suggestions for a filter for planted discus tank!

[sawzai]

I have a 3ft planted discus tank, housed with 6 discus. Currently having a canister filter 1500litre / hr. Was thinking adding on another filter to help with the filtration! My budget are below 60. Any suggestions?

[zeltade]

As you didn't state what media you're using, so I'd suggest you spend the money on getting a quality bio media like bio home since your flow Imo is good enough.

[sawzai]

im using 1litre of biohome plus , 250 ml , 1 litre of ceramic ring , 2 coarse pad and 1 or 2 polyester .

im thinking of adding extra filter. is it necessary ?

[zeltade]

Hi if you do have 1 kg of bh+ I suppose your bio filtration would be more than sufficient. It is rated at 1kg per 3 tonne of water on product page, even if we take 10% of what it claims, it still is 300 liters. A 3x2x2 tank can fill 324 liters at max, hence I believe that your bio filtration is fine.
What I would do is to add in a wave maker to enhance flow within the tank and reduce any dead spot where toxins build up. Alternatively, an air pump is also usable by in reducing dead spots and increasing dissolved oxygen content within. This isn't a good choice if your tank is a high tech planted of course.
Ultimately the choice is yours. Of course over filtration is always better than under filtration.

[sawzai]

Hi if you do have 1 kg of bh+ I suppose your bio filtration would be more than sufficient. It is rated at 1kg per 3 tonne of water on product page, even if we take 10% of what it claims, it still is 300 liters. A 3x2x2 tank can fill 324 liters at max, hence I believe that your bio filtration is fine.
What I would do is to add in a wave maker to enhance flow within the tank and reduce any dead spot where toxins build up. Alternatively, an air pump is also usable by in reducing dead spots and increasing dissolved oxygen content within. This isn't a good choice if your tank is a high tech planted of course.
Ultimately the choice is yours. Of course over filtration is always better than under filtration.

i see. thanks

[zeltade]

You're welcome. Be glad to help

[markvtec2]

Can add a pre-filter to increase the bio media space.

[sawzai]

what pre-filter do you recommend ?

[gyjd]

Prefilter is good so you reduce frequency of cleaning the main canister and disrupt the colonisation of beneficial bacterial in it.
Add on another wavemaker will make your overall filtration more complete, just my personal opinion though


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[sawzai]

Wouldn't the prefilter slow down the flow rate of my main canister? And how do i connect the prefilter to my main canister?

[wongce]

prefilter is connected before the canister to trap dirt prior entering the main canister chamber thus it will slow down the flow rate. Normally we try to achieve 6-10 times of tank capacity as flowrate if possible e.g tank is 100L, flow rate is 6-1000L... i personally like to oversize as the filter flowrate will get lower as it accumulate poo & i stuff a lot of biomedia in it...

Not all freshwater fish appreciates wavemaker and some small fish/shrimps might be stressed if the flow is too much. Some wavemakers have large hole at the back which might suck in small shrimps/fish..

[sawzai]

Sonce it will slow down the flowrate, i guess i will not add a prefilter then. If i do, it will not achiwve 6-8 times of filtration. Was thinking adding a hangonback filter, like the "aquaclear 110" what do you guys think? As that filter can hold quite amount of bio media.

[markvtec2]

Can buy jebao external filter503 flow rate 750l/h cost below 60 after discount with hose and piping without media. I using it for my planted tank come with manual priming and running silence. Only thing material not so tough as eheim. Handle with care when cleaning

[wongce]

If you are getting a new canister, I would suggest you to get Atman Canister filter..DF series...hehe Poison Poison... Their canister is not bad..parts can be found at NA.

HOF may be a cheaper alternative... cheapest is sponge filter with air pump...hahah at least won't heat up your tank water..:P

[sawzai]

what hof is good ?o.o.. im already using atman df1300 =D

[tetrakid]

Since you are already using a canister filter in the tank, any reasonable size HOF will do fine as a supplementary filter.

what hof is good ?o.o.. im already using atman df1300 =D

[markvtec2]

Suggest OHF over HOF

[tetrakid]

OHF is also very good, since there's plenty of space for bio-media. I like to modify the outlet pipe of the OHF so that the return water agitates the surface well and pushes the water surface laterally, because that will increase oxygenation.

Suggest OHF over HOF