What filtration would you use?

[J.C]

So I’m setting up a 75 gallon tank soon I already have a 65.This tank is going to be in my main tv sitting area it’s going to be a planted Barb tank.

the filtration I plan on using is the biomaster Thermo cannister I have my reasons for going this route.

so my question is what would you use?

I know the general consensus is you want to have the very least x4 gph more for a planted tank.

I’m looking at either running a 600(350gph) or x2 350’s (300gph) I know you need to half these gph #’s after adding media and head height.

I feel with the 600 I’ll have more than enough space for my media & bioload if packed correctly the issue would be flow & circulation I don’t think I would have that issue with x2 350’s I would alleviate this problem by adding x1 two if needed wavemakers to up the flow.

im so on the fence in which direction to go 

do I go with x1 600 and one or two wavemakers 

or do I go with x2 350’s 

these filters are not cheap so money is a consideration 

I spoke to my LFS 

thermo version he can get me a 

For $170 difference between the x1 600 vs x2 350’s 

With a $170 difference x2 decent wavemakers would probably run about $100 so let’s say overall x2 350’s would run about $70 more after adding x2 wavemakers to the 600 set up 

I need some opinions on what direction you guys would go in I’m really on the fence in which direction to go!

 

Thank-You

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pepere]

If money is not a limiting factor I would get all my flow from the canister filter and not wavemakers.

Simply put, wavemakers intrude in the tank more. They introduce more opportunity for current leakage into the tank, and I was continually having leaves and vegetative matter suck up to the grids and foul the impellers…. I was not a fan and removed them from my tanks…

I originally installed them to try to keep co2 bubbles from diffuser to stay in suspension longer…

I swapped out to an inline diffuser and a spray bar going from the back of the tank to the front locating the bar below water level.

 

with the inline diffuser and spray bar I notice the bubbles less as they get absorbed more before getting into the tank, and those that get injected in the tank stay in suspension well as water hits the front panel descends and goes along bottom and back up to top rear.  I see a rotating current of mist bubbles…

 

I have a Fluval 207 on a 29 gallon so flow is well under the 10 xs rate, but it seems to hit all the checkmarks I care about.  Plants all gently wave, plants are growing well, Algae under best control I have had …. I dont know what more flow could do for me than what I have now…. I know it would cost a lot more to set up and torun….

[J.C]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:23 PM, Pepere said:

Simply put, wavemakers intrude in the tank more. They introduce more opportunity for current leakage into the tank, and I was continually having leaves and vegetative matter suck up to the grids and foul the impellers…. I was not a fan and removed them from my tanks…

I was thinking the same thing even though I have x2 wavemakers on my 65 they are tucked away one on the bottom and one up top they do tend to suck up the leaves and such.I really don’t want to have wires and such hanging in the tank if I can avoid it.The 65 I live with it’s in my kitchen but this 75 will be front and center as soon as you walk into my tv area so I want to keep as much stuff out of the tank as I can.Thus the reason I’m going with a cannister I originally was thinking of going hob’s just because of the pita cannisters can be to clean then my lfs mentioned the Oase with the ease of cleaning and the bonus of the integrated heater I knew this was the direction I wanted to go in.

thanks for your advice and sharing your opinion I’m leaning towards going with the x2 350’s for just the reasons you mentioned among a couple of others 

yes it will be costly but I’m thinking if I can swing it this is my best bet!

Thank-You

[Pepere]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:35 PM, J.C said:

Thus the reason I’m going with a cannister I originally was thinking of going hob’s just because of the pita cannisters can be to clean then my lfs mentioned the Oase with the ease of cleaning and the bonus of the integrated heater I knew this was the direction I wanted to go in.

I know canisters have a reputation for being miserable to clean..

I don’t get it myself.  I had a seachem Tidal hob that I was not at all impressed with…. A filter isnt going to filter if the water bypasses the filtering media all of the time.. In my opinion it was a huge waste of money given the bypass issue..  and flow is concentrated in a single area..  

 

I bit the bullet of the Canister filter when I installed co2 for better flow control and keeping the bubbles in suspension and distributed throughout the tank.  The combination of canister, inline diffuser and spray bar works wonderfully on all counts for me.

 

as to cleaning it..  I have seen the videos where people dont clean their canister filter for 6 months.. yep.  That looks unpleasant.  The owners manual calls for every month.  Takes me about 10 minutes doing it monthly…. There isnt all the gunk I see on waiting 6 months…. Iwould rather clean for 10 minutes every month than for an hour every six months myself.

 

The integral heater on the Oase would concern me on a few counts.  The ease of damage to the glass heater in the powerhead when servicing it if you bump it, drop it etc, and being dependent on a single manufacturer for your heater to go with your canister…

 

One could go with an inline heater installed on a hose from the canister..

