Starting 600litre tank need help

[Tassie_cichlid_man]

Hey All

Am in process of fine tuning a new tank

Getting 6 foot aqua one aquience

And am wondering will a fx6 / 406 :fluval be ok ??

[joey13]

G'day mate,

Nice looking tank.

I'm not sure if your question regarding sufficient filtration is based on having just ONE of the filters you mentioned or BOTH but I'll try and help you anyway.

I'm going to assume that you want to keep African Rift Lake Cichlids. A general rule of thumb is that you want to turnover 6-10x turnover per hour of the total tank volume.

The aquarium you have chooses is "rated" 600L. The FX6 circulates 3,500LPH and the 406 is 1450LPH respectively.

In a perfect world that means if you installed the FX6 on its own, you would have approximately 5.8x turnover and 0.4x turnover with the 406. Approximately 6.2x combined.

Whilst your tank is rated for 600L, the true volume will be some what different. 30kg of sand will give you a 1" deep sand bed, double that for a 2" bed. This will displace your water volume by 20-40L. Depending on how many rocks you use, another 30-60L give or take.

Be sure to measure the tank dimensions from inside glass to the other side. Also take into account, that you might not fill the tank to the very top. The glass is 10mm thick on your aquarium so you effectively lose 20mm off the length and width plus at least 10mm from the bottom.

Manufacturers usually rate their tanks based on the outside dimensions only. The numbers don't quite add up with yours since the outside dimensions work out to be 712L so best to check that yourself to be sure. Lets assume your tank is what the manufacturer says and say it's 600L. You would be looking at a volume of around 500-550L. So you would want 3000/3300 LPH Minimum (6X) - 5000/5500LPH (10X). This is also dependent on how heavy you plan to stock your tank.

Filters won't always pump exactly what they are rated for either because plumbing and filter media/sponges will reduce this. A general saying goes in this hobby which is "you can never have too much filtration. Especially with Africans because you generally overstock so you want your filters to be able to handle a large bio load.

I believe the tank you have bought or are buying comes with 2 Canister Filters already which are rated at 1400LPH (2800 Total). Is there any particular reason you don't like these?

the FX6 + 406 together most would probably argue that this is overkill but I'm a big fan of over filtration personally. Budget is also a factor I guess.

The FX6 on its own would be more than fine and you will probably never have an issue giving you roughly 6.3X turnover. They are awesome filters. I had an FX5 on a 6 footer and I loved it! It was coupled with a Eheim 2217.

IMHO, I don't think the 406 on it's own is sufficient.

The FX6 with one of the filters the tank comes with would be ideal since it already comes with the tank.

The 406 + one of the stock canisters it comes with would be ok I guess but a little on the under filtered side. I have only suggested a combination of 2 canisters since having more would not be practical.

Hope that helps and hope to see some pics soon.

[Tassie_cichlid_man]

Thanks joey13 for your detailed information every bit helps !!

The reason why i chose to swap the filters from the standard ones is because i love over filtration and just thought they wouldnt b enough with only providing 2800 litre per hour .

I am sorry for lack of detail before i am planning to set up a mabuna biotope with approx 40 /50 fish in there .i currently have a 5 foot aquience mabuna tank with approx 25 fish and plan on transfering the fish over .

I am also thinking of getting a 3d backround for the 6 foot and am wondering what is your recomendations ?? Do i run with cavity behind.backround??

[joey13]

Thanks joey13 for your detailed information every bit helps !! The reason why i chose to swap the filters from the standard ones is because i love over filtration and just thought they wouldnt b enough with only providing 2800 litre per hour . I am sorry for lack of detail before i am planning to set up a mabuna biotope with approx 40 /50 fish in there .i currently have a 5 foot aquience mabuna tank with approx 25 fish and plan on transfering the fish over . I am also thinking of getting a 3d backround for the 6 foot and am wondering what is your recomendations ?? Do i run with cavity behind.backround??

Hey mate,

No problems at all. Glad to help out where I can.

If you want over filtration, I reckon the FX5 plus one of the standard canisters is your best option and the most cost effective.

My next question is, what type of fish are you planning to keep? 40-50 sounds overcrowded to me but I guess it depends on what you plan to keep and how often you plan to do water changes.

Mate I have had a 3D background and I will give it to you straight.

1. They look FANTASTIC

2. They make your tank look really clean being able to hide equipment behind them

3. They cost A LOT of money unless you DIY (A lot of effort and sometimes just as much if you aren't handy with your hands). Mine cost $700 and installed it myself.

4. Can be a PITA to install right

5. Fish WILL inevitably get behind it and good luck trying to get them out. If you don't swear, you will trying.

6. Detritus over time will build up behind it. Again, PITA to clean.

7. Algae does build up on it and you have to scrub it which can become annoying.

8. They take up a huge amount of space if not using the slimline ones.

I continually tried to justify that the first 2 points outweighed the last 6. Now that I think about it, I really don't think it did.

I've just finished building a 5FT in wall tank and I decided I wanted to keep as much of my space as possible. I painted the back and sides black and have a really nice rock stack. I'm hoping to keep the focus on the fish this time. I also have it sumped though so I can hide all of my equipment in there.

Look at the end of the day it's up to you. IMHO, I'd go without and paint the it back.

But if you must, get the really slimline ones and silicone it flush against the glass.

