# New Tank/New Filter



## scottiecoach (Feb 9, 2014)

I have a new 72 gallon bowfront and am looking for suggestions for a single canister filter. My wife does not want a HOB and she wants it to be as quiet as possible. All suggestions/opinions are greatly appreciated!


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

If you're looking for a single filter to run the tank, look at a Fluval FX6. If you don't mind running 2 canisters, look at a 2215 and 2217, or 2 2217s.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

ehiem. quiet and efficient. the cant be beat in my book. i believe its the 2217 model that is rated for 160 gal. that would be perfect on 72


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

correction. the filter i mentioned is an older model of eheim. i actually run the eheim pro 3 series filters that are rated for 160 gal. i believe its pro 3 2073


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I love my fx5, but i use it in conjunction with a couple of HOBs. I'm a fan of redundancy. If you only use one and something happens to it you may be up a creek. Using 2 means you'll always have an established filter running on your tank. And something WILL happen to it at some point. It may be years down the road, but things break. They also do need to be cleaned periodically. So if you have to give your only filter a thorough cleaning, you might risk a mini cycle.


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

regardless of filter, always rinse media in tank water when cleaning not tap water. this prevents mini cycle.


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## Kleovoulos (Jan 6, 2011)

Eheim 2080 my best choice :wink:


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

mclaren880 said:


> I love my fx5, but i use it in conjunction with a couple of HOBs. I'm a fan of redundancy. If you only use one and something happens to it you may be up a creek. Using 2 means you'll always have an established filter running on your tank. And something WILL happen to it at some point. It may be years down the road, but things break. They also do need to be cleaned periodically. So if you have to give your only filter a thorough cleaning, you might risk a mini cycle.


There's no reason to ever give any filter a thorough cleaning. On an FX5/6 you'd clean the mechanical media, and maybe the impeller/impeller well, and that'd be it. You wouldn't even touch the biomedia, unless maybe it had been running for years and you wanted to give it a light rinse in tank water.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

pablo111 said:


> mclaren880 said:
> 
> 
> > I love my fx5, but i use it in conjunction with a couple of HOBs. I'm a fan of redundancy. If you only use one and something happens to it you may be up a creek. Using 2 means you'll always have an established filter running on your tank. And something WILL happen to it at some point. It may be years down the road, but things break. They also do need to be cleaned periodically. So if you have to give your only filter a thorough cleaning, you might risk a mini cycle.
> ...


Why will you not rinse the bio-media ? I use aquarium water to clean/rinse all bio-media. Am I missing something here ?


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

chopsteeks said:


> pablo111 said:
> 
> 
> > mclaren880 said:
> ...


Ya, rinse it once in a while but I think those people who rinse their biomedia in tank water every 3-4 weeks are nuts.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Yeah, no i agree you shouldn't ever completely clean it out, i should have chosen a better way to say that. I do like to give the tubes in the canister a good run through with a brush every few months, however. And i also think it's good to rinse bio media in tank water every now and then. All that gunk is basically the same gunk that gets on filter pads, and we remove filter pads to remove all the waste and to help keep nitrates in line. My understanding is that some people on the saltwater side of the hobby don't like bio balls because they can lead to increased nitrates if not rinsed regularly. After 3-4 months, my biomedia is all gunked up and i don't believe that's all good bacteria, it's also fish poop. The foam blocks in the filter also need to be replaced every so often. I usually squeeze them out in tank water, but i don't believe those are meant to be used forever. Having more than one filter spreads out the bacteria so you aren't completely reliant on just one.

More than cleaning, a breakdown is the primary reason i think it's good to have redundancy. I had an emperor 350 burn out a few months after I got it because i was new to the hobby and didn't realize that some cichlids will slowly rip up even silk plants. The strands got in the impeller and it burned out. I was on vacation for a few days when it happened and my roommate who was feeding them didn't notice. It could have stopped 5 minutes before i got home or 5 minutes after I left and didn't run the entire weekend. I now know not to do this, but stuff happens. Fortunately i also had an emperor 400 running as well and everything was ok. It's one of those things that isn't an issue, until it is. Then you may end up going to Petsmart to buy a filter for 2x as much as Amazon because you can't wait a couple days for the new filter to arrive. Equipment that has moving parts will eventually break down.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

I'm realizing that through all of that, i lost track of the OP's original question. I would go with a couple smaller canister filters over one larger one, if it were me.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

*** been running an ac110 and a rena xpl on my 75 for a couple years. finally got tired of sand getting into the impellor on my ac110, no matter what i did, sponge pre filter,nylons,etc,sand still creeped in and ruined the impeller and shaft. I finally broke down last night and ordered me a eheim 2217.will be here friday. 
After my water change last weekend, i cleaned the ac110,as i do weekly,rinse pads clean the sand out.came home monday after work and the filter had STOPPED running, uh huh, sand....... done with it ! I never,i mean NEVER get sand in the impellers of my canisters.

Point i was going to make was i think a 2217 and a rena xpl on a 75 is plenty. 
and i always rinse my bio with tank water, but rinse my pads and floss in tap water


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## jeffkro (Feb 13, 2014)

wait, who put sand in your tank?


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## jeffkro (Feb 13, 2014)

"i always rinse my bio with tank water, but rinse my pads and floss in tap water"

Shouldn't you toss floss every time?

Rinse sponges toss floss right?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

B.Roberson said:


> I've been running an ac110 and a rena xpl on my 75 for a couple years. finally got tired of sand getting into the impellor on my ac110, no matter what i did, sponge pre filter,nylons,etc,sand still creeped in and ruined the impeller and shaft. I finally broke down last night and ordered me a eheim 2217.will be here friday.
> After my water change last weekend, i cleaned the ac110,as i do weekly,rinse pads clean the sand out.came home monday after work and the filter had STOPPED running, uh huh, sand....... done with it ! I never,i mean NEVER get sand in the impellers of my canisters.
> 
> Point i was going to make was i think a 2217 and a rena xpl on a 75 is plenty.
> and i always rinse my bio with tank water, but rinse my pads and floss in tap water


I have to agree with you bud. I use sand in all my tanks because the fish I keep require it. I find Eheim canisters do not have a problem with sand so there's no reason for me not to keep the fish I like. All the aquaclears I have ever owned have ended up in the garbage. I guess some of us have to learn the hard way.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Hmm interesting. So Eheim's don't have issues? I do get sand in my emperors, but it doesn't seem to really affect them. I guess they have only been running for 1.5 years or so (not all that long in expected life). I'm looking to change up my filters on one of my tanks, maybe i'll give those a look.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I haven't had a problem with the seven (two 2262s and five 2217s) that I have had running for years with sand.
I also have an emperor 400 that has no problem either, although it's on a 29" tall tank with the intake shortened.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

I have Fluval/Rena/Eheim/Emperors--- never had a problem. The Aquaclear 70 will get noisy once the sand gets in there, clean it up and these filters are good to go.


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## B.Roberson (Nov 6, 2011)

jeffkro said:


> wait, who put sand in your tank?


yep,I know! my fault I put sand in my tank. ooops :x


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