Overhead filter

[seanyuki]

This External overhead filter


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Anyone here using it and would love to see what filter materials you use inside the compartments...

[coralbandit]

Re: Overhead filter

I am not using one but they are my next filter to install on many of my tanks as extra filtration .
I am big on mechanicals and sponges for my bio ..
I have strong opinions on all the super special medias ..
When read Dr. Steven Tanners info on Porret sponges then you might fell differently on using the many contrived medias that are for sale with no scientific info to back them ..
I have used aquaclear sponges X2 in my HOBs with none of the media they supply and my sump for my 180g has been run on sponges for about 9 years now ..
Mechanicals and sponges are the easiest to maintain IMO ..
Most other medias clog and or become nitrate factories ..

[Iminit]

Re: Overhead filter

So true! Sponges have been around forever. So somebody cut lava rock into nice shapes and somebody else smoothed out pumis stones and both sold them to us with great advertising. Kind of like these above tank filters . Don’t be a tool . I can here the conversation at the bar (remember when we went to bars ) hey how come all filters are either hanging off the back or under the tank. Yeah yeah that’s the ticket!!

[Willie]

Re: Overhead filter

I'm extremely partial to sponge filters, to the point that they are the sole filtration system in my tanks now. I like the coarser Hydro V Pros from Jehmco, which I stack two high to minimize footprint. The finer poor Hydro V's work just as well, but the material does not stand up to regular squeezing. Whether you use bio rings, lava rocks or sponges, it's just the amount of surface area they provide for bacteria to grow. Sponges are obviously the most economical option among these.

I used Porets a very long time ago and they do a good job of biological filtration. I stopped using them because most people let them become fully clogged to maximize bacterial growth. (Steve Tanner is in Rochester, MN, about an hour from the Twin Cities and an active member of our fish club. I've seen slides of his filtration setups, and it works fine for fish that can handle dirt and mulm.) That's just too dirty for discus in my opinion.

Willie

[LizStreithorst]

Re: Overhead filter

I like poret foam in my young fry tanks and shrimp tanks. I have a good bit of gravity feeding my dirty tank water down into the woods. Being able to drain water from behind the tank keeps me from accidentally sucking up fry. I do have a poret foam filter in my 100 gallon Discus tank but I use one of the old Magnum 250 HOB on them in addition to the Poret.

[seanyuki]

Re: Overhead filter

I enjoy surfing the web and look for aquarium gadgets.

Bubble Bio Moving Bed Filter

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https://houseofdiscus.shop/collections/internal-filter/internal

[Willie]

Re: Overhead filter

I like poret foam in my young fry tanks and shrimp tanks. I have a good bit of gravity feeding my dirty tank water down into the woods. Being able to drain water from behind the tank keeps me from accidentally sucking up fry. I do have a poret foam filter in my 100 gallon Discus tank but I use one of the old Magnum 250 HOB on them in addition to the Poret.

Do you ever clean the Poret, Liz?

Willie

[LizStreithorst]

Re: Overhead filter

Yes. It's a pain but when the water flow slows down it's a must. I put it in the fish room sink and blow it out with RO water from the sump pump and hose I use for water transfer. It doesn't have to be cleaned often.

[coralbandit]

Re: Overhead filter

My porret is in my sump and it gets cleaned on the regular like all my other sponges .
I honestly don't the type of sponge makes a huge difference .
There are so real crappy ones but never last long anyways so they are replaced ..
I am surprised when I see so many pictures on this forum of sponge filters driven by air missing the uplift tube !
The tube clearly makes a difference on how the sponge works .Without the tubes many of you are not pulling close to the same amount of water through your sponge you would if the tube was in place ..
I am no engineer but it seems simple enough to understand ??

[Willie]

Re: Overhead filter

Yes. It's a pain but when the water flow slows down it's a must. I put it in the fish room sink and blow it out with RO water from the sump pump and hose I use for water transfer. It doesn't have to be cleaned often.

For raising shrimp and more tolerant fish, the protocol is to never clean the Poret filter. Obviously that doesn't work for discus. But cleaning a big slab of a filter is just too messy for me, and impractical for 5 months out of the year around here. I prefer something smaller so that cleaning is more manageable.

Willie

[LizStreithorst]

Re: Overhead filter

I actually haven't had to clean the Poret filter on my 100 gallon Discus tank at all yet. But I do vacuum the tank bottom every day. Perhaps I should pull the Poret out and give it a good clean. It's not that hard for me, but it's more of a pain than squeezing a normal sponge.