Filter question

[hearn]

due to rushing,overfeeding,all of your newbi mistakes, i'm down to the inhabits listed below. with the eel i assume that ick is still in my tank. so heres what I'm thinking of doing.I'm wide open for opinon, PLEASE. Taking my eel back to the lfs (crying because he is so cool)during the 4 week period to let the ick die out, change my 2 whisper filters to an ugf. Planning on keeping CC. I'll be going back to a much less aggerssive setup than what i had. (My eel, dog face puffer, lion, plus a few smaller ones is what I had). Whats some opinon on the ugf compared to 2 hangon whispers. Thanks

 

[cap'n pete]

Underground filters are not recommended anymore in this hobby. I don't know what your budget is but have you considered a wet/dry system or maybe a fluidized sand filter? Both of these will give you good biological filtration. An undergravel becomes a nightmare after a year or two, nitrates and bacterial outbreaks from the buildup of deritus under the plates.

 

[hearn]

not considered them yet, but will. need to find some info on them. buget is kinda tight.any sites with good info on the 2 types? I was thinking about a ugf because if I read correctly, down the road I can use it for a plenum set up (which I just heard about friday, more reading)

 

[bluemarlin]

You have a 75 gallon tank with an eel, a puffer and a lion? Talk about biolode! Yikes. If you are strapped for cash then don't spend more on the fish until you have a good filtration system. The undergravel is ancient history. What you need is a long term fix for a heavy biolode system. A wet/dry with a good quality skimmer. You'll still need to do water changes but the wet/dry and the skimmer shold help out alot!
Do not waste your money on anymore fish at this time. Your lack of good filtration is what killed these fish. They are HUGE waste produces and proved it by killing themsleves in your tank.

 

[cap'n pete]

Plenums are considered harder to setup than DSB (deep sand beds). You may want to consider a DSB in my opinion. Especially if you can find SouthDown playsand (about $4 a bag). If not a mix of fine argonite and sand from the pet store will do. Even in a fish only setup, the sand will start reducing nitrates and help maintain excellent water conditions. You need 4 to 6 inches of sand.
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Before I get to in depth, what are the plans for the tank? This site has a fluidized bed filter for $70 that's for up to 300 gallons. My LFS has a sump combo with a wet/dry for $199 (includes everything). Sumps are nice because you can hide all your equiptment underneath the tank. If your going for cheap, get a good hang on.

 

[hearn]

Bluemarlin, the only ones left in my tank is the eel, urchin and hermit, planning on doing away with the eel, and going less aggressive.

 

[hearn]

cap'n, i'm planning on keeping this tank fish only, any future reef will be in a new tank, while stock is low, and needin to rid my tank of ick, thought this would be a good time to upgrade my filter system.

 

[mb4000]

If you plan on keeping the crushed coral then I would go with 1 inch of CC and a magnum 350 pro system. The pro system has biowheels and the canister filter is easy to maintain. The key to this easy setup is cleaning the CC and filter when you do water changes. the filter will cost about ninety bucks and is well worth the money. A 1-2 inch sand bed looks better than cc, but will do very little more than what the filter and CC will acomplish. Even if you keep 1 inch of CC and the back filters yout tank will be fine as long as you clean the filters monthly ( don't clean the biofilter part if it has one ). No matter how you go it will take a good 4-6 weeks to complete a cycle and alot longer then that until your tank is really stable and fully matured.