Good to see you back.
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Good to see you back.
Congrats on a true work of art. I'm in the planning stages for a 450gal display tank. Reading your thread was inspiring to say the least.
Question ( from a newbie to Discus) why were you so hesitant on incorporating a sump and decided to go canister?
I’ve seen your thread. Great to see you’re doing your research before diving in.
I would have loved to get a sump, but I don’t know jack about them and wouldn’t trust myself to set one up. No one here I would trust to do it for me, either.
The canisters work alright, but I have to stay on top of maintenance. If I could do it over I would just run 3 of those pond filters I have one of, just as easy to clean as a regular canister, but an incredible amount of space for media. I’m also going to add a trickle filter on top of the tank, as I will be doubling the stock in there from 35 to 70+ discus soon.
Any updates on these are in my homestead. Just click the link in my signature, the blue one for this specific tank.
Happy reading, I, too learned an incredible amount by just browsing through the forums, and still am.
I can say with certainty I would not be keeping discus today if it wasn’t for simply
Tobi , Ive always wondered about the use of pond filters for our discus tanks because of their media space and better water flow for the same money . I was scared away though , reading through the net that they weren't designed to be placed under tanks and push the flow upwards .
What's your experience with pond filters and which model have you used so far ?
Filip, nothing but positive so far. I’m using the Sicce Green Reset 100 (100 Liter volume and 50w UV) with a Sicce Pro Silent 5000 l/h pump. The flow is comparable to an FX6, due to the long way up. I’m using the sponges it came with, and about 30 Liters of Maxspect Nano Sphere biomedia.
I did add a drain valve at the bottom of the filter, otherwise there would be no way that I could remove it for cleaning. I also have a t piece between the pump and the filter, so I can close the valve going to the filter and open the other one, which I use to drain the tank when I’m not syphoning.
As I said above , if I could do it again, proper sump would be first choice, then 3 of these pond monsters as a close second.
FX6 in front of the pond filter, bit of a size difference
Attachment 123373
That's a huge size difference between Fx6 and green reset , Tobi . Rated at 5000 gph and ending up with a real flow like FX 6 I guess it does significantly loose it's flow pushing water up to the tank .
I guess we should consider this when choosing pond filter for a tank filtration . Thanks for sharing your experience with it .
To Toby or anyone else on this thread: What would the bioload ( fishload) ratio of one 6" discus to cardinal tetra ? ie. X tetras = 6" discus.
I've once measured a big fat 6 inch discus on a scale after it died and it weighted about 6.5 ounces or 180 grams .
While i've never measured a Cardinal I would wild guess that they wouldn't weight more than 2-3 grams per fish .
So my oppinion is that about hunderd Cardinal would make the same bioload as one grown discus ,not taking the feeding habits and differences in account .
You guys have made me rethink things, just ordered a second pond filter, same model. Will replace 2 canisters. More biomedia, less maintenance.
You make me rethink mine too Tobi :) .
After your positive feedback , I'm seriously considering changing my 2000 lph (liters )canister for a 6000 lph pond canister filter with much bigger volume.
If the pond filter can keep it's real / hand measured flow to at least 2500-3000 lph after installation I would be more than satisfied with it's results . Thanks again for your first hand experience and idea .
what is the noise level like on these pond filters?