio too.many people can tell you where to buy a filter online but with you being in australia it could be very hard to find some one who would ship to you without the shipping cost totaly blowing the savings away.also if they are avalible to you i would check out the via aqua canister,very similar to an eheim but without the cost and the flow rate is higher as well.i like high flow rates,makes better currents.
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

Superstar Fish
#9
Oct 22, 2002
2,614
0
36
Sin City, again...
#9
wow! two via aquas that mad filtration.personaly i would but like i said i'm one for overkill.the via aqua filters 350 gph so two would be about 700 gph.thats almost 10 time per hour as a turn over rate for tank volume.what does it cost you fo a via aqua?if the price is abuot the same as in the u.s then it would be a good buy. here in the u.s. bigal's just had a sale on via aqua products the via aqua canister was 70 dollars u.s. so as long as the exchange rate and the price are about the same that would be a great deal.
 

R

Riss

Medium Fish
#11
Oct 22, 2002
93
0
0
Brisbane, Australia
#11
I think I should go with the 2 ac 300's. Im just worried about the sand getting in and ruining the filter.

If I could afford it I would get 2 via aqua's....maybe I could just get the 1000Lph one first...(that should be enough for now???) and save up for the next one??
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

Superstar Fish
#12
Oct 22, 2002
2,614
0
36
Sin City, again...
#12
nah, the 2 ac 300's are good if you like. the price between the 300 and the 500 isn't too much.and the ac's are pretty mellow as far as noise and current so even if 2 500's is overkill it's no big deal.plus ac's have and adjustable flow rate so you can back it down if you like.i like to have a lot of filtration but at the price of the via aqua i would just wait for a better deal.if you want sand just use a pre-filter.you can make one out of any foam that hasn't been treated with chemicals.just choose the sponge based on how coarse the sand is.
 

R

Riss

Medium Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
93
0
0
Brisbane, Australia
#15
A fluval 404 goes for $230 au!!!! way out of my price range... and the ac 500 goes for $128.15 au.....so I'm just going to get the ac 500 at the moment...that should be alright for juve's for now yeah???
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

Superstar Fish
#16
Oct 22, 2002
2,614
0
36
Sin City, again...
#16
jeez man you guys really get the screw there don't you.what's your current exchange rate.for$120 u.s. dollars you can buy some real nice filtration.an ac 500 costs approx.45 -60 dollars so i think who ever you get your stuff from is either the only guy in town or dosen't get a very good buy when he orders.the prices your quoting are phenominal!
 

R

Riss

Medium Fish
#17
Oct 22, 2002
93
0
0
Brisbane, Australia
#17
$120 us is approximately $183 aust. dollars. Yeah we are getting screwed with prices. The ac 500 for $128au is an online store so thats the cheapest you'll find one of those here in australia.

SO you see my dilemma!!!! I need lots of filtration but prices are outrageous here!!!

That's why I need the biggest bang for my buck!! SO any other ideas would be great.

$1 us = $1.6 au ....at the moment
 

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