Can some recommend a good filter.

[busdriver]

I have a seventy five gal. aquarium with an under-gravel filter.
I had a canister filter that I wasn't really impressed with so changed to under-gravel.
I'm not really impressed with it either.
Can someone recommend a good hang-on-back that can do a seventy-five or will I need two of them.
I plan on putting discus in it in the near or not so near future.

[mila]

Canister + AC 70/110 should be good.

[charlie]

What type of canister did you try?, I`m using 2 Eheim ecco 2236 on a 75 gln ( rated for 80 glns each) & i`m very pleased with the results, of course they are better eheims out there but for the cost & the performance i `m happy, also the ease of cleaning these filters makes them a winner. I would recommend 1 Eheim 2236 ecco & 1 aqua clear 300/70, but that`s only my opinion, others would have there take on this.
Regards
P.S i would ditch the undergravel filter.

[kennyman]

Canister filters have way more media in them for thier flow rate and are a much better biological filter imo. However hob filters have higher flow rates and seem to do a better job of mechanical filtration. I run one of each on my cichlid tank.

[darkdep]

A Canister / HOB combo works very well.  As kennyman said, Canisters are excellent biological filters but just don't do mechanical that well, whereas Aquaclear HOB's are EXCELLENT at mechanical.

Fluval 404's, Rena XP3's, and various Eheim canisters all work well.  Aquaclear for the HOB for sure; nothing else comes close.  An AC70 or AC110 would be appropriate for a tank of that size.

[BigDaddy]

If this is going to be a discus tank, you don't want a ton of water moving around the tank, but you do want excellent biological filtration for those discus.

Canister filter for sure if you are only going with a single filter.  AC110 plus a smaller canister if you want to go with a two setup approach.

I have a 65 gallon that is only filtered by a single AC110, and two 75s.  One 75 has two AC110's on it, the other has an Eheim 2026 and 2028 connected to it.

[Muad'Dib]

I'll vouch for the Rena XP3 Canister filter. I have one on my 40 gal African tank. I is the only filtration I have and it works great!

[Adam]

I have some messy mbuna, and I run 2 AC 110s, and a Fluval 304 Canister on my 75.  A lot of flow, but the fish enjoy it, and don't shy away.  I used to have 2 AC 110s, but I found there were a lot of deadspots.  I added the 304 a week or two ago, and the fish seem exactly the same...like the extra flow doesn't matter.  I did notice that the aquarium has slightly clearer water.

Adam

[darkdep]

Has anyone ever tried putting a small powerhead down low in an african tank blowing across the substrate?  I wonder if it would be effective generating a lower current to blow detritus towards filter intakes.

[Mettle]

I probably, personally, wouldn't do an AC110 on a 75 gallon discus tank because of the flow it would generate. But at the same time if you put a small filter on there, or a combo of smaller filters, then they would likely become clogged more quickly...

...so I got to thinking.

When I was looking at how to turn an AC110 into a fuge for a sw tank I saw someone switched out the impeller in their AC110 with that of an AC70 or AC50, can't remember, to cut down on the flow, otherwise it would be too strong. Apparently the main bodies of the impellers fit just fine yet the blades on it that turn and create the flow are smaller on the lower rated filters.

So going with this approach one could easily get an AC110, which holds more media, and slow down the flow rate a little with a different impeller. This results in a lower flow rate but at the same time not having to worry about cleaning quite as often.

Just an idea...

[BigDaddy]

I have an AC110 on a 65 gallon tank, and my discus couldn't be happier.  In fact, they decided to spawn directly in the path of the overflow, so I don't think current is an issue.

[Mettle]

Then I stand corrected. But you still have a solution now in case you find the current to be too much.

[james]

Hi
Since the cost of hydro has sky rocketed I have converted all my tanks to ATI sponge filters.For me they are the best filters for the buck. You can  run them with a power head or with a air pump.
I run 6 tanks, and 5 tanks with 2 Maxuim air pumps. Its not only very econical, I just rinse out the sponge every 2 weeks ( i have had some of these sponge going for over 6 months). And its great for breeding tanks. The babies dont get sucked up and they can feed and hide in the foam.

For my bigger tanks I run these sponge filter with a power head.

James

[Mettle]

How do you maintain a biofilter, James?

[BigDaddy]

Ummmm... rinse the sponges in used tank water maybe?  Sponges are excellent biofilters.  Low water flow and lots of surface area.

[darkdep]

I want to use Hydro-Sponges in all my small tanks.  They ROCK.

[Muad'Dib]

I want to use Hydro-Sponges in all my small tanks.  They ROCK.

I've seen these used with air stones, can you use a small powerhead instead?
They don't look that expensive either... bonus...

[darkdep]

Mostly they are used with air stones, the slow flow is what makes them such effective biofilters.  I'm sure you could rig something tho

[babblefish1960]

They are very adaptable, they can be stacked, they can use airstones, or just an airline tube as they have a connection inside, or a power head, as they use standard UGF sized tubing, and I have been using them for many years now, as they are a great bio filter, that creates a huge surface for feeding fry, I just rinse them in old tank water to get rid of grunge.

[PaleoFishGirl]

How big of a tank is too big to use this setup on, though?