What is the best filter for my fish tank / aquarium?
May 21st, 2010 by admin | Filed under Fish Tank Aquariums.Fish Tank Aquariums
I have just bought a new fish tank, Clearseal Petite Hexagonal which is apparently a 27 litre tank after a fair bit of research. I bought it because i want more room for my fish and it’s tall and not too big. However, when it came to buying a new filter the guy in the shop recommended the Elite Stingray 5 filter which only filters up to 25 litre tanks. The next one up is the Stingray 10 which filters up to 50 litres. He said this is would have too much power due to the tall, narrow shape of the tank.
Is this true? I’ve bought the Stingray 5 but will take it back and swap it if general opinion suggests i should so i’m not taking it out of the wrapper yet.
I’m concerned about whether it will be able to cope with the capacity of water. At the same time there is a big difference in power output and i don’t want it to be like a washing machine in there. (Stingray 5 = 120 litres/hour; stingray 10 = 200 litres/hour.) I like the Stingray because it is a slim streamlined filter that will fit better in this shape tank. But if there are others i should consider please advise.
Any advice about filters are welcome. And if you have this tank, how do you have yours set up?
THANK YOU!!!
fish tank aquariums
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General observation about Stingray filters – they are cr@p and I bet you haven’t sourced replacement filter medium. If you can find somewhere that sells it, don’t be surprised to find it’s about three thirds of the price of a new filter – my math is fine
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The best filter and the cheapest to run, which is a major consideration is probably a Junior Box Filter on the end of an air pump.
http://www.pet-points.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_389_548&products_id=2854&osCsid=d27543a9164d0a71850fe0bcec449740
The dirt is at the bottom of the tank and the Stingray is at the top. Do you want a cross current in a narrow, tall tank? Synthetic wool and loose carbon are cheap and available from any pet shop.
If you go with the Stingray, you will find it doesn’t take much to block it and it is high maintenance compared with any other filter you put it against. I’m not a fan
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I’d take a cue from Marcus and avoid that shop like the plague. They are obviously only interested in sales.
A tall,thin type of tank is the most difficult to filter,so there’s bad advice #1.
In my experience more filter capacity is always better than less. This is because filters loose efficiency as they accumulate the stuff they are designed to remove. Your 120 l./hr. will loose about 1/3 of it’s capacity as the filter media do their normal cycle (30 days or so).
As to advice about filters avoid filters that only work with a proprietary source of media. (Our filter only works with our filter pads,or inserts or what ever they are calling it now.)
Secondly, redundancy (more than one sort of filter) is good in case one "crashes" you will have a back-up system to help.
Next,like Marcus said keep it simple, the box filter is one simple solution,also good are sponge filters (like Jungle Labs or HydroSponge). The box filters like Aquaclear are easy to maintain and versitile,but with a tank like yours be sure to use extra long intake tubes to reach the bottom of the tank (well, I actually mean the top of the substrate). Look around,do more research,try to better understand just what it is that an aquarium filter does, and don’t take advice from people that have something to sell. If there is an aquarium society or fish club in your area it could be a great source of information and perhaps some good simple reliable second hand equipment. Books are also a good source of information.
fluval
Hagen Aquaclear filters are the ones I prefer and use. But almost any filter that is well made and most importantly has someone who sells the replacement filter media in your area (nothing worse than having to order the darn things all the time), will do the trick.
Just consider this. Going with double the filter capacity rating is better in the long run than one that is a little shy to just right for the tank rating.
For your 27 litre tank, I’d suggest something that is rated for at least 50-60 litres.
The reason for this is that with your current filter being a little shy of the mark, as the filter media gets clogged with debris and fish waste, the ability for it to move water and filter it…diminishes.
This means that while you’re currently running 120 lph, by the end of the filter’s life you’ might be only running 80-90 lph.
Go with the larger filter and if the current is too strong, you can always put something to baffle the current (plants, decorations, etc) Or in the case of many filters, you can always dial back the flow and increase it as you notice a drop in flow.
Try to get something that is 4-10 times your tank size.
I have a 100 Gal tank and I use a Fluval FX5, at 900 gal per hour(9 times)!
I am very happy I went with a bigger filter, it’s crystal clear and easy to maintain.