Forum questions and answers.......

Questions and answers from my customers.....

i am going setup a new filter for a african cichlid tank.
it has three empty baskets what media should i use or should i use sponge filters on my 350L tank

Answer~:

Hi there,
Ah yes ye old African tank.....I have an 8 foot African tank with nearly 300 fish in it in work it is pretty awesome and i am a big African fan.The reason i keep it so densely stock is to keep aggression to a minimum which it is considering that some of the fish are over 30 cm.On the basis that you have a 350litre tank i would suggest that you would use two externals rather than one.Alternate the cleaning of them leaving at least 4 weeks between servicing so one will be on the ascendency as the other is on the decline biologically because one you service one of the filters it is pretty much foobarred.The biofilm gets sloughed off and the bacteria being really slow to recover will not handle the ammonia produced by your fish that is why testing after clean outs is essential till stability returns.The most important thing is to grade the media used.What media you choose is a personal choice really.But depending on water flow it should go coarse to fine.Catching waste particles in this way is more efficient than bunging up the media.In professional treatment systems this is very evident.We have a specially designed RO system that has pretreatment stages based on this science and we use pressure gauges to inform us when each stage isn becoming a problem.As for media mmmm i like coarse sponge when it forms its biofilm it is a great remover of heavy particles in a small area.Bo balls are a joke for me they are totally inefficient in a confined space where as in a large body of water ie koi filters large chambers they are great for slowing water down and settling solids.Siporax is legendary because of its porosity and filter wool too.But make sure the filter is up to the job flow rate wise.350 litres is a large body of water your biggest problem will be settlement in the tank because of current.I would have an fx6 run this system or two 1200 -1500lph externals as an alternative.My african tank runs at......wait for it.........12000lph and it is always spotless so your tank would equate to the fx6 filter 3500 lph.

Anyway cheers dude i have to get some work done or ill be firede.
Ian
www.aquatic-village.com