Best Filter

Subject: Best Filter Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:04 am

In your opinion what is the best filter for aquariums? or what low cost filter is a good bargain?
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Subject: Re: Best Filter Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:02 am

Sponge filters are always good and cheap. I find power filters or canister filters work really well, too.
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I have been keeping aquariums most of my life. I have kept both fresh and salt water, cichlids, catfish, loaches, clownfish, wrasses, and everything in between. Feel free to ask me any questions!

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Subject: Re: Best Filter Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:04 pm

I looked at a number of canister filters, even the Fluval, and I bought the Rena Filstar XP3, their biggest which is rated to filter up to a 175 gallon tank. This was the biggest canister filter, provided the most filtration space I could find for the price, which was $120.00. It doesn't look quite as nice as the Fluval, but it's silent and functional, and has a bunch of baskets to put sponges, ceramic pieces for biological filtration, and bags of other mediums such as charcoal, Phoscheck, etc. I like the canister filters because they provide the capacity to do a lot of biological filtration, where most hang on filters mainly use pads of cotton-like synthetic material which in my opinion get clogged up quickly and don't provide the best kind of surfaces for beneficial bacteria to grow.

Subject: Re: Best Filter Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:08 pm

I agree with Fish Genius about sponge filters. They're cheap and can be attached to an existing filter to provide extra filtration, and they're made of a material that is particularly good for beneficial bacteria to live.

Subject: Too locked in with the HOB Whisper... Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:37 pm

Are there other systems out there as well that would work with some small home tanks fairly close together Question

I recall my grandfather growing and breeding killies out of the Passaic and Delaware rivers in a series of three 20gal long tanks in his basement. I had no idea what he was doing, but he had it primo like before any of this marketed stuff.

It seems to me I have a lot to learn on filtering.

The basis of what a circulated system that filters, maintains some water biology, and some corrective chemistry, has got to have a multitude of varieties.

May look into a three cannister system for a 75gal wild fish and frog etc tank with a small waterfall for my local park this summer, that runs off a 1/2 horse jet pump. Three cannisters being old 5gal buckets with lids.

My original question is for my 20L and 30breeder (which I don't use to breed).

Subject: Re: Best Filter Tue Apr 15, 2008 6:53 pm

Seems like it wouldn't be too hard to make canister filters out of buckets. They make a variety of small pond filters that require a separate pump that are pretty cheap. I think I've seen them at OSH and maybe Home Depot.

Sounds like a pretty cool thing you have planned for the park. I'd love to see pics when you get it made.

Subject: Re: Best Filter Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:19 pm

The local fish store here uses a couple rubber-maid bins and a pump to filter to tanks that are around 200 gallons. I'm not sure of how the hole set up works, but the tanks are crystal clear. I have also seen them on a couple of DIY sections on the net. I'll try to find a link to one
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Subject: Re: Best Filter Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:24 pm

As an admitted "collector" of various things, I used to keep around a hot tub filter because I was going to use it as a pond filter. If you could find one of these that would make an awesome high volume filter for aquariums or ponds.

The one I had looked like a 3 foot capsule on its end, and wouldn't need any fabricating for what you'd need it for. There was a small leaf collector hooked into the PVC pipes that went to it and that part could be used to filter the particulates. You could use the main filter as a fantastic biological filter and the leaf filter as a particulate filter you would need to clean periodically. The big one would be able to run without maintenance for a long time.

Just a thought. It has its own pedestal and could fit in a relatively narrow space too.

Subject: Filter sysems for outdoor detritis. Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:32 pm

Garman, Celtic; I'm going for a combination of what you put forth here. The pump I've got would require a closed pressurized filter system. Unless I can make it function without any pressure tank and solinoid, I'm going for a submursible pump, behind the wall filtration through a bin with dividers or some buckets that will gravity feed to the waterfalls. I got a couple ideas out of a book on koi ponds here. The medium size open bin w/ dividers, is looking easiest to build and manage.

I did not reallize that I didn't describe this to well, 'till you responded, but this is an old concrete milk can cooling tank outside a turn of the century barn; really may not be pretty but the kids, young and old have fun with it. In past years we have put water snakes, lots of frogs, small fish etc... in there. We have been keeping a makeshift skimmer there for mosquito larvae and leaves. I built roof over top of it (in the size of the old milk house but open sides) and put a picnic table next to this tank a couple years ago.

Being able to have it more maintained by a filter and the aesthetics of a waterfall (aeration) would be me going for more of the park-like setting.

Subject: Re: Best Filter Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:45 pm

You probably have your idea figured out by now, but someone gave me a couple of these great thick blue plastic containers previously used to hold powdered dyes for commercial dying purposes.

They're about 3 feet high, cylindrical, about 16 inches in diameter, thick sturdy plastic, and they had really nice screw on lids with O rings. These would be great for large filters, and the plastic sides and bottom plenty thick enough to thread in sturdy PVC piping. The screw on lids were heavy duty too and could be relied on to have a trouble free seal.

Just a thought.

Subject: sealed tanks in pressure pump filtration Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:00 pm

That is really encouraging. I was looking at that big pump I got on Sun. and figured I would have to give up on it.
Read your reply here and actually read the ads in the paper: " plastic food quality drums with bung holes and screw in plugs, suitable for dock floats" Thats about the same as what you're seeing there. I could pressurize the system, use multi-jets like gumbi and get streamlike circulation.

I hope I don't need a water system soliniod and 20#pressure tank or some sort of system that will control the pump so that it doesn't just run like hell and burn up. I'm guessing it will need some control off something like that.

Subject: Re: Best Filter Thu May 01, 2008 1:01 am

I'm not sure I get why you need such a high volume filter. Isn't your tank 75 gallons? Is it because it's a heavely stocked tank? Sorry as I guess I missed something>