Page 1 of 1
Filtration question.
Posted: 28 Jan 2005, 21:13
by Paladindjinn
what would be the recomended filtration, for a 12-14 inch albino sailfin in a 46 gallon tank. Yes i know he is probably to big for the tank, but when i got him he was like an inch long, and i though he was a common that might top out at 8 or so.
Posted: 29 Jan 2005, 03:15
by corybreed
A 12-14 inch pleco generates copious amount of wate material. You are going to need at least one hang on the back power filter and many water changes to keep the tank clean.
Mark
Posted: 29 Jan 2005, 05:09
by Paladindjinn
Yea i have a marineland emperor 400 filter, but it just doesn't seem to be cutting it, and my method of water changing is very poor, and i have like a max of 14 gallons i can change at once in my 46 gallon tank. Which is why i asked if anyone could suggest a more efficient form of water changing.
Posted: 31 Jan 2005, 10:36
by MatsP
What is currently limiting your water changing capabilities?
I change water in a 400L (about 100 US gal) using a siphon to an outside drain (with a long hose), and then a builders bucket (6 gal) to fill it up again. It takes a few buckets to do 25% water change on that tank, but it doesn't take that long...
Doing more frequent changes is probably better than fewer bigger changes.
Getting a bigger tank is probably also beneficial (but the tank size needed for a 12-14 inch pleco is something like 5'x2'x2', so a quite LARGE tank).
Any big external filters would be of benefit too. I'm pretty sure those with more expereience in external filters will have names and numbers, but something designed for a 100gal tank would probably do quite well in your case. Eheim is one of the better (and more expensive) brands, but it's probably more important to get _something_ than to get the better model, if you see what I mean. The main difference between different makes and models is the ease of maintenance and options available for different filtering materials, but they generall do the same thing for all brands and makes, just at slightly different prices.
The reason I recommend an external filter is that the external filter expands the water volume by a gallon or two, and although it's not much, it's better than stuffing more things INSIDE the tank and reducing the water volume available.
Best of luck. Please feel free to ask further questions.
--
Mats