Need advice on Canister filter choice for 60x45x45cm tank!

[Ecalyte]

Hi bros!

As the topic states.. I need some help on which canister filter to use for my new 60x45x45cm tank coming in on friday.

I was thinking of getting Jebao912, but I think the flow rate on it is too strong?

This will be a CRS tank with fissidens, xmas moss, mini xmas moss.. I will have moss walls in this tank too.

What do the bros here suggest? I won't be buying Eheim as it's too expensive. Any bros here have any experience using Jebao canister filters?

[lonelobo]

try buying a second ehiem filter

[alvinchan80]

Spend a little more on a better equipment..
I am running EHEIM 2026 through Hailea 150A on my 60x40x40cm CRS tank currently and it's fine..

[Ecalyte]

Will a Jebao 912 be too strong for my tank?

Also, I've bought and owned Eheims in the past. In fact, I've always only bought them. Even for my 30cm tank I'm using a 2213.

But I want to try something new, to see if my buck will go a lot further on a different brand. Topman Jeans and Levis Jeans are made from the same place, but just have a different brand stitched on..

[vinz]

When it comes to electrical appliances used on the tank, I prefer to play safe and splurge for proven brands. Our filters and lights often run unattended when we go to work/school/sleep. Better to have reliable equipment that are unlikely to short circuit or overheat, even when water is not flowing. (There's a story of an Eheim running 20 hours without waterflow and still not too hot to touch. But that is an old story from 10 years or more back. OTOH, a couple of stories made it into the papes of overheated cheap filters causing fires during the Louhan craze.)

I've never used Jebao filters so I can't really comment on them, but I have used their lights and I was not impressed by their quality.

Do check out more before you "invest".

Back to your original question. We normally estimate suitable filter flow rate at 3 x the aquarium capacity. Your tank is about 120litres, so 360 litres per hour flow rate. I would aim to get something between that to about 480 litres per hour. Get higher flow rate is advisable, as you can always lower the flow rate by controlling the filter output with a valve (never control on the input side). Wear and tear plus clogged filter media will slow down the flow rate. Also, if you need to add other equipment (chiller, UV steriliser, CO2 reactor, etc) in line, they will lower the flow rate.

[ladygaga]

It's very safe to suggest people to go for expensive stuff ---- pay more and feels good. There's no mistake to buy A/B/B when you're falling love with a car.

3x/hr flow rate is for low tech tank, and it's ideal that's old.

For high tech tank, flow rate is 10x tank volume per hour. It's the new trend.

[vinz]

It's very safe to suggest people to go for expensive stuff ---- pay more and feels good. There's no mistake to buy A/B/B when you're falling love with a car.

Pay more, feel good? What are you trying to say here? Not a challenge, but I would like to understand what you mean. Personally, paying more never feels good, unless it really is value for money.

3x/hr flow rate is for low tech tank, and it's ideal that's old.

For high tech tank, flow rate is 10x tank volume per hour. It's the new trend.

This is definitely new to me. Can you provide a few links for reference? Thanks.

[vinz]

I did a quick Google, and indeed the guideline is now 10x tank volume an hour. I am out of touch!

Never the lest, LadyGaga, any good links to recommend?

Edit: This is indeed interesting. I've noticed in previous tanks (and posted in AQ) that I managed to cut down BBA by pointing the water-flow at the infested area. A quick read shows that people are saying the higher flow rate actually helps reduce algae.

[eviltrain]

hee hee. a 60x45x45 tank volume will be 121.5 litres. You will need a canister with flow rate of 1500-1700 LPH ( when run empty ) to suit the 10X filtration rate.

if you pack your canister with bio media, the flow rate will drop to 1/5 or 1/4 which left you about 1200-1360 LPH base on 1500 LPH canister. lets say if you wants to add another canister filled with bio media too, a 1700 LPH will suit the X10 filtration rate for you.

[ZackZhou]

Haha. That's why I run 2 filters. One 300lph and another 750lph for 2 feet. I still found it insufficient thou.

[jeffteo]

10x flow rate sounds more like for poop machine like Goldfish.

On Jebo filter, never use the canister before but using the HOB one now. All I can say is you pay for what you get and a lot of the China made product quality are loose.
So far only Hailea are one of them which make the mark and that is also why the price of Hailea products are slightly higher than the cheap alternatives.

Just to share more on what happen to my HOB. Last evening, I removed the motor unit from the housing for cleaning and after putting it back on. It starts leaking from the rubber O ring area. The unit is less than 1 year.
It actually happen before when I first got it but after a few readjustment of the O ring the issue is solved till the next time i remove the motor unit again and this time round it got real bad. Hope this helps.

