filter recommendations

hey guys so recently my mom asked what i would like for christmas and after some thought, ok not much the bug has well and truely bitten hehe, i said id like a decent filter. one of the ones that look so sleek and efficient. at the moment i have a plastic corner charcoal and floss filter that iv taken the charcoal out of to stop it from absorbing the fertilizers iv added, can anyone recomend one? my tank is a 40litre. i recently upgraded the heater and am looking to get lights aswell, which i dont have at the moment because the tank gets alot of natural light all day standing as it does right at a window, see pics on the beginners discussion. of coarse the first choice would have been a bigger tank but alas i already know the answer to that request, a very large resounding "NO". il have to restrain the mts for a little while. hmmm i wonder if that mate of mine still wants to get rid of that hexagonal tank...... he offered it for R100 with al the stuff..... very very tempting :marchmellow:

 

Get the R100.00 rand tank and i guarantee that your mom will feel bad and buy you tha filter as well.

 

anything for a R100 is a must grab and run before the seller changes his mind,

 

i think its about 40 or 50 cm high and about the same across, i havnt had a good look at it. my main problem is space, iv barely got room for my two tanks now and my ma would well and trully gut me lol. of coarse i could aways use the excuse of having to get a bigger tank for the guppies and their babies lol. oh dear mts is striking again

 

maybe replace one of the smaller tanks with a bigger one. 2 - 3ft

 

You must never miss the oportunity to get an extra tank. You don't need to have it set up as you never know when you will need a quarintine tank in the future

 

lol ok guys so i think we getting a smidge off topic here, if youll remeber im asking about filter recommendations. so *rubs hands in a business like way* submersible, clip on, inside filter outside filter which would be better for a 40litre tank with fine gravel substrate over potting soil, i am thinking of changing my substrate to sand but that will only happen later this year when i move back home. i was doing some research this afternoon and eventually my head was spinning with all these technical terms i didnt really understand :wondering:so some advise would be appreciated:bigsmile:

 

http://www.redseafish.com/languages\95\pdf\oceanclear.pdf

 

Yeah I realise it is overkill for his tank; I just like the filter so I posted the link! The pressure gauge will tell you when the flow drops then you know you must clean it. It also has a backwash option like a pool filter so you don't have to open it unless you change media. Apparently it can withstand back pressure from a tank up to 10ft without any leaks. This is a common overlooked area for closed loop cannister filters. Your back pressure from the tank with respect to the output flow pipe can cause leaks in the equipment. This is directly related to head height, placement of output, etc.

 

you can check that dodgy lps behind plantland in atterbury i think, its small and hidden, but it sells hob filters that are suited for 40 liter tanks, about R125 or so, otherwise check animal kingdom atterbury

 

Eheim also had a trail on something similar - wonder what the outcome was...

 

HOB - Aquaclear if you can find them. It seems to have more media space than cascade and the other brands.

Just found an old Aquaclear 300 (new model would be 70) at a LFS in PTA - Box was torn, dusty. Got it for R300 - new model seems to come with sponge, carbon and ceramics. This one only had sponge and carbon - I don't use carbon and had some ceramic tubes.

Not sure about spares .... that could be a problem. Some say that HOB's aerate the water to much, not sure about that.

 

you can use a cascade the same way as aquaclear, if you use "diy" inserts like from aquaclear, instead of cascade's own...

 

Yeap you can (I now have both types and I do favour the Hagen HOB) The media holding capacity and flow pattern in the aquaclear seems better if you compare water flow patterns. I like the idea that the aquaclear's idea of decreasing flow volume means re-filtration.

But in the end it will probably be if HOB = yes and can find stock buy what you can afford.

 

Flow is different due to how that insert tray is designed and where the openings are. I agree aquaclear is better, but if you find stock, its very expensive

 

hmmm i might just swing by animal kingdom on wednesday im meeting a mate at menlyn for movies so ill be on that side of pta, i wonder if theyll have the fluorite sand i want aswell, they where listed as a stockist by Seachem. thanks guys, i was offered a free 5ft tank last nite with all the attachments and i had to turn it down, it was really difficult, *sigh* if i dont have space for a hexagonal tank ill never fit a 5ft tank somewhere. pity he had a couple of tanks he wanted to get rid off