460 liter planted tank which external?

Hi all,

So i will finally be setting my 460 liter planted soon.

I currently have a Eheim pro 3 2075 for the tank. I'm wondering will this filter be sufficent enough for a planted tank of this size?

Or am i better off getting a Eheim 2080 or Fluval fx 6?

Any info appreciated.

Thanks.

swai wrote:

Hi all,

So i will finally be setting my 460 liter planted soon.

I currently have a Eheim pro 3 2075 for the tank. I'm wondering will this filter be sufficent enough for a planted tank of this size?

Or am i better off getting a Eheim 2080 or Fluval fx 6?

Any info appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren once told me you ideally want to have a 10:1 ratio for planted tanks - Filter output to tank volume. I have two 1501s on my 375l - each one in theory ( and I stress theory without media etc) changing 1500l/hr so that's under the 10 to 1 but close enough....hope this is useful...

Really?? 10:1 sounds crazy along with the idea of 2×1501's on a 375L, I'm curious now because I've seen planted tanks ran on half that still flourish.

It would also depend on fish too I supose, I would probably change up to the 2080 or fx6 to have more of a choice on livestock

Cheers guys! Holy crap! 10 times the turnover. Even if I get a fx6 to go with my 2075 I'd still.only be getting 7 times the circulation!

Was also considering the jbl 1901 but it's quite a hefty price tag. Decisions to be made soon!

davey_c wrote:

Really?? 10:1 sounds crazy along with the idea of 2×1501's on a 375L, I'm curious now because I've seen planted tanks ran on half that still flourish.

It would also depend on fish too I supose, I would probably change up to the 2080 or fx6 to have more of a choice on livestock

Only letting you know what Darren has told me. Maybe platy252 can comment on this one himself. I do have two 1501s on my tank and all is good so far.......

10 times turnover may seem crazy, but its more about flow than just filtration.

The idea is to have enough flow to circulate fertilizers, Co2 and to stop detritus settling around the plants.
Algae like staghorn, Cladophora and even cyanobacteria seems to have a fondness of areas of low flow.

If you just have large leaved plants and open ereas then low flow is fine.
But if you have dense planting and/or have carpeting plants like HC, GLOSSO, Hair grass ect. then i would highly reccomend plenty of flow.

there are two ways to add flow.
One is to up the filtration with enough flow or use a blower (circulating pump) to help with extra flow.
I prefare to up the filtration.

As an example i use JBL e700 (Lph) on 54 litre tanks, e900 on 70 litre's, e1500 on 120-180 litres. Once it goes over this size i either use 2 filters or one filter and blower.

You have to take into consideration the fish. Some fish wont like the extras flow. Like Betta's, hatchet fish some killifish etc.
You would think the likes of Discus, dwarf Cichlids etc. wouldent take the flow, but that's not the case. I oftern keep them in tanks with 10+ times turn over and they dont even seem to flap a fin.

I've done planted tanks with the smallest of internals, hang on (HOB) and even just air lift sponge filters with success. They never seem to be as clean or forgiving as tanks with high flow.

Swai I would use the FX6. Leave the large outer spoge and in the middle just use fine sponge. You can buy this by the sheet and cut to size. A piece of symecmicro to cap it off and you should be good to go. you can always add more flow later.

Cheers for the reply Darren. I was considering the fx6. I sort of had my mind set on the jbl 1501 to add to the 2075 eheim. I have 2 vecton 600's at home that I was planning on attaching to each filter.

If you recommend the fx6 I might just have to go with it. Or maybe I could add a circulation pump to the 1501. I'm still up in the air about what scape I want to do and what plants I want but a foreground carpet is a definite.

I was planning on keeping discus but don't know if I'm experienced enough!

Sure I'll hopefully be picking up my tank next week so could have a chat with you then if your around!

swai wrote:

Cheers for the reply Darren. I was considering the fx6. I sort of had my mind set on the jbl 1501 to add to the 2075 eheim.
That sounds like a plan.
I have 2 vecton 600's at home that I was planning on attaching to each filter.
If you have them, use them
If you recommend the fx6 I might just have to go with it. Or maybe I could add a circulation pump to the 1501. I'm still up in the air about what scape I want to do and what plants I want but a foreground carpet is a definite.
Look at some pictures to get ideas or inspiration. You need to have some sort of plan.

I was planning on keeping discus but don't know if I'm experienced enough!
Only you know the answer to this.

Sure I'll hopefully be picking up my tank next week so could have a chat with you then if your around!

I'm away most of this week coming. Not sure how many days I need to be away. Give me a ring before you make any harsh decisions.