Why External? Why Internal?

[sLapshock]

Can i know (before i make a wrong step) why did you all choose an external cannister instead of those internal one? can tell me?

im dying on an advice.. because one wrong move will waste my effort and mostly $money.

And im now very new and haven't start on planting yet (getting to) but i need somebody to advice me on whether i should buy those internal filter or eheim 2213 (or if there any better models) for my 2ft planted tanks.

[PeterGwee]

For a 2ft tank..its better to get an external filter so that you can have more space for plants, driftwood and other decoration stuff and also because they provide higher volume of filtration per hour as compared to internal ones. [] ...Oh..you can double it up as a reactor for your CO2 or connect it to a CO2 reactor if you scare the bubbles could wreak the impeller.

[cloud79]

I do not like to use internal cause it takes up space and it is also unsightly. If u intend to use it for your planted tank, get some tall plant to conceal it. Beware that small fish may get stuck at the back of this filter so do check the back regularly to avoid unnecessary loss. Also, when u wan to maintain the filter, u have to take it out with your hand and this may stress your fish.

The reason i use external cause when i do any maintenance, this will not stress the fish as no contact of the tank water occurs. Furthermore, i m using a reactor so i require the outlet of the external filter to be fixed to a reactor. Some internal filters do have this feature but the piping really dampen the beauty of your planted tank.

HOpe this helps. []

[eprouve]

External filter is the best way to go. In addition to the points mentioned by the others, I say that because of the amount of filter media you can put in... which means cultivating a large colony of bacteria to breakdown wastes.

I am using an external filter (300 l/hr) for my 2 footer... and it has coarse sponge, ceramic rings, sintered glass and wool. Superb cleanliness and clarity of water! As compared to an internal filter (240 l/hr) for the 1.5 footer my dad is using which only has wool in it. The difference is huge!

In essence, the LFS would say that an internal filter is enough, but too much filtration cannot be harmful to your tank.[] It saves you money having to go back to buy an external canister later on.

[sLapshock]

anyway if i buy an external eheim 2213 model cna i connect co2 diy tube into it ? so i dont need to put tube into the tank

[cloud79]

U need to get a reactor for the co2 to dissolve. As u r using co2, reactor can maxmise the amt of co2 been dissolved. The reactor can be connected to the outlet of 2213.

[vinz]

Personally, I don't like the idea of piping CO2 into the filter. If it forms big gas pockets in your filter, it could cause damage to the impeller.

But there are forumers who do it with no one reporting major problems so far.

[David]

hi SS

i will think that it is not a good idea to pipe in the CO2 into the filter....for me i will put it this way, if ehiem found it could dissolved CO2 effectively and not damaged the impeller this way...they would have thought of a design option to their filters and put them one more step ahead of their competition...and by the same stroke....spells the end of business to every reactor and diffusor companies.

[DEA]

the beauty of the eheim filters is the pump can and does dissolve co2 quite well
however, you'll hear occasional hiccups as the filter burps out small pockets of gas
if you use diy co2, the risk is very low
but i still won't recommend it, as you are doing something that the filter is not supposed to be used for

[anakin]

Hi sLapshock, personally I'll advise you against the use of your filter and impeller to rip up the CO2. as the guys warn, this may spoil your filter and give your more headache in the future. Just for info, my tank and its filetr, CO2 setup is thus:

* TANK<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
* V ^
* V ^
* V UV clarifier
* Ext Can Filter ^
* V ^
* V CO2>>>>ext reactor
* V ^
* >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^

sorry for the dorky illustration, hope it helps.

[vinz]

Anakin,

Fixed your dorky ascii art for you. Add a couple of tags to it. Use 'Edit Topic" to see what I did. I'm deleting your other piece of ascii art.

Looks like you're a better artist with a pencil.