# best (least expensive) filtration for a 55 with sand



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

Hi. I'm setting up a 55gal mixed tank. will have about 15 fish in it (around 1-2") will take some out as they grow larger. I'd like to use the white pool filter sand. I am not able to use a cannister filter or sump type system.

Equipment I have: 2 powerheads. ugf for a 48" tank, hob filter rated 380gph, any sized sponge filters. (I will buy whatever else I need)

I'm trying to do the least costly filtration. I dont mind water changes if it will make a less expensive method work. I can hide sponge filters, read something about stacking them? but the sponge filters are really loud... not sure if I can do anything with powerheads apart from the ugf... Whats the minimum I could make work with the sand substrate?

(diy filtration stuff is an option if I can get good directions!!)


----------



## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Well if your doing HOB's with pool filter sand, your gonna have noise issues with them eventually also. A couple of mine are pretty noisy thanks to pool filter sand


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

ok. so what about sponge filters. Can I stack them somehow? so i can use the narrower ones? maybe 2 high on each side with powerheads attached? or a double-out airpump? I just have no experience with sponge filters except in a 10gal. Please help! Thanks!!!!


----------



## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

Cheapest filtration for a 55 gallon would be a AC 110 with a power head or two for circulation. They will occasionally make a bit of noise, so they take a bit of fine tuning from time to time. You can get one through Dr. F+S for $45, if that's still working. You'll have to search that one :thumb:

If you're like me, and like redundacy, two AC 70 would be a good bet. The only problem with those is that if you get a bigger tank, they probably won't fit over the rim.


----------



## Mudfrog (Aug 15, 2007)

AC110 all the way


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

beachtan said:


> ok. so what about sponge filters. Can I stack them somehow? so i can use the narrower ones? maybe 2 high on each side with powerheads attached? or a double-out airpump? I just have no experience with sponge filters except in a 10gal. Please help! Thanks!!!!


Anyone with sponge filter experience? I'm trying to avoid the hob's since they cost so much to run. (I have a handfull of tanks and my electric bill is getting higher than I'd like!)


----------



## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

No sponge filter experience here, but if you think HOB are expensive to run...you need to get a cheaper hobby.

You're probably using more electricity on the heater and lights than you are on a good HOB. IIRC, my XP3 only has a 20 watt motor on it.


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

why the sarcasm? i have 9 tanks and trying to save a buck. what do you care?! dont answer my post if you have a prob. with my question.

for the record it ends up costing $75/mo for hob's vs. $3 for the sponge filters buddy. I'm just trying to find someone who know about sponge filters. You obviously dont, so please dont respond.


----------



## CichlidLover2 (Jul 31, 2005)

I would talk to FishAreFriends, he's a user on this forum. He ran his system at his house entirely on sponge filters and me and him run the freshwater section of our LFS on sponge filters. If you have questions I would ask him.


----------



## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

Without trying to sound too smart.... $75/mo for hob's ??!!
Here is an excerpt from another forum I found a while back to prove to the wifey our Hobby isn't that expensive :lol:



> Lets start off with a few basics you may already know. Your power provider measures your usage by the Kilowatt hour (kWh). I know out by me Commonwealth Edison charges $.08275 per kWh. All of our equipment has listed on it the wattage rating. With this info we can easily calculate what the cost of running a certian item will be.
> 
> Here is the formula for figuring out the monthly cost of an AC110. A few things to keep in mind here are 1. this formula calculates cost of running an appiance 24/7 for a month. We all know our heaters don't stay on all day and night. 2. This formula isn't 100% accurate as there are many variables that can have an effect on the outcome. 3. This formula will however get you into the ball park as to your costs.
> 
> ...


----------



## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

I'm curious...if it costs $75 every month just to run HOB filters...what's your total electric bill??  My total bill is usually only around $100, and I have a wife!! :lol: i think I know where the majority of my electric usage is :thumb:

Didn't mean to offend you with the comment, but look at Hoosier tank's quote. It's not the HOB that are killing your bill. At $0.83 per month, that would take a lot of HOB to get to $75! You have some other power drain going on. Where do you live and what's the total gallonage? I'd bet on heater issues or too many lights on or something. Wife? That'll do it :lol:


