Canister Filter Question in "new" tank

Hi guys,
Well its been a week now exactly a week since i got the tank,And reset it at home.
Im looking to buy an external canister filter for this tank as , well im not really comfortable with the Original filter that comes with these Juwel tanks.It works but i just feel a canister would work all that better. I kind of have more trust in that filter set up then the one thats in the tank
I still wish to keep the original filter running though.
Currently i use a Fluval 104 in my old tank and its working brilliantly.
My Question is, Of what size Filter should i buy? The tank is a juwel rekord 160 , thats 160 ltrs.
And Should i add the Activated Charcole to the filter when setting it up or should i leave it out?
Would adding it mess up the PH etc in the water?

Also with regards to the Current in the tank, adding this canister filter should create a current , as the water flows back in, Would this affect the Discus fish?
Currently the filter creates a little bit of a current but it is pointed up towards the surface.

 

Hi Zippy,

If the tank is 160litres, then you should be aiming at a filter with a capacity of 800l/p/h to 1600l/p/h. (5x - 10x the water volume in the tank). If you going to be running the internal filter as well, then I'd suggest go with a 1000l/p/h canister.

With regards to the carbon... some people keep it in their tanks all the time, some people don't. Their is so much controversy over the topic, that there really isn't a black and white answer to give here. It really boils down to personal preference. Just bear in mnd that AC (Activated Charcoal) get's exhausted every few weeks, and would need to be replaced.

I would run this tank in the following manner. (MY personal preference)

(1) filter that came with the tank, (I'm assuming is one of those hood type things).
Where water enters, have LOTS of Filter floss, thereafter some ceramic rings, and finally space for charcoal if you want to add it. Invariably you will need it one day, because it is used to remove medication from the tank... so even if you opt not to keep it in the tank permanently, I'd leave the space for the charcoal.
(2) Canister filter
First chamber, filter sponge and filter wool. Then LOTS of ceramic rings and bio-balls (those plastic ones)

My Reasoning
By having LOTS of filter wool in the 1st filter you are doing your majority mechanical filtration. The position of this filter also makes it a lot easier to access the filter wool to clean/replace it, and quickly add any chemical filtration medium eg. AC
You still need a bit of mechanical filtration in the canister, as bits and pieces are bound to get in there, but here I would put my main focus on the bio-logical filtration. You would only need to service this canister onces every 3-4 weeks to clean the mechanical, and rinse about half your biological medium. Remember that all filter medium get's washed and rinsed in water from your tank, and not from the tap. (Tap water contains chlorine, which will kill your you biological bacterial) Never completely "clean" biological filters, only rinse them briefly in aquarium water, and I would suggest only cleaning half of the medium every 2 months.

Regards

Z

 

Aim for one that can do 800lph,Try geting an Eheim make.

You don't have to add the activated charcole/carbon to the filter since it will remove nutrients from the water which plants need.

 

I think 160litres is too small for a discus.

With regards to the current, most canisters come with a "spray bar" which is basically a plastic tube with holes all along it's length. If you put this at the top of the tank, and feed the water from the canister through this, it drops the current hugely.

 

Hi Zoom, thanks for deleting the post, really appreciate. I couldn't find the post delete button
Anyhows i went looking for a filter today , couldn't find the Ehiem filter, but managed to get a Hagen Elite Crystal Flo 60 at a good price. So i took it. The rest of the filters "fluval etc" were a bit expensive.

Just completed setting it up , following the Filters instructions, i had left the Charcoal in there but now stormer states it takes away the Plants nutrients, im a bit worried.

The Filter that came with the tank (well its actually built onto the tank or stuck on with some sort of glue.) Its a Juwel Filter system. Im unsure which model it is though, but the tank is a Juwel Rekord 160.

The previous owner had only this Filter running but i wasn't so happy with its operation, i tend to over filter my tanks i guess.
My other much much smaller tank has a power head filter as well as a Fluval 104 Canister filter and an under gravel filter and those seem to be doing a good job at keeping the tank clear.

