# filter shopping



## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

im buying a 75 and got a REALLY good deal on the tank, stand, lid and lights. i have a heater and now need a nice canister filter. im thinking an eheim ecco 2236. does anyone know of a website/online store where they have good prices on filters? never bought fish equipment online before. thanks!


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

HONDO said:


> im buying a 75 and got a REALLY good deal on the tank, stand, lid and lights. i have a heater and now need a nice canister filter. im thinking an eheim ecco 2236. does anyone know of a website/online store where they have good prices on filters? never bought fish equipment online before. thanks!


www.bigalsonline.com and www.drsfostersmith.com both seem to be fairly popular. There are many other vendors out there though. Not sure how much you're looking to spend, but petsmart.com was having a sale on the eheim proII canisters.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## MightyM (May 15, 2004)

I have both eheim classic series and the ecco...both are really quiet, my only issue with the ecco is the mech handle is very fragile and the filter have alittle bypass. If youre getting a canister, I would buy the 2217 model or just keep it simple and get 2 AC-110. Having 2 AC-110 will also give your tank a 10x turnover.


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## AquaTester55 (Aug 16, 2006)

The 2236 is only 185 GPH. Thats not much for a 75 Gallon. To have a heathy tank you need atleast 5x turn over rate which would put in the bulpark of 380 realtime GPH (Not documented GPH)

The Documented GPH rating usually is much higher than the actual realtime GPH flow rate you will get when using the filter. So look for a filter that is around 400-450 GPH (documented rating). _Ehiem seems to rate their flow rate in realtime with media so they are the closest to giving the actuall flow rate_

What type of fish are you going to be housing? Depending on your answer you may need more than one filter.


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## aritg3 (Feb 18, 2008)

I have a semi new 75gal tank. I am running a Eheim 2060 and a 2213. I am very happy with the combo and have no issues. I have three power heads to help circulate the water.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

aquatester, i was thinking the same thing. the ecco 2236 is for max 80 gallon and for a 75 that will definetely not be enough. it was what the guy at the lfs reccomended and i dont know what he was thinking. i will be transporting my two baby sevs and 5" pleco in there. those three fish make some serious waste. im glad i found this site. im getting alot of good information that would otherwise i wouldnt have gotten. its gonna end up saving me alot of money when i make the purchases.

i have found that comparatively, drsfostersmith has some of the best prices.

for a 75 with 2 sevs and a large pleco, what filtration would everyone reccomend?

would there be any advantages/disadvantages to using a canister filter and also my aqua clear 50 gal external filter on the 75?


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## AquaTester55 (Aug 16, 2006)

I don't know where the manufacturers get there take size rating. Its pretty rediculous.

Example. The Fluval Fx5 is rated for aquariums up to 400 Gallons. I would never put one Fx5 on a 400 gallon tank. Even if I had tropicals I would have tons of them so the fx5 im sure would not hold up very well. Its output is only around 550 GPH with its limited bio capacity. You should have atleast 1500-2000 GPH on a 400 Gallon tank.


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## HONDO (May 4, 2008)

interesting. i have actually gotten some nice ideas from others who keep severums over in the SA section. thank you very much for your help. if you dont mind, i may ask another question or two as i try to figure out what to get.


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## salsaman451 (Oct 4, 2006)

Hello All

I have a 60 gal. tall tank with two marineland (Penguin) 350 HOB's rated at 350 GPH each plus two powerheads rated at 150 each for water movement. technically that is 1000 GPH.

I went to the fabric store and got some batting material for quilts. It costs me .08 cents a piece verses 80 cents for the *C * size.


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