What has been the best filtration device(s) that you have used?

fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
If you have ever searched "best filtration for an aquarium" (more or less like that), then you probably know you get ton's of different 'answers' to the best filtration out there. Some of it seems reliable, others....maybe not so much. But instead of trying to find the best filtration out there I want to know what has worked for your aquarium the best and why. example...skimmer, HOB, refuge...etc...
Thanks
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

All filters have a plus and minus..depending what you want your filter to do will determine what is "best" You can use different media in anything
If silence is golden..canister is perfect
Easy swap for media...HOB penguin style
Easy maintenance, hide ugly heaters and such...Sump
Copepods and other tiny useful critters...add a refugium
I feel a skimmer is needed..no sump...use a HOB
Have a sump...Use an in sump skimmer
All natural...Lots and I mean LOTS of live rock, live sand and power heads
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
LR/LS would be the best in tank filtration IMO
best sump/other filtration I've tried is hands down the turf scrubber.
sucks out phospahte and nitrate like no tommorow
I've tried skimmer, cheato, chulerpa (SP?)
none of these things I've found to have anywhere near the power of a scrubber.
they aren't for everyone, but they are pretty good at what they do.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3331694

All filters have a plus and minus..depending what you want your filter to do will determine what is "best" You can use different media in anything
If silence is golden..canister is perfect
Easy swap for media...HOB penguin style
Easy maintenance, hide ugly heaters and such...Sump
Copepods and other tiny useful critters...add a refugium
I feel a skimmer is needed..no sump...use a HOB
Have a sump...Use an in sump skimmer
All natural...Lots and I mean LOTS of live rock, live sand and power heads
Nice view of things. If you could only have one for your system what would it be?
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3331708
alot of live rock and flow.imo nothing mechanical works better
Why would that be? Gets clogged? Not good at housing the bacteria needed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3331740
LR/LS would be the best in tank filtration IMO
best sump/other filtration I've tried is hands down the turf scrubber.
sucks out phospahte and nitrate like no tommorow
I've tried skimmer, cheato, chulerpa (SP?)
none of these things I've found to have anywhere near the power of a scrubber.
they aren't for everyone, but they are pretty good at what they do.
Would there be any changes to the 'basic' turf scubber that would make it more effective?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Nice view of things. If you could only have one for your system what would it be?
Oh That’s easy...a custom made sump created from all the sweet people on this site. Hand made by Acrylic51 and a refugium hand made for the 3rd time by Al&Burke.'
The original sump and refugium, handmade by Acrylic51..I show it here so you can see how they look together. UPS destroyed it in shipping.

The new sump recreated by Acrylic with some improvments

The new refugium, recreated and handmade by Al&Burke, still needs