With regards to the discus, I did not intend getting these fish but they as well as the tetras had come with the tank. Thay have been living in this tank with the one filter set up for well over a year by the previous owner.
I wasn't happy with the originals filtration.
This one does come with a spray bar, Still trying to figure out how im going to attach that since the back of this tank has some sort of Rock formation attached to the glass.
Im currently using some sort of plastic scoop atm. Is current bad for Discus?

 

Charcoal will not remove nutrients from the water. Professor Dirk clarrified this a few weeks ago in another thread.

 

And , 'Yes' strong current will not be appreciated by Discus. They will stay in the part of the tank where the current is at its weakest

 

Hi Zippy - I am also currently interested in an Elite Crystal Flo and can't seem to find any decent info on the web about it. Can I ask you how you've found it so far?
Build quality?
Noise levels?
Is it easy to setup?
Is it easy to prime?
Thanks bud ;-)

 

is the crystal flo a hagen -elite product??? and is the internal juwel filter a black box on the side ,or like the jebos a cavaty on the hood

 

Yes the Crystal Flo is made by Hagen - looks like good quality at the LFS - just seems like no user experience info available - maybe it's still quite new...??
And yes the Juwel tanks come with internal "black box" filters - filled up to the brim with very expensive different sponges.

 

Hi BlackFly,

So far ive had it up and running for a week or so, it seems to Filter really well, its filtering as well as my Fluval Canister filter in my smaller tank.

Build Quality, Just as good as the Fluval, at first i was worried about the 4 clips that it uses to attach the top Motor to the Filter body,but that wasn't a problem, If fitted properly it seals well.
No leaks so far what so ever.

Assembly was quite simple really, infact i think it was just as easy to assemble as any other Canister filter if not easier. You just have to read the instructions and take your time,As with any canister filter, make sure you seal everything tight.

It had come with a large inlet head with a sort of ribbing , Prevents fish from getting sucked in. And various outlet heads. Im Currently using the Spray bar outlet head to prevent excess current in my tank.

Also start up was a breeze, Its self priming so all you do is Fill it up with water, Seal the top to the bottom,Unscrew the bleed screw at the top, Fill that up untill u see the water line and let it run.

It will make a little bit of a noise while priming itself, that is getting rid of the excess air and such ,this took around 20 mins on mine.

There after once properly running its really quiet.
I would say as quiet as a really, and i mean realy good Air pump. We have it in our Tv Room and its silent, if you place your head really really close to the moter , you may hear a silent humm but other then that its not bad at all.

It comes with all the filter media that you would need,I was told that you could also add whatever filter media you may need.
I decided to go with what was given to me.

Build quality,as with most of these filters is plastic, If you treat it would care it wont break or crack, just dont force the joining clips into the piping.

Other wise im happy with the Filter thus far.

 

yip ,i have a juwel the internal filter is exelent ,i had many filter types and this this is by far the best ,easiest ,and effective .
the added from current from the canister will knock you discus around ,and with your tank being at that size .this may prove stressful

 

Hi,Shakester, Yip i was worried about that as well,
So as per advice from forum members, i used the spray tube instead of the normal outlet tube and lowered the pressure exiting the tube .
Thus far the Discus seem happy and the current is really low.

 

With the suplied valves ?

 

Hi Shakester

Yes, there are 2 vulves that control the in and outflow of my canister filter.The vulves are part of the in and outflow pipes, its also used to close of the pipes when cleaning,

Basicly i keep the inflow and outflow at the medium mark,I found the Internal Juwel filter to be decent but not as good as i would have liked it to be.I guess id gotten used to my Fluval canister filter in my smaller tank.
Its possible that the Juwel could not cope as well ,Partially due to the plants in my tank i guess. Thay do make a mess.
Discus iv been told require clear clean water so this new filter helps alot.

 

yip,got discus ,and a tetra canister ,but the canister is broken, for now the juwel does the job flawlessly