two eheim 2180 on 200 gallon

[AngryBird]

I have ordered an acrylic 200 gallon tank and I am preparing to get everything together before the tank arrives. Would two eheim 2180 be a over kill for this size tank? The tank will be bare bottom tank with plants attached to malaysian driftwood. I have kept 1 eheim 2180 on a 75 gallon planted tank and it worked without issues for the last three years until I decided to take it apart.

[Altum Nut]

Wow......over $1200+ in filters and Media.

I'm a classic 2217 kind of guy, which is what I would use for a 200g.
I personally think 2 X 2180 is over kill.

Good luck,
...Ralph

[AngryBird]

I already have the filters and the media. I also have couple of eheim 2076. When you said over kill, are you talking in terms of $ or water flow and filtration? I am planning to keep only one spray bar from one filter and let the other spray bar all the down to the bottom of the tank so that no waste collects in the bottom of the tank. I am planning on keeping only one heater on with the eheim 2180. I still have another three weeks to decide.

[2wheelsx2]

I personally think it would be great. I know a guy running 4 FX5's in a 400 gallon because he tried a sump and it was too loud for his liking. If you already have the gear, why not?

[Altum Nut]

Don't get me wrong. I was just quoting that one 2180 moves 450gph flow rate and is rated for a 320g tank. So in my mind...one would be enough for a 200g.
The best of luck for whatever you decide.

...Ralph

[AngryBird]

Thank you for the input.

[bonsai dave]

great choice in filters I have a xp4 and a 2080 running on my 120 gallon acrylic tank . I'm getting another 2080 for the tank. I have 16 discus ranging from 4 to 8 inches and a 6 in silver aro. More filtration the better. I think.

[deepflyball]

I would use 1- 2180 and 4 sponge filters. Get the sponges that hang on the tank wall and they look nice.

Jerry

[TChizzle]

I have 2 FX5's on my 240g full of substrat pro. Does wonders. IMO, the more filtration, the better.

[Fish Finatics]

Have you ever heard of a "biological bottleneck"???? What happens all too often is in time the two matched canisters will end up competing against each other and you end up with your tank being the battle ground. I am currently running 9 aquariums, one of which is a reef and another four are planted discus. On my reef I use the live rock as the sole biological filter. I do not run any other form of bio filters on my reef because something occurs called a "biological bottleneck". Nitrate explosions and bacteria blooms become a real problem. I would rec. one good, large Eheim for your biological filtration and a few "fast filters" for your mechanical scarfer-uppers. I believe you will be pleased with those results. Go with and stay with Eheims, you'll be glad you did. I have five operating Eheims, 3 wet/dry canisters (running all freshwater tanks) a big Pro 3 E and a regular Pro 3. It is rare that I even touch the wet/dries as their purging action keeps them clean as long as I run good mechanical filtration via "fast filters". The other big Eheims have their sponges located on top so all you need do is remove the pump head and the sponges are right there for easy replacement. I replace the blue pre-filter sponge about once a month as I just rinse and reuse but the white fine filter pad does require weekly replacement. The bio-media on all filters stays amazingly clean.

Have Fun

[Fish Finatics]

To All of My Felow Discus Lovers:

I totally share in your belief that "the more filtration the better". The thing is, if you scatter your biological filtration via several filters you will end up with a "biological bottleneck". They compete against each other and your tank WILL eventually become the "battle ground" as it is between the filters. When I origionally set up my first discus aquariums I was going on the same premise, I put two big Eheims on each of my discus tanks. Three months later I was experiencing all sorts of problems. I took one discus tank and took the second big Eheim off of it. It improved signifigantly and stablized incredibly well. I took the second Eheim off the second tank and it too did the same thing.

I think many of you need to look into this (you multiple biological filter people) as it is better to have one BIG biological filter than several smaller ones. Robert Fenner (Wet Web Media) talked about this in his Conscientious Marine Aquarist Book and the same applies in discus keeping. About a year ago I was debating on putting a bio filter on my reef which is heavily stocked with live rock which serves as my biological filter. I am an advanced reef keeper (20 years) and have learned to apply many of the therories related to reef keeping to my now four planted discus tanks. The main thing is "nutrient export" which is accomplished by using fast and effective mechanical filtration and regular cleaning and replacement of "trapping medias" such as filter floss. You want your bio-filter to have a large capasity but you want fast mechanical filtration to remove the excess organics as quickly as possible. Nowhere in the hobby is pure water more vital than in reef keeping but discus run a close second. Beyond that, nothing can give you the same benefits as daily water changes for our discus but for many of us that is just not realistic with our hectic lifestyles and responsibilities elsewhere. We still need to keep our tanks as clean as possible and keep our biological filters functioning at peak.

Success to All of US Who Choose to Keep These Wonderful Discus

[Juventino]

Two Eheim s 2180 for 200G Great thing, what can i say !!!