I personally like the Aquarium Co op heater myself controlled with an inkbird.  Lights are off on heater except when heating.  Coop thermostat acts as a backup shut off of heat if Inkbird were to fail in on position. The short squzt box of the co opheater allows me to place it low in the tank and not worry about exposing it during a 50% water change,…

 

I do like the prefilter on the Oase, but geesh, I spend 10 minutes a month servicing my Fluval…. At 10 minutes a month, how much time can you save?

[J.C]

Thanks for your opinions.You are absolutely Correct when it comes to cannister maintenance 10 minutes once a month yes would keep it clean and less of a chore.Im being perfectly honest I have one cannister already that I sometimes let it go longer than I should which makes it the pain that it can be sometimes I love the idea of the pre filters on the Oase.

Im not too worried about damaging the heater as I’m used to the built in accessory as my cannister is an aquatop so I have the built in uv so I’m used to removing the head with the tube in it but point very well taken 

with the pre filters on the Oase I cannot see myself opening the cannister up all that often especially with x2 running if I go with x2 350’s essentially splitting the load in half 

I did take a peak at the aquarium co-op heaters those are pretty neat I really like the temps displayed digitally the only thing is the highest wattage that I saw unless I missed it was 100watts correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t I need at least a 300watt heater for a 75 gallon tank I know the 350’s only have 200 watt heaters installed but I’ll be running x2 of them 

all very good and valid points it’s always good to hear someone else’s perspective on things whether you agree or not it helps you look at things in a different light.

that’s the beauty of this hobby as much as we think we may know we are always learning something new.

thanks for sharing your thoughts on this subject 

 

 

 

 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/10/2024 at 6:06 PM, J.C said:

I know the general consensus is you want to have the very least x4 gph more for a planted tank.

I tend to be closer to x6-x10 turnover.

I can tell you from experience that you might want to have two canister. Just the way they work is a bit funky and it's not as straightforward on a 75G tank.

I'm running a 407 and I have the spray bar on end right now. Meaning, the flow has to go across 4 foot of tank then to the bottom, then back 4 feet into the intake.  The intake is extremely weak despite somewhat sufficient flow.

I did try a full spraybar across the back of the tank, but a single 407 would not cut it with regards to pushing enough flow across that distance.  Having both intake strainers in the corner or one in the middle and one in the corner would give you the ability to have two, 2 foot long spraybars and balance the output very well to give you good circulation.  You can even better split out the CO2 diffusion that way as well by using one tank with two outputs and dual in line diffusers.

For the sake of no dead spots. I don't think a single canister, definitely not a 407, works on a 75g 4 foot long tank. 40G maybe, but not a 75G.

Hopefully that helps.

[Pepere]

On 1/10/2024 at 10:25 PM, J.C said:

I did take a peak at the aquarium co-op heaters those are pretty neat I really like the temps displayed digitally the only thing is the highest wattage that I saw unless I missed it was 100watts correct me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t I need at least a 300watt heater for a 75 gallon tank I know the 350’s only have 200 watt heaters installed but I’ll be running x2 of them 

Heater requirement depends on a lot of variables.  Temp of water desired, temp of room tank is in, lid or not, other electrical devices in and on tank.

 

I run a single 50 watt heater on my 29 gallon tanks in a 69- 70 degree room.  I have 2 Finnex planted plus lights on top running at fairly high intensity for 9 hours a day and a Fluval 207 canister filter. I also keep a lid on my tank.  The controller turns on the heater when temp drops to 74 degrees and turns it off when it reaches 76.  
 

in this setup, 50 watts is completely adequate.  But, you can always run 2 or even 3 heaters if needed.. There are advantages to running multiple heaters rather than a single.  More even heat distribution in a tank.  If one fails in off position and fails to heat you still have another 1 or 2 heaters preventing the tank from getting too cold. If one heaters stay stuck on, you are far less likely to cook your fish from overheating.

I intend to get a 75 gallon tank at some point in the future as well, and my plan is to try two 100 watt heaters and see if that is enough or if it needs more. As for filtration, I am thinking either 2 Fluval 407s with spray bars and inline co2, or a single FX4 with spray bar and inline co2.  I can not personally see extending beyond monthly canister maintenance even if I was running an Oase with the removable prefilter as I swap out Purigen packets every month.  I keep 2 packets per canister filter.  I keep a clean recharged 1 in my fridge immersed in water in a plastic tub to replace the one coming out and recharge that one to prep for next month.  I also put fresh polishing pads in every month and like to clean the impeller and impeller well once a month and the glass lily pipe inlet.  I cant see myself going for a longer maintenance schedule on those other items so I would still be popping the Oase open every month.  As such the removable prefilter feature has less utility to me.

I also agree there are many different practices and don’t imply that mine is the right way to do things.  Just the right way for my tastes.
 

[SupersoNick95]

I am of the belief that once you get past about 30-40 gallons canisters are your best bet. I run a cheap sun sun canister on my 40-gallon Tanganyikan community and I barely need to clean it. maybe once every 4-5 months. 

I would love one of those biomasters though. The internal prefilter is a great feature