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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Best external filter for a 550 litre tank?

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17 Aug 2011 09:21 - 17 Aug 2011 09:33 #1 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Hi guys,

I'm just upgrading to a 550 litre tank and wondering what external filter is the best to get?

I currently have a aquis 1200 running in my aquaone evo 120 but my seven piranha have outgrown this. Will need a good filter because the piranaha are 6-7 inches now.

Have been looking around and i think i have two options

1. Fluval FX5, < 1,500 litres, 3,500 lph, €200, media not included

2. Eheim External Filter Professional 3 2075, < 600 litres, 1,250 lph, €160, media included

Would prefer to get the Eheim but is 1,250 lph enough for piranha in a 550 litre?? I read somewhere you need 3 times the lph of a tank for piranha?

Any other suggestions? Budget would be around 200 - 300 and would like media included in that.

Thanks for the help. Would just like to get it right because want to provide the best environment possible for these fish.

Alan.
Last edit: 17 Aug 2011 09:33 by Ski (Alan McGee). Reason: Mistake made

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17 Aug 2011 09:56 #2 by dyco619 (steve carmody)

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17 Aug 2011 09:58 #3 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Thank adi but i defo won't be going bigger than this because i'll be kicked out of the house. Just about getting this tank past the girlfiend :)

Any experience with the fx5? Is it as good and reliable as the Eheim?

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17 Aug 2011 10:07 #4 by dubfish (Alan Martin)


Any experience with the fx5? Is it as good and reliable as the Eheim?


I'm running 5 x FX5s over 4 years now,never had any problems with any of them,the only downside is there high on wattage at 45W compared to the Eheims.Check out the "new JBL range",the biggest one.. there much lower in wattage.

Regards Alan..

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17 Aug 2011 10:41 #5 by dar (darren curry)
would building a sump be an option? great project and plenty of space for extra media, plus extra water volume. get a big one and cut off a section for a quarantine/hospital tank

Check out the angling section, it is fantastic

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17 Aug 2011 10:56 #6 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Yeah i think a sump would be out of the question. I have never used one and wouldn't know how to build one.
Would like to just stick with what i know and am used to maintaining etc

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17 Aug 2011 11:34 #7 by Ski (Alan McGee)
I had a look at the JBL Cristal Profi e1500 and looks good, < 600 litres, 1500lph and €150.

Does anyone know would 1250/1500 lph be enough for 7 adult and very messy piranha's?

With media inculded the FX5 is twice the price of the Eheim 2075 & JBL e1500

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17 Aug 2011 15:11 - 17 Aug 2011 15:15 #8 by ceech (Desmond Gaynor)
FX 5 OR EHEIM 2080 i have both models and i love them.They both have there pros and cons.Over filter always i would say ;-)
JBL Cristal Profi e1500 i would call the mercedes of pumps where as fluval and eheim are the ferrari ;-)
for piranha you need the best filteration they are very messy i have them ;-)
Last edit: 17 Aug 2011 15:15 by ceech (Desmond Gaynor).

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17 Aug 2011 16:19 - 17 Aug 2011 16:30 #9 by dubfish (Alan Martin)
The JBL e1501 "Greenline" range ,filters up to 700L and is only 20Watts,these are the future in external filtration.

Regards Alan..
Attachments:
Last edit: 17 Aug 2011 16:30 by dubfish (Alan Martin).

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17 Aug 2011 18:29 #10 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Thanks Dubfish that looks perfect. Just googled it there and can get it for €130 including media and postage

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18 Aug 2011 09:54 #11 by donohoe (Andrew Donohoe)
Personally I really like the fluval externals, I don't have an fx5 but would if my tank was big enough. But I think for the price of the jbl you should go with it seems very good value.

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18 Aug 2011 10:17 #12 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Thanks for all the help guys.

It's a tough decision but i'm going to go with the JBL CristalProfi e1501 greenline. Going to cost €150 including postage and media.

Going to run this with my old aquis 1200 to help break in the tank so that should be plenty of filtration. If not i'll get another 1501 - two of these cost the same as the fx5 and less than the Eheim 2080 and you've the added protection that if one goes down the other can pick up the flak.

