Looking for filter advice

[Evan]

I’m presently running a Fluval 307 on a 55 gallon planted South American community tank. It just doesn’t seem to keep the water clear enough for my taste so I’m thinking about upgrading to a Fluval 407 or FX2. 
I would greatly appreciate thoughts, comments, opinions, etc. 
Current stock is Angelfish, Apistos, tetras, BN plecos, Ottos and Corydoras. 
Thanks!

[Zac]

It seems like you have a large bio load for that tank. I think upgrading it would help because of how many fish there are. Do you have an image of what the water looks like?

[nabokovfan87]

307 - 1150L (303 GPH)
407 - 1450L (383 GPH) .... increase of 20% over 307
FX2 - 1800L (475 GPH), .... increase of 36% over 307

Ultimately you're looking at a very slight jump in pump circulation.  One of the weird issues that is overlooked is that a 55G is that it's a 4 foot tank.  It's very hard to have a single input / output and to have that fully circulate the entirety of the tank.  I have no idea why the filters would be marketed for 330-500L, but the point here is that the shape of that aquarium matters as well.  (87-132 gallons)

If you decide to get the spraybar kit then you're looking at...

https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/shop/product/spray-bar-kit-for-06-07-canister-filter-15-30-30-76-cm
x07 series: 30 inches long (2 sections)

https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/shop/product/spray-bar-kit-for-fx-series-canister-filters
FX series: Extendable from 25-55″ / 64-140 cm (3 sections)

The main difference you're going to have to manage for your choice is the height of the 407 vs. the 307 and the general bulk of the FX2 vs. the 307. 

[Evan]

You’re right about the length of the 55 being an issue. I use two circulation pumps to keep the water moving. 
Admittedly, I had the aquarium overplanted and that was obviously part of the problem. Over the weekend I tore out all the plants except for a couple Amazon swords. Now I’m waiting for my nitrates to spike. 

You gotta love this hobby!

[Rewcolee1]

I’ve been running a 407 on my 75g for 2yrs now and I have been very happy with it. Mostly a SA community tank and it is planted. 

[Galabar]

You could consider adding in a Sicce Shark ADV.  I keep one in my 55 gallon and use filter floss in the chamber (which I change once a week).  It should help to collect any additional floating particles (if that is your issue).

[Evan]

Which model of SicceShark ADV do you use?

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/16/2023 at 4:56 AM, Evan said:

Which model of SicceShark ADV do you use?

There's two versions.  One is "the egg looking one" and I had that filter.  It broke on me the first time I tried to clean out the sponge.  There is a newer version which looks like this. 

https://us.sicce.com/en/products/filters/shark-pro.html

Marineland also has their magnum filters.

https://www.marineland.com/products/filtration-and-water-circulation/magnum-polishing-internal-canister-filter.aspx

[MattyM]

I agree a 2nd filter may be the way to go. You could put floss/poly fill, Purigen and some extra bio media in it. Will also help with flow. 

[Galabar]

On 8/16/2023 at 4:56 AM, Evan said:

Which model of SicceShark ADV do you use?

For the 55 gallon, I'm using the single compartment one: https://www.amazon.com/Internal-freshwater-saltwater-application-submerged/dp/B007GCFYEM.  I don't need the second chamber because my biological filtration is handled by a UGF.  However, this one (600) has slightly lower flow than the two compartment (800) version.

For my other tanks, I'm using the the two compartment one: https://www.amazon.com/Internal-freshwater-saltwater-application-submerged/dp/B007GCFYW4.

The great thing about these is the maintenance.  I have an extra lower compartment.  You just pop it out, dump the contents, put more filter floss in, and pop it back on.  It should take < 60 seconds per tank.  🙂

I'm not as big of a fan of the Pro model because it fundamentally changes the water flow.  The ADV is from bottom to top.  So, I can keep ceramic media in the top chamber and never have to change it.  For the Pro, each module has flow.  So, you have to change all of them.  Also, they all have sponge on the outside.  So, you are back to squeezing sponges, rather than just throwing away filter floss and adding new floss.

The Pro just doesn't provide the maintainability of the Adv.  They aren't even close.

Another negative I saw for the Pro is that folks have reported fish getting stuck and dying between the square back of the filter and the tank.

For me, Adv is definitely the way to go. 

You could imagine a large operation, like a fish store, where they have extra bottom compartments.  They put filter floss in all those, and just swap with the running ones.  You could probably change the filters on 100 tanks in about 30 minutes... 🙂  I'm not sure there would be any other cost-effective way of accomplishing the same thing in the same amount of time (or anywhere near it).

Edited August 16, 2023 by Galabar