GoldenAngel Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 I am moving my tropical fish into a vertical rectangular tank, which used to have cold water fish. The tank measures 54cms (H) x 34cms (W) x 34 cms (L). I have previously used a Fluval 3 filter in this tank when I had cold water fish. However, it seemed to clog up fairly often - about every 2-3 weeks and needed the filter sponges to be replaced then (or so I thought!). Recently I sold my remaining cold water fish to a fish enthusiast who said that he had external filters in his tanks which required cleaning only every 6 months - which sounds perfect to me! I would appreciate advice on what is the best value for money filter for a tank this size (which more or less looks after itself). Also - what size heater would I use in a tank of this size? Should the heater be fully submerged or should the top rubber be out of the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Hi Golden. Welcome to the forum. Your tank holds 62.4 litres so I'd go for a 100 watt heater. As for filtration....Aquaone filters are cheaper than some and do the job well. Get a filter that will circulate the tank 4 or 5 times an hour....62 X 4 = 248 so you need a filter that is rated around 250 litres per hour or more. The top of the heater can protrude from the water but none of the glass should be out of the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollergirl Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 The fluval 3 should be a sweet filter...I run one in my community tank and it works fine, water clear as. Don't replace the sponges, just give them a rinse in the tank water when you do water changes and you should be right. (This would be around every 2-3 weeks anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAngel Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Thanks Mark & rollergirl. I really appreciate the advice I'm looking forward to having a larger tropical tank operating soon. It will be a nice change for my fish as I've got a silver shark who is growing bigger by the week and my AR-380 is getting a bit small for him and the rest of his friends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Assuming your cold water fishes were goldfish, they produce a LOT more waste than smaller tropicals so your filter would clog up a lot faster - be it internal or external. Never 'replace' the sponges in any filter, unless they are dropping to bits. Just clean in used tank water when the water flow decreases significantly. I have sponges in an AquaClear that are over 10 yrs old and still going strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenAngel Posted September 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Hi Caryl, Yes, my cold water fish were goldfish. I had a run of bad luck (fin rot) with my goldfish after years of everything going well - which seemed to coincide with the introduction of the Fluval 3! Hopefully switching to tropicals will mean there is less waste... I also hadn't realised that you don't need to replace the sponges very often - that is amazing having sponges last for 10 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 Yup.. big external filters are good, but expensive.. more than a whole 60l tank setup :-? Your filter will be fine, just rinse out in tank water when you do water changes, and dont put too many fish in there. No Problemo 8) Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted September 28, 2007 Report Share Posted September 28, 2007 i would recommend a CF500 or CF700, especially if you wanted to use it for a larger tank in the future. my filters filtrate 2100Lph on a 200L tank & i only clean the canister every 5-6 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted September 29, 2007 Report Share Posted September 29, 2007 replacing the sponge means you lose all the bacteria that absorbs ammonia. which can be bad for your fish as ammonia will spike initially after a sponge has been completely replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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