4ft discus fish tank , what internal filter (brand and where to buy) is suitable ?

[psp1000]

Hi, i have a 4ft discus fish tank , what internal filter or external (brand and where to buy) is more suitable for 4ft bare tank?

Any bro or sis here able to advice me ?think of getting one but don't know which one to go for.

Thank in advance...

[catus36]

A sponge filter is the best for a bare discus tank.
If you'r keeping discus only, then do daily water change
Discus will grow faster and better with water change.

Regards

[psp1000]

Thank for replying, well now i have sponge filter but sometime felt that not clean enuff, sometime doing water change daily is tiring , thinking of maybe can water change maybe once a week. that why thinking of filter that power enough to make my water clean ..

[freddiewee]

hey psp1000,

if im not wrong why people do water change for discus and most fish is because they produce a kind of chemical to in hibit their growth according to the amount of water that they are in (correct me if im wrong) that is why wild caught fishes or discus are bigger.

cheers

[raglan]

you could trty one sponge fitler and one sponge fitler driven by a amsll powerhead on the tube, pointing the outlet against teh tank wall.
A small powerhead is enough , you don't want a huge fountain.
A powerhead driven sponge really makes the water get drawn through and get it clear very quick.
The pwerhead sopnge is for collecting dirt, not especially for bio bacs...so it is cleaned off every day.

[psp1000]

raglan : ?? huh? dun really get what you mean, any sample or photo to show how to make one sponge filter driven by a small powerhead?

[raglan]

you know the lift tube that the airline goes into for the sponge filter ?
the inch fat tube that comes out the top of the filter ?
Well, you sit something like an aquaclear powerhead on that tube sucking the water out of the filter, thus dragging water into the filter. You can attach them together with various bits and pieces of filter accessories.

Don't need the airline any more, eh ?

it polishes the water pretty good.

[cheetf]

Just attach a powerhead on top of the sponge filter clear tube is what he means.

[psp1000]

err...that mean for my sponge filter, instead of using airpump i use powder head? ....

[raglan]

http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/images/sponge.jpg

this kind of sponge filter. You put a powerhead on top of the tube and it sucks the water up.
It does such a polishing job that it actually collapses some sponge materials after a while, it drives the dirt in so deep through the pores.
so they recommend the bigger pore sponges.
it collects so much dirt so fast that you should squeeze it out all totally and remove all that dirt from your tank. Just use it as a dirt cllector, not a biofilter per se.

[psp1000]

thank raglan , yes iam using those sponge filter now, but hmmmm add a power head ontop the tube? hmmmm.....how to add huh? the tube so small leh....

[raglan]

hehe, a really good polisher is using an aquaclear powerhead , something like the 400 GPH range, or more, with a wad of cotton stuffed hard into an outlet hose - the water comes out slowly on full power, but it is very clear after one pass.
these aquaclear powerheads can go through any kind of backpressure, any kind of abuse, even run dry , and they go forever.
If I had to depend on one pump only for all my water, and I could have a NASA product or an Aquaclear, it would be Aquaclear without a second thought.

They have a couple of adaptors in the box that help join tube to powerhead. You can see the black reducing adaptor on the bottom of the 50 and 60 models. that fits into a sponge filter tube. But they should really be secured better than the way I used it.

In the tank I had it running a sponge filter in, it was a low height tank, so I just sat the powerhead with the adaptor right on top of the tube and that was all.I had the attachment to the tank edge and a not-too-fat sponge That setup was just a lazy effort, so I know it can be made better than that. But it works very well.

[raglan]

I used to use filter floss to wrap round and round the sponge filter core and then bag the core inside a nylon stocking and tie it up.
That is cheaper than going through sponges so often and still cleans the water really well when you have a powerhead on the top of the tube.
If friends happen to assume that this special contraption contains peat or some other secret ingredients - rather than being yet another example of my cheapness - so much the better !

[psp1000]

OK , will try it on my other tank first, thank you so much for the input raglan

[raglan]

if you get too much flow even on low setting, stuff filter floss into a hose and stick that on the outlet. Block the venturi.
one problem that you may have is that if weather is hot, a powerhead adds more heat.
I rarely have a temp problem, with our climate here. it's only a bit hot a couple of weeks a year.