Getting the filter from www.aquaristikshop.com

You can also get a Eheim 2080 from here for €325 including media. Postage is €20. This seems really good value as i've seen this on sale for €400 - €500.

If money wasn't an issue i'd prob go for the Eheim 2080 or FX5 but already spending a lot on the tank and the jbl seems really good value for money.

Thanks again!

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18 Aug 2011 14:34 #13 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Really tough decision after seeing that i can get the Eheim 2080 with media and a Eheim Jager 300W heater for €300 from www.zooplus.de

This is the german version of zooplus.ie

The Eheim 2080 with media is €450 on zooplpus.ie

This includes postage and there is a €30 discount for the first order.

Hmm, will have a think about it over the weekend.

So down to three

Eheim 2080 30 Watts
JBL 1501 20 Watts
FX5 50 Watts

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30 Aug 2011 11:08 #14 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Actually got a FX5 for this in the end.

I bought the 550 litre tank second hand and the person selling threw in the heater and FX5 for a good deal.

Pretty impressed by the FX5 - simple to put together, quite and cycles a lot of water.

Only down side so far is that there's no spray bar. Might look into a DIY version in a bit.

Anyway, good start from the filter and hoping it holds up against time!

Thanks again for all the help. My piranha are loving their new tank :)

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30 Aug 2011 12:18 - 30 Aug 2011 12:20 #15 by ceech (Desmond Gaynor)
Good choice you have picked well with the fx5 ;-) it is a power horse.
I would not worry to much about a spray bar with it i dont use one on any of mine let the flow run straight into the tank piranha like faster moving waters ;-)
A few pictures of your new setup would be nice :-) very interested to see it :-)
Last edit: 30 Aug 2011 12:20 by ceech (Desmond Gaynor).

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30 Aug 2011 14:18 #16 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Thanks Ceech, yeah will get some photo's up alright

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23 Sep 2011 08:47 #17 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Sorry about the delay Ceech, here are some pics of the new setup.

Might be a bit bare for some people but i've tried plants in the past and they have just dug them up and mage a mess of the tank. Might attached some java moss to the bogwood in the future but it's nice and easy to keep clean at the mo and the piranha are dirty enough already.

Decdied against the background for the same reason - easy to keep clean without one and didn't want it turning a funny color or anything like that.

FX5 running for over a month now and delighted with it. Very powerful and quite.

Added some oscars as well before i added the piranha. Seem to be getting on ok. Keeping the piranha well fed and keeping an eye on them so hopefully it will work out.

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23 Sep 2011 08:57 #18 by Ski (Alan McGee)

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23 Sep 2011 09:30 #19 by dyco619 (steve carmody)
nice set up,
do you not have any problems with your piranha?

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23 Sep 2011 09:42 #20 by Ski (Alan McGee)
How'd you mean problems? Do you not think they look well or with just them fighting?

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23 Sep 2011 12:00 #21 by dyco619 (steve carmody)

How'd you mean problems? Do you not think they look well or with just them fighting?


no they look fine, i meant do they not try and eat your other fish?

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23 Sep 2011 12:45 #22 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Yeah they eat everything that goes into the tank except the oscars (so far) and the stripped leporinus.

The striped lep has been in the same tank with them for over a year. No idea how that works.

The oscars are only in there for a month so i'm just hoping it works out and keeping an eye on them and the piranha's well fed.

They stand a chance because they're from the same region or something like that.

The only other fish that are supposed to have a chance with them are pleco's and peacock bass.

I have ordered two peacock bass from my local petshop but not sure if he can get them. They look class but can get very big.

Thanks for the comments.

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23 Sep 2011 13:32 #23 by dyco619 (steve carmody)
another good mix with big piranha they say is neon tetras!! im not joking either!!
because they are so small piranha dont see them as a worth while meal, and just leave them alone!
i have seen this been done before and work believe it or not!! :)

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23 Sep 2011 13:47 #24 by Ski (Alan McGee)
Yeah i read that as well and i got ten neon tetra's a couple of weeks ago but they were gone in 2 days.

Pity cos they added a nice bit of color to the tank.

I'm guessing it must just depend on the piranha. Mine would have been well fed at the time as well.

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