----------



## imusuallyuseless (Dec 28, 2005)

I'm sort of with the others in saying that HOB's shouldn't cost you that much on your electric bill. However, If you're interested in running mainly sponge filters, then you should be able to achieve enough bio-filtration w/just that. Adding the powerheads to the sponge filters would increase the effectiveness of them as mechanical filters, but they'd require more frequent cleanings. Also your HOB will not get ruined using PFS IF you rinse it well enough and keep the intake at least 6" from the substrate. If you really want to go simple and CHEAP, then buy an AC110 replacement sponge, an airpump rated for around 20-30G & some airline tubing(if you don't already have these) and some 1/2" or 3/4" pvc pipe. Cut a length of pvc just slightly taller than the lenght of the sponge(or cut the sponge in half if you want to make 2 smaller ones). Seal off one end of the pvc. You can either buy a cap to go on the end or do like i did and silicone it to a piece of a plastic cd cover. Then drill a bunch of holes in the part of the pvc that will be covered by the foam. Next use a utility knife to hollow out a hole down the center of the sponge so the pipe will fit through. Then all you really have to do is feed the airline tubing into one of the holes near the bottom and slide the foam over. And as I said you could place the intake of the powerheads on top of the sponge filter instead of using the airpump. This would give you a better mechanical filter, but the debris will start to collect alot quicker. At one point I ran my 180G new world tank off of two of these sponge filters. Water params were in check, but it did require more frequent/extensive water changes to remove waste from the substrate.

PS Ditch the UGF, it won't do you any good w/sand...


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

Thanks Hoosier - that helps. Also, I just read keeping our playstation on but idle costs same as 2 refridgerators! maybe thats what made my bill so high!! lol

And Mithesaint - thx. sorry I snapped a little bit - had kind of a rough day and felt beat up.

I'm in a rush right now, but I'll sit down and read thru all this stuff more carefully later tonite! Thanks everyone! I'm one of those people who has to know everything and weigh my options - not very decisive unfortunately.


----------



## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

The HOB filters have the advantage of being able to use carbon should you ever need to remove meds, toxins or odors from the tank.

I used a sponge filter in an angelfish fry tank and could hardly wait until the fry were large enough to replace the sponge filter with an HOB. I had to do daily water changes with the sponge filter but once I switched over to the HOB, I was back to once a week. I'm not sure the sponge filter does much better than an air stone.


----------



## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

I just set up a 10g fry tank. I was going to do the sponge filter thing but went with the smallest Aquaclear. Maintenance-wise they are just so easy.


----------



## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

I run sponge filters on all my tanks except my show tank. Help save a lot of power! first off, buy a really strong air pump then hook it up with "T's"


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

Ok, ok. I'm retarded. The formula i was using to figure out electricity usage was wrong. Go figure! So all you people were right.   From what I understand, the heater is my big draw and I cant skimp on that. So I guess for the 55gal's I'll go ahead and use a hob! :thumb: much easier for maintenance I guess! But I'll still use the sponge filters in my smaller tanks.

If anyone knows of a cheap place (online) for an aquaclear 70, please let me know! I've looked around a bit, and havent found much of a deal. :fish:

Thanks everyone for all the help and advice! I hate bugging the lfs all the time! and the only way to find out is to ask I guess .


----------



## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

beachtan said:


> If anyone knows of a cheap place (online) for an aquaclear 70, please let me know! I've looked around a bit, and havent found much of a deal. :fish:
> 
> .


have you tried ebay? or maybe craigslist?


----------



## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

cant find them under about $45 and with shipping of $7-9 its no longer a deal 

I heard of them online for $33, but no luck finding that deal.


----------



## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

Keep an eye on www.BigAls.com for a sale... and if you have local Pet-stupid they will honor / match the sale price.


----------



## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

its actually www.bigalsonline.com


----------



## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

We just tried our first sponge filter in a room that uses Emperor 400's and Magnum 350's. For $7, I figured how can you go wrong with the sponge filter? Holy **** is it loud!

No more! 

-Ryan


----------



## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

http://www.aquatraders.com/odysseacfs4c ... ilter.aspx

I have one of these (a different color, but same thing) and it works really well.


----------



## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

you might want to consider something slightly larger than a single AC 70 for your 55. Depends on what your future stocking levels will be, but 300 gph might not be enough.

I had a single AC 70 on a 55 for awhile, and it just wasn't enough after the fish got bigger. I added a second 70, and that helped a lot, and it ran like that for a long time. I like redundancy in filters, so the doubled up 70's worked well for me.

If you're trying to minimize costs, you probably better stay with one filter, and I would go with either the ac 110 or the Emperor 400 if you're going that route. The bonus is that the larger filters will fit larger aquariums when you upgrade in the future, and the AC 70 won't. I've been down the AC 70 path before, and I needed two. If you're up to frequent maint, then you'll be fine. Good luck.


----------

