Preparing a new tank for heckels

[bavaria36]

I finally found the time to get my new 120 gallon tank set up and after having read many of the posts on this BB will be trying to go with a sand bottom. I have plenty of wood so all I need now is a few floating plants.

I am planning to use two air driven Hydro V sponges as filtration. Will this be sufficient for a tank this size stocked with around 10 discus or should I look at also running a large power filter ( Eheim 20208 for example ) ?

Aaron

[plecocicho]

You should always try to have large filters for wild discus aquariums. The best solution would be home made external filter with compartments, either below the tank or on the side of tank with volume of 20%. Larger filters keep your water more clean and ypou do not have to make wc/s every day. I f you go with canister filters, than it is best that you conect two filter units together.
Greetings.

[Tropical Haven]

Two Hydro sponges will not be enough for a tank this size. I have a 120 gallon tank and I have 4 big Hydro sponges plus 2 Emperor 400 filters hooked to the back of it.

[bavaria36]

The two hydro sponges take up quite a lot of space and with the wood in there I can't really add any more. I could easily hook up an external canister filter though.


Aaron

[Harriett]

I like to overfilter--whatever the canister info says it will do in terms of tank size, I double. Then I know the tank is really covered. Spray bars on the return lines of the BBs horizontally an inch below the water line create plenty of movement and good oxygenation--I don't use sponge filters. Big prefilters on the intakes of all.
Best regards
Harriett

[bavaria36]

Thanks,

does anyone have information on sponge filter efficiency rates. How can I compare the efficiency of lets say a Hydro V sponge filter driven by an airline to a canister filter which has a specified gph turnover rate.

I run my 65 gallon BB tanks with just one Hydro V sponge filter and now I am starting to doubt that is enough.

Aaron

[yogi]

Someone told me years ago that sponge filters over estimate how much they can really filter. All I know is I have seven tanks with both sponge filters and hob filters. the sponges are for bio and the hob are more for mechanical filtering. The sponges and hob are installed at what the manufactures say they can handle. Two of the tanks were always slightly hazy compared to the other five. All tanks are stocked about the same, with the same water changes and feeding. When I added additional sponge filters to the two slightly hazy tanks, they both became as clear as the other five within 48 hours. This is just my experience.

[Apistomaster]

I use two Azoo Oxygen Plus #6 sponge filter per tank on every thing I have that is 20 to 40 gallons. These are equivalent to the Hydro V. One is run in airlift mode, the other is run by a MaxiJet #600 Powerhead. Powerhead driven sponge filters will clog in time because so much more fine sediment in drawn into the sponge. The sponge may clog with the power head but it has more "polishing power" than the airlift mode.

On a large discus show tank I like to use one powerhead driven sponge filter, a canister filter sized for the tank and a wet/dry filter. I use the Tide Pool Overflow. The wet/dry has a pump that is moving at least 10X the system's water volume per hour. This combo works well for me and the filter maintenance is minimal. I change about 70% of the system's water volume twice a week. I don't use spray bars because they can reduce the flow rate of a filter below it's full potential. I use an AquaLifter vacuum pump with over flow siphons to prevent bubble accumulations that can reduce or interrupt the siphon flow. It also prevents flooding that can occur if overflow siphons break.

[bavaria36]

Jerry, Larry and all

thanks for all the advice. In the short term then I will go with a minimum of two HydroV sponges and an Eheim 2028. Its not as good as Larry's filtration but I think I should be Ok with low stocking levels. I have an Eheim 2028 already running in an existing 120 gallon tank so I will take 1/2 the filter material to start up the new one.

I am not familiar with the Maxijet powerheads but if they are easy to fit to a Hydro V then I will also line up one of those. I must also admit complete ignorance of wet/dry filters but if they are easy to set up I will then consider one of these too.

Just one more question... if I get 6-7 small heckels should I place them right into the 120 gallon or should I try and grow them out in one of my 65 gallon BB tanks ?

Aaron

[bavaria36]

Larry,

am I to understand then, that the turnover rate needs to be several times the tank volume per hour ? Most of the large size Eheim filters I am considering have a turnover rate that is barely 1 1/2 times the tank volume yet they are specified as suitable for those tank sizes.

For example the 2229 Wet/dry from Eheim has a trunover rate of 145 gallons/hr. My tank is a 120 gallon so is this far too little filtration ?

I was planning on a 2229 plus 2 HydroV sponges.....

Aaron

[Apistomaster]

The minimum filter turn over rate is very much dependent on the stocking level of the discus aquarium. My stocking rates tend to be higher than many others and it is really my personal experience that a 10X turn over rate is well suited to the way I maintain my discus.
This does not mean it is necessary for all situations.

It seems to me you can begin with the filter system you have in mind then make any adjustments upwards if your results indicate this would be beneficial. I maintain contact with many European fish keepers and they all use much lower turn over rates. Each has told me that they are mainly based on the heavily planted aquarium and not specifically discus aquariums. Those who have begun keeping discus ended up using higher filtration rates than they used to for their planted tanks.
I do think you will find increasing the filtration will only have benefits.

[bavaria36]

Thanks for the advice. I will go with the plan then. I have had two HydroV sponges running now in the tank for a couple of weeks. I am doing a fishless cycle but it is still not quite done yet. Once the wet/dry arrives I will add that and seed it from the mature filter I have running in my large community tank.

I have also ordered a powerhead to drive one of the HydroV's .

Now to find some nice Heckels !!!!

Aaron

[Apistomaster]

Hi Aaron,
To answer your question about placing the Heckels in your 120 or use a smaller tank first, I would just go ahead and put them in your 120 gal straight away. Small Heckels are still good sized compared to small as it is applied to domestic discus.
Your Heckels will grow quite fast in your 120 gal aquarium.