And Eheim are made in Germany whereas the cheaper brands are mostly from you know where...

[eviltrain]

you need 1000 lph rated canister then just nice. mine is 950lph.

after 1 pre filter -> ehiem 2026 -> jet 3688 ( dummy, not plug in )-> haliea 150A ,

my flow rate now is 550-650 (base on the flow rate gauge on the ehiem 2026) which suits my 64.8 litres crs tank.

[Shadow]

I did a quick Google, and indeed the guideline is now 10x tank volume an hour. I am out of touch!

My opinion, it depend. for fresh water 2-3 x water volume is still valid. It is the minimum amount of water flow through the filter media per hour to effectively convert ammonia to nitrate. In planted tank firstly there are many corners, secondly we need the flow to deliver nutrient to the plants. Not enough flow in those corners will create dead spot, and dead spot invite algae. Thus water flow rate in planted tank was double or triple than the old days. However, it does not mean the filter flow rate must be 10 times. You can add flow by other means, for example power head or wave maker.

[jeffteo]

My opinion, it depend. for fresh water 2-3 x water volume is still valid. It is the minimum amount of water flow through the filter media per hour to effectively convert ammonia to nitrate. In planted tank firstly there are many corners, secondly we need the flow to deliver nutrient to the plants. Not enough flow in those corners will create dead spot, and dead spot invite algae. Thus water flow rate in planted tank was double or triple than the old days. However, it does not mean the filter flow rate must be 10 times. You can add flow by other means, for example power head or wave maker.

I second what Shadow says.

Many keep having the misconception that higher flow rate means good filtration. I feel that it really depends. Yes, for mechanical filtration, No for biological filtration. If you ever use biohome media, the box states the recommended flow rate for effective biological filtration. In simple, if the flow rate is too fast, the BB will not have enough time to process the water and end up you will need to compensate with more bio media. So it is filtration speed vs efficiency.
You can still get good filtration at lower flow rate with lots of media. Just like what Shadow mentioned, you can always use power head or wave maker for better water circulation.

[ladygaga]

I second what Shadow says.

Many keep having the misconception that higher flow rate means good filtration. I feel that it really depends. Yes, for mechanical filtration, No for biological filtration. If you ever use biohome media, the box states the recommended flow rate for effective biological filtration. In simple, if the flow rate is too fast, the BB will not have enough time to process the water and end up you will need to compensate with more bio media. So it is filtration speed vs efficiency.
You can still get good filtration at lower flow rate with lots of media. Just like what Shadow mentioned, you can always use power head or wave maker for better water circulation.

One thing need to clarify: flow rate ≠ speed. High flow rate does not mean high speed.

Some new trends of planted tank:

1) Lower lighting watts density ---- for T5/HO, CPL. LED is even lower.
2) Shorter lighting period ---- 6-8 hours per day is enough. Some researchers planted successfully with 4 hours daily.
3) higher flow rated as mentioned above post.
4) Using of activated carbon.
5) War on algae are failed.

[jeffteo]

Oops, correction. The speed I am referring to is how fast the water is passed through the filter and I am referring to the L/H or GPH. Definitely not referring to the speed of filtration. My bad. Maybe I should rephrase as flow rate vs efficiency.

And high flow rate can mean high speed. it just depends on what context you use it on. i.e. how fast you can fill a bulk of water or change the aquarium water. :P

Adding on to water circulation. Water circulation also depends very much on where and how the outlet is placed and the type of outlet used. Straight out, spray bar or lily pipe all makes a different.

[Ecalyte]

Hi guys,

I just finished reading all your replies. Thank you so much for all the interaction!

But crap! I just bought a 750L/HR rated Jebao 503 filter. Does that mean I should get something with a higher L/HR rating? I'll be using only Biohome and the given filter wool for the media..

[zonkkie]

Since you bought already, give it a try. I think it will be ok. Personally, I think anything between 3-10 times tank volume / hour is ok. It's also about where you direct the flow - rainbar or lilypipe.

[Ecalyte]

What I'll be doing is putting the output hose to a Hang-on Filter and allow the water to go through another set of biohome in the hang-on. I also like the way the water flows out of the hang-on filter. I'm actually looking for a hang-on filter with a bigger output so as to reduce the strength of the water coming out..

[eviltrain]

err, i dont think your hang on filter can support that amount of water rushing in from the canister.