50 gal set up... filtration?

[cmo1922]

I'm finally planning for the larger aquarium that I have wanted to set up for a while. It will be approximately 50 gallon (waterbox 3620 with the black stand) soft water aquarium with south American cichlids (likely Bolivian rams), a couple schools of tetras (perhaps lemon and rummy nose), some corys (thinking either sterbai or laser), and one small pleco (probably a clown but maybe something fancier like a long finned BN if I can find one). Substrate will be my standard, 50/50 stratum/eco complete capped with play sand. Lighting will be low to medium (fluval 3.0). Will have lots of driftwood and clay pots, and easy plants like swords, epiphytes, and crypts. There will never be CO2 (can't handle that growth!).

What I can't decide on is how to filter it. I don't want an UGF - plant growth wasn't great for me, and since I want a sand cap for the rams and corys, I don't think that will work out too well. I'm thinking of either 2 medium sponge filters at each back corner+ 1 HOB in the middle (aquaclear), or a canister.

I've never had a canister filter before. Thoughts on the sponges + HOB vs the canister filter? I would like something lower maintenance/easy to service. But seeing as I'm going all out with the waterbox and stand set up, with all that space underneath for a canister, I was thinking this could be my best opportunity to use one! May look sleeker too (though I anticipate the plant growth will make the sponge filters barely noticable if I went that route).

Also, recommendations  for a canister filter model? I like all things fluval but wasn't sure about their canister. Everyone seems to love the Oase on YouTube, but is that just Oase paying them to love it?!

Thank you for your time!

[NoCo tap water]

I like hob because they are easy to clean,  between the two. That being said I have 1 hob and 4 canisters because I like the directional flow you can get from canisters.

I have 1 sicce and 3 Chinese canisters. I have experience with an fx6 as well. The fluval and such are much better, but the Chinese ones are less than half the price and come with a uv.. Better in the mechanical filtration department, in my experience.

For hob I like the tidals, in tank pump outweighs everything else in my opinion. Plus a uv fits perfectly in the side of the seachem

The sicce would go great with what you described looks wise 

On 10/20/2024 at 10:26 AM, cmo1922 said:

I'm finally planning for the larger aquarium that I have wanted to set up for a while. It will be approximately 50 gallon (waterbox 3620 with the black stand) soft water aquarium with south American cichlids (likely Bolivian rams), a couple schools of tetras (perhaps lemon and rummy nose), some corys (thinking either sterbai or laser), and one small pleco (probably a clown but maybe something fancier like a long finned BN if I can find one). Substrate will be my standard, 50/50 stratum/eco complete capped with play sand. Lighting will be low to medium (fluval 3.0). Will have lots of driftwood and clay pots, and easy plants like swords, epiphytes, and crypts. There will never be CO2 (can't handle that growth!).

What I can't decide on is how to filter it. I don't want an UGF - plant growth wasn't great for me, and since I want a sand cap for the rams and corys, I don't think that will work out too well. I'm thinking of either 2 medium sponge filters at each back corner+ 1 HOB in the middle (aquaclear), or a canister.

I've never had a canister filter before. Thoughts on the sponges + HOB vs the canister filter? I would like something lower maintenance/easy to service. But seeing as I'm going all out with the waterbox and stand set up, with all that space underneath for a canister, I was thinking this could be my best opportunity to use one! May look sleeker too (though I anticipate the plant growth will make the sponge filters barely noticable if I went that route).

Also, recommendations  for a canister filter model? I like all things fluval but wasn't sure about their canister. Everyone seems to love the Oase on YouTube, but is that just Oase paying them to love it?!

Thank you for your time!

 

hope that helps!! 

Edited October 20 by NoCo tap water

[Beach Cruiser]

For my $$$:

HOB pros are initial cost & ease of maintenance.  Cons are equipment in tank/visible, limited filter media, limited placement options, non directional flow & low gph. 

Cannisters are pretty much the opposite. They are a bit more clunky to service, but when set up with the proper media you can easily go 4-6 months between a 15 minute cleaning. 

[Riiz]

How about a double-stacked nano or medium COOP sponge-filters with a powerhead sitting atop them in one corner?  And another filter such as a HOB or canister intake on the other corner depending on your budget.

I like running one sponge-filter in all aquaria, if you have a power outage or another filter pump dies, use a battery powered Coop air-pump to limp the bio-filter along. Or you need to seed a new tank, or start a hospital tank you already have a bio-filter ready to go.

[cmo1922]

Thanks for all the ideas! I love the idea of always having a sponge filter in there for back up. I will for sure do at least one no matter if I do HOB or canister. 

I think my biggest question with the cannister is maintenance compared to HOB as you guys are noting. HOBs are obviously very accessible and simple for maintenance, though I do typically maintain once monthly (not sure if that is a lot or a little compared with a canister). What should I expect for maintenance, say if I went with a fluval 307 for a 50g? @Beach Cruiser I would love to hear what Media you use to keep maintenance simple/less frequent.

Thanks!

[Beach Cruiser]

I use the original coarse sponges that came with the filters & fill the baskets with ceramic bio rings (any kind would work fine as long as it has a lot of surface area & doesn't clog up).

A pre filter sponge on the intake on the intakes catch any large stuff that would gum up the works. Keeping this fine filter on the outside is a big factor in reduced maintenance, imo. Just rinse it out at water change time.

Only If i do a major rescape, will i put some floss in the top basket for a week to polish the water if needed. Keeps the water super clean but will start to clog up in a month or so. 

I have two 406 series on a 100g & clean one of them every 2-3 months or so. Probably could go longer but i like to keep flow up & organics at a minimum. 

Edited October 25 by Beach Cruiser
Spelt rong. 😆

[MattyM]

I'd either go with a couple HOBS or a Biomaster canister. The Biomaster is very quiet, very well built (it has a handle!) and it's pre-filter compartment means you don't have to open the whole thing as often. If you get the thermo version, you can also use it to heat your tank.