FishTank setup

CvilleE

Anyone else have a fishtank? Just cleaning mine and was wondering if anyone does. Looking into different setups, since I need to redo mine..the filters I have aren't cutting it mainly due to noise. I have a 50 gallon tank, in which I rotate from a loud WhisperEX70 to two small Penguin BioWheel 150s. 

These are extremely loud, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on a quieter and reliable filtration set up. 

penn

Hey, Eric:  I haven't had an aquarium setup in a few years but I used both of those filters and they are actually some of the quietest I came across.  We had an aquarium up and running for over 10 years.  When the aquarium is full you can barely hear them run. It would aggravate my wife something fierce when she could hear the water from the filters hit the water in the tank.  It got to the point where I would take a pitcher and add water at least every other day to keep aquarium full.  I tried a mechanical/canister filter but the motor and pump in it was louder than the Charcoal filters.  They might work if you can enclose them in a cabinet but my setup was an old cast iron stand. 

jimmyv723

Had a 10 gallon and two 5 gallons on each side with a Betta in each one for a couple years. I do have a 46 Gallon Bow Front tank that I never set up yet and also a 12 gallon long that isn't set up yet either. I know for the bigger tanks that are 50 and up some use the Canister Filters. You may want to look into that option for yours.

CvilleE

Penn, I may have a bad motor then on the EX70..it's fairly new, maybe a few months on it total. It is terrible! Sooooo loud!

The dribble noise I get a lot from the bio filter..im wondering how an under gravel filter would do? 

Jimmy, you might be right..hoping to see if anyone here has used the canisters before...a little pricey, but since I keep a tank, might be the route to take.

jimmyv723

Check out Fish Lore too that is a forum I was on when I had the fish and would get involved with again if I got my tanks set up. 

CvilleE

Thanks..I'll def check it out..

matkn293

I have a 55 gal with Africans that I have had for a while. I run 1 canister that has what I think a filstar xp (3 trays on the inside. Had it for 10 years and absolutely no issues to date and super quiet. Always go bigger than what you need. The canisters are nice as the HOB's are loud as they dump water. May have to get an air stone to infuse oxygen since you won't have surface agitation if you go this route. 

penn

CvilleE said:

Penn, I may have a bad motor then on the EX70..it's fairly new, maybe a few months on it total. It is terrible! Sooooo loud!

The dribble noise I get a lot from the bio filter..im wondering how an under gravel filter would do? 

Jimmy, you might be right..hoping to see if anyone here has used the canisters before...a little pricey, but since I keep a tank, might be the route to take.

If you have a community tank the under gravel may work for a 50 gallon tank.   I put it in a setup of Red Bellies that fed on goldfish twice a week and it couldn't keep up.   I left it in with the biowheel and i didn't have to vacuum the gravel as much though.  

Dark_Roast

I have had 29 gal tall filled with tropical fresh water fish. A 55 gallon long filled with live rock and salt water fish. I even worked at a pet store with a 350 gallon salt water tank filled with a ton of live rock, corral and exotic salt water fish. Along with a multitude of small salt water and fresh water tanks. Each was individually filtered as the owner didn't believe in a mass filtration system sharing potential disease and mass annihilation.

matkn293

What did you end up going with???

CvilleE

I'm going to make the switch to use the canisters..just haven't done so yet until I move. Gonna have to strip the tank down and plan to get that going then...

matkn293

Moving tanks....FUN!!!!  Get a cooler and just put them in that with tank water,  Use a plastic bag to seal the cooler.  Don't use baggies if you don't have to.

penn

Moving is tough - for both you and the fish. It totally stresses your fish.  @Dark_Roast isn't there an additive that can be added to the tank after the move to help the fish recover from the stress?  Good Luck!!!

CvilleE

Thanks, and yeah I'll have some stress relief additives to help them out.  Got my big cooler ready, as I plan to keep as much of the water as I can...

matkn293

There is the blue pill that will help with that.  Also add some stress zyme in the water once back up to help with the slime coating on the fish.  As long as you don't shock them too much (water temp, etc) you should be fine.  Be mindful of the rock or sand as it fluctuates temp and holds it either warmer or colder pretty quickly.  Can play havoc with new location temps and may take some adjustment before you re-introduce the fish.

LiquidChaos66

Im picking up a small 5 gallon tank for a Betta and some Neon Tetras... Was gonna look into getting some small Ghost Shrimp... Anyone have experience with them?

johnnyB

Bettas and tetras don't mix well,unless you get a female betta. The females are smaller and less aggressive. 

dirtdude

matkn293 said:

Moving tanks....FUN!!!!  Get a cooler and just put them in that with tank water,  Use a plastic bag to seal the cooler.  Don't use baggies if you don't have to.

another use for a cooler, I have learned so much about cooler usage here

LiquidChaos66

johnnyB said:

Bettas and tetras don't mix well,unless you get a female betta. The females are smaller and less aggressive. 

I thought they were ok together... Well then... Time to rethink that one. Lol no need for dead fish. 

johnnyB

I've found that any fish that has bright colors will draw out the bettas aggression . You could get a graumy and some tetras they play nice.

LiquidChaos66

I am stuck between a Betta or a couple fantail goldfish... I think 5 gallons would be too much for a Betta alone... would like the tank to be well occupied. Time for some research.

Andrew_Dzikoski

I have 2 10gal, a 40, 55, 75 and the 180. go for the Sunsun can filters they are cheap and quiet.

matkn293

Go bigger than 5g. It is so much harder to keep the tank stable with the smaller tanks. Find a good deal on one @craiglist. There is always someone looking to get rid of one. Trust me. It's like a hunidor or a cooler. Bigger is always better in the long run.  

LiquidChaos66

Hmmmmmmmmm the tank I received has MAJOR hard water and algae stains.... time for a vinegar soak....