If you do go with a cavity, be sure to have holes drilled to allow water to flow between the background and display and get some circulation going behind it...you don't want dead spots. I used a Mag drive pump attached to a straight piece of 20mm PVC with about 6 Jets I made by heating a small length of pipe and squashing the ends and inserting into a T piece. Same as an UGJ system, just straight. I had my FX5 and Eheim 2217 Inlets behind it and the returns were plumbed with poly pipe and fed the water back out the front.

Here is a link to my old tank where you can see it in all it's glory.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=243941

[Tassie_cichlid_man]

Hey mate

Thanks again for reply it all helps

As for filters I am now happy to go with the fx6 and a 406 or standard aqua one filter .

As I am a fluval man at heart I have decided to switch the standard for a 406 .do u think that will be fine ?

For media I'n these filters I will be running poly filter and ither matrix or marine pure balls what do u prefer ?.

3d backround I will be going a slimline one just because I don't really want to take up any more room and am a bit weary of the cavity as I could possibly see dramas ?

Fish and water changes I do a 50% per week and fish I am unsure as of yet .and I may be going over board when I said 40/50 fish haha

I want the fish to be As colourful as possible do u have any combo,S I may be able to mix ?? Maybe 4 groups of 6 ??

I no there is a lot of information going around regarding good combos but I just wanted your options

[joey13]

Hey mate

Thanks again for reply it all helps

As for filters I am now happy to go with the fx6 and a 406 or standard aqua one filter .

As I am a fluval man at heart I have decided to switch the standard for a 406 .do u think that will be fine ?

For media I'n these filters I will be running poly filter and ither matrix or marine pure balls what do u prefer ?.

3d backround I will be going a slimline one just because I don't really want to take up any more room and am a bit weary of the cavity as I could possibly see dramas ?

Fish and water changes I do a 50% per week and fish I am unsure as of yet .and I may be going over board when I said 40/50 fish haha

I want the fish to be As colourful as possible do u have any combo,S I may be able to mix ?? Maybe 4 groups of 6 ??

I no there is a lot of information going around regarding good combos but I just wanted your options

Hey mate,

sorry for the delayed response, only just noticed it now.

The FX6 and 406 will be a very good combo but I don't think having the 406 over the standard Aqua One filter will give you much of a benefit or noticeable difference if at all and is only going to cost you extra money to buy something you already have. This money saved could be better spent on other equipment or fish??? Just my honest opinion.

In terms of media/filtration, I always try to have a combination of all types of filtration i.e Mechanical, Biological and Chemical.

I swear by Matrix and always recommend it as do a lot of other people. It can be pricey but if you have a look around, you can get it cheaper than most retail outlets. PM me for details. I have never used Marine Pure balls so I cannot comment on them.

Instead of poly filter, I would use reticulated foam such as "Poret". When I used to run an FX5, I cut pieces of 1" thick 30ppi to suit and it worked a treat. Filtered it a lot better than the stock foam. Water was always crystal clear and Poret is also awesome stuff and will last a long time. Again, I have some spare sheets available. PM me if your interested. Poly filter will get clogged really quickly and you will forever have to be opening it up to change it out which is a pain. Foam also gives you two types of filtration being Mechanical and Biological. Foam is a great place for beneficial bacteria to reside.

I love Seachem Purigen also which is where you will get the chemical side of things. It will keep your water crystal clear and it can be regenerated.

I think it's a good move going with the slimline background for reasons already mentioned. It will be a pain and you will regret it in the end.

50% water changes is too much. Personally I do 10-15% weekly or 20-25% fortnightly once the tank is established.

As far as fish goes, its personal preference. I love Aulonocara Species. All male hap and peacock tanks look awesome. But it's up to you.

Depending on the fish you want to keep will depend on the numbers you can keep but I would say around 20-25 fish (Average 6" Full grown) in your tank would be great. You don't want it to look to crowded.

All the best. Anything else let me know.

Joey.

[ozbloke74]

_{Im sure matrix is a great media but ive heard a few people say its nothing more than pumice that you can buy at any landscaping place. Havent personally seen it so cant comment, ok I just did, be happy for someone to correct me if this isn't the case.}

[joey13]

_{Im sure matrix is a great media but ive heard a few people say its nothing more than pumice that you can buy at any landscaping place. Havent personally seen it so cant comment, be happy for someone to correct me if this isn't the case.}

This I have not heard before so I too am curious.

I will say that I don't know how comfortable I am with putting something in my tank that is not purpose manufactured. Who knows where the pumice has been or what it has been exposed to? It could be contaminated with nasty chemicals commonly found in landscaping places?

Plus I'm sure it doesn't come in a suitable size and would have to be broken down? Probably not the best thing to try and put into a canister filter.

Whilst I believe there are certain products out there that claim to be all that and a bag of chips, I doubt matrix is purely pumice. That being said, I am happy to be corrected.

[ozbloke74]

Only thing I can find about matrix description is, The matrix stones are not made of ceramic material but are proprietary all natural made stone. It is made of a porous inorganic solid about 10mm in diameter. Like I said ive never seen it in the flesh, nor made any comparison to the alternative at any landscaper place, hopefully someone has on here and can shoot me down.

[Link2Hell]

I think the "pumice" at landscapers is the red scoria that they are talking about

have heard many for and against

personally I won't use scoria due to impurities it could contain

pumice stone is grey and has been used as an abrasive on hard skin for years

Matrix on the other hand is white and darkens as the bacteria build up in it

it's specifically for aqua filtration

there are different brands of matrix media but my preference is the Seachem one

[ozbloke74]

Ok thanks for reply