IM in need of a good fish tank filter.

[Truckie]

IM in need of a good fish tank filter. I have a 55 gallon tank with 7 EXTREMELY LARGE good fish. The smallest one being 5 inches long and the largest being 8 inches. I will try to get some pics for ya later.

Right now I have a fluval 404. At the time when I bought it I was told it was the best filter out there to use, and would have no problem with it. Well, they were wrong. This thing don't filter worth a &^$&%. The fluval I had lasted 8 month then crapped out on Christmas Eve. The store replaced it for free, but this new replacement just is not keeping up or impressing me at all.

Every 2 weeks I have to change out 15 gallons of water to remove the ammonia. I do have ammonia bags and filter media installed in the filter but it is not working. I clean the filter and all its contents once a month.

The water always has a hazy look to it. Its not crystal clear like it use to be, and it is aggravating as all hell.

So what do you suggest? And don't tell me to cook them, or release them that is not an option.





Thanks... .

 

[rubberneck]

Hey truckie, I have been keeping large fish for about 4 years now. I have a 135 gallon reef style tank with built in overflows and wet dry sump system. I have 5 red devils and a catfish in it. My male is about 14 inches long and about 3 pounds and the others are in the 5-6 inch range. I honestly think the problem is you have too much bio-load for that tank. 55 gallons isn't alot with several large fish. I dont know what fish you have, but if they are any thing like my reds, they eat a lot and are very sloppy eaters, so they make a mess of a tank quick. Now that being said, I have a friend who keeps a 55 gal with several large cichlids and has pretty good luck. The key is really cut back the feeding. Once a day only and just enough to keep them from chomping on each other. LOL The other thing is water movement. the problem with big fish is big poo. You need to stir that water up to get the solids to the filter so they can be removed. I would put 1 or 2 powerheads in the tank. 1 near the bottom to stir things up and 1 near the middle/top to aggitate the surface. I like enough water flow in my tank to turn it over 10-15 times/hour. I. E. 55 gallon tank, I would want to be pumping at least 600-800 gallons/hr through the various pumps/filters. Now as far as filters, since your tank does not have overflows built in, you could buy an overflow box that hangs on the back and go to a wet dry system. Another option that i have not tried but have heard works well is Eheim wet dry. the nice thing about this system is it is enclosed/self contained unit kind of like a canister style system but it provides the far supperior oxygenation of the wet/dry overflow style. The other thing that i do is run a UV sterilizer. this has greatly improved the quality of water in my tanks. Also, Im sure you are already doing this, but you need carbon in that filter also to remove any smells/chemicals. These measures will help to clear the water, but unfortunately, the only way to bring down the ammonia levels is to change water. Filters will not take out the ammonia. (You can put the ammonia chips and absorb some, but in the end, that only works so well. So if you are going to keep all the fish you are going to be doing a lot of water changes. (dissadvantage to a smaller tank)



I am in the process of putting a 300 gallon tank built in to some cabinetry in the office of my new house. I am going to be using a 3000 gph pump and sand filter/sump that is in some cabinets in the garage. The water flows out of the tank down through the floor out to the filter/heater/pump and then returns to the tank. I think i am going to go salt with this one. I want to keep some sharks. Phil

 

[rubberneck]

Check this out, http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...l_professionel_wet_dry_external.asp?ast=&key=



I have never bought anything from this store, but a quick google search turned up that link. I buy a lot of supplies from www.drsfostersmith.com but they did not show the eheim wet/dry. you might call them though, they very well might have it. Here is a link to the UV sterilizer that i run http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4419&N=2004+113778