Need advice on Canister filter choice for 60x45x45cm tank!

**vinz** · 5th May 2011, 19:48

Originally Posted by jeffteo

... 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. ...

There's a flaw here. Don't forget, filters with higher flow rate have wider cross sections. So although the throughput of water is higher, the wider cross section of the canister actually has a slower flow rate per area than what is coming out of the outlet. I would assume that the better brands have calculated correctly and designed the canister to have optimum flow rate per area for biological and chemical filtration to be effective.

That said, I think Robert was pointing out that the minimum capacity (although he was talking in flow rate as a guideline) required to filter a planted tank. Given that filter canister cross section is designed to be directly proportional to flow rate, anything below 2 to 3x tank volume per hour will not contain enough filter media to house the necessary amount of bacteria needed to handle the waste produced by a standard planted tank.

Edited: Some rephrasing.

**Shadow** · 5th May 2011, 22:14

Originally Posted by Ecalyte

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..

Its OK, if needed you can just add those small powerhead to help the flow.

**Ecalyte** · 6th May 2011, 12:58

The hang on filter I'm using was at half capacity when I ran a 2213 through it..

If cannot then I'll just use my rainbar

**IAMTHOMAS** · 15th May 2011, 14:39

Dolphin or Jebo is pretty good if your on a budget

**elements** · 17th May 2011, 16:20

whether its an expensive brand or cheap brand ...sometime it boils down to your budget...
of course reliable brand has its price to pay abit more...so many advises here from ppl and still final decision its up to you which to buy.

**sungod666** · 20th May 2011, 21:59

nice dimension for a 2 ft tank, better than the usual 2x1x1. anyway for filter investment, it would depend on the value of the tank inhabitants, if your fish, plants and shrimps are mroe expensive than your intended budget for filter, it is better to upgrape to reputable brands like Eheim, Fluval, Hagen. if it is just starting out with easy to keep and economical fishes and shrimp, than you can go ahead and buy jebo, dolphin. you pay for what you get, the china brand are unlikely to last more than 2 years. canister is just one part of the cost, you will need to pay another sum of money for the filter media as well, good one cost more than the filter itself.

**Ecalyte** · 24th May 2011, 11:56

Hi guys! Since I've already bought the filter and set it up.. I realised that the output flow is not as high as I would have liked.

Is it possible to add a powerhead pump to increase the water flow? If so, where would I place the pump? Before the inlet, or after the outlet of the chiller?

Currently the set up is

Inlet Hose --> Filter --> Hose --> Chiller --> Outlet Hose

Where should I place the powerhead? Also.. if it can work, should the powerhead be a higher L/HR rating than the actual filter? Or would a lower rated powerhead still be able to increase the flow?

**Ariel** · 24th May 2011, 13:10

2ft tank? 2026 more than enough

**eviltrain** · 24th May 2011, 13:30

Originally Posted by Ecalyte

Hi guys! Since I've already bought the filter and set it up.. I realised that the output flow is not as high as I would have liked.

Is it possible to add a powerhead pump to increase the water flow? If so, where would I place the pump? Before the inlet, or after the outlet of the chiller?

Currently the set up is

Inlet Hose --> Filter --> Hose --> Chiller --> Outlet Hose

Where should I place the powerhead? Also.. if it can work, should the powerhead be a higher L/HR rating than the actual filter? Or would a lower rated powerhead still be able to increase the flow?

you can place the external pump in between the filter can the chiller. why i say this is because the external canister can only withstand X amount of water pressure. if you place the external pump in front of the external canister, the Y water pressure which is more than X will cause your external canister to leak.

lets say your external pump is rated 1200LPH and your external canister is rated 950LPH, you just need to on your external pump, and leave your external canister unplug.

**Ecalyte** · 24th May 2011, 13:31

I already bought a Jebao 503 and I'm also using an Eheim 2213 in the same tank

The tank is partitioned into two! I've attached a picture.

The inlet of the 2213 is placed on the right side, and the outlet is placed on the left side with a lily pipe
The inlet of the Jebao 503 is placed on the left side, and the outlet is placed on the right side into a hang-on filter.

IMG_0558.jpg IMG_0556.jpg

I'd like to increase the flow-rate on the right side!

**Ecalyte** · 24th May 2011, 13:43

Oh yea.. also just to mention, there is an opening at the top of the middle of the tank where you see the black sponge. So water will flow through over this gap to ensure that the water level is even. The black sponge is there to prevent the shrimps from going from one side to another