EXTERNAL FILTER

[tahir69]

i am buying a external filter for my 3ft tank, can somebody tell me, whether this is good? i wanna start a reef tank, is external advisable for reef? and how much does it coz?

[Batman]

hi, for 3ft good if you get a sump tank & if yr tank is not meant for the overfilow system, get Eheim cannister, for my 2ftx2ftx2ft, I am using the classic round type, model 2217 cost me $188 few months back at Clementi w/o valve hor... Petmart maybe $180 ..... if you don't want, get those new Eheim with pumping function....

[lightningstrike]

i got my ehiem 2026 external cannister filter for 238 at petmart.

[mAriNe_enthusiast]

External filter as in cannister filter?

If u going for cannister filter, do take note of the filtration medium u placed inside. Placing coral chips will cause debris build-up in the cannister and will lead to high nitrate problem in the future which is the last thing corals need. Alternativey, Deep Sand Bed is a better mean of biological filtration. Can read up more on them in this forum.DO a simple search on it

Just my opinion.

[tahir69]

i dunno what u call it, but its a shape of container, what i was told by frenz, they call the drum filter

[tahir69]

or can anyone tell me what a cannister filter look like or any place photo tt can show me?

[georgeswb]

Thats how a canister external filter looks like..but by using a canister filter instead of a sump system could lead to high nitrate readings. If you only want to use a canister filter then my advice would be that you maintain it at least once a week, by changing the wool media. Try to get those cheap ones instead of the manufacturer's media as those are expensive.

[tahir69]

ok tks guys, i got it, its a cannister filter rite...somebody can pls englighten my doubts, izzit good to hv a cannister filter for reef, and M.E tks for the tips, btw, i thought when we buy the cannister filter, it wil include all the stuff rite or do i need to buy separetly, or do i need to change it? pls help..tks

[georgeswb]

Within the canister filter, there are usually a few media baskets and filtration media depending on the make and model. They do come with your initial purchase of the canister but its up to you if you want to use them.

There is usually one for biological filtration which means this stuff in the basket would encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria which would convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. Another layer would be for mechanical filtration which means it remove solid waste particles from your system.

The canister unit usually gets too efficient and then your system gets loaded with nitrate though not as toxic as nitrite but it is still bad for the growth of corals, invertebrates and fishes alike.

If you really need to use one, I recommend that you not use the media in the lower basket...just place a piece of fine wool material for mechanical filtration (to remove debris and suspended solids)

Secondly, fill the upper media basket with a media called ' biohome' which is made of sintered glass material which is known to encourage both the growth of aerobic and aneaerobic bacteria which would remove nitrite as well as nitrate from your system.

Finally, if you want to further improve your filtration system, you could add chemical filtration to your system by adding activated carbon...Here I would reccomend the 'Chemi pure' media.

As all reefer knows it, it still pretty hard to tell at this point of time if your system will be susceptible to high nitrate reading after all the above measures but if you still face problems, perform a partial water change (20%) on a weekly basis and major 50% water change on a monthly basis.

Hope that helps.

[georgeswb]

Forget to add that its important that you get a good protein skimmer

[tahir69]

noted yr explanation, but where can i get Biohome, is the normal LFS sell this and also the chemical filtration , activated carbon, what is this? how much does it coz?

[georgeswb]

Those stuff..biohome and chemi pure are readily available at LFSs that does marine live stocks. Just ask within.

To fill one media basket with "biohome" wld cost you aro S$26 and the chemipure another $10...get the 10oz ones for the chemipure. Note that u need to replace the chemipure media once every 6 mths

[georgeswb]

My reccomendations may not be optimal..lets see what the others think

[georgeswb]

Activated carbon is meant for the absorption of numerous unwanted harmful chemical substances (possibly ammonia, heavy metals, medications etc)..it also improves the water quality by making it crystal clear.

[tahir69]

tks bro, will do, hv not set up my tank yet still under study...hehehhee

cheers

[Achilles Tang]

Read this.

[lightningstrike]

u can get most of the stuff from p*tmart. reasonable price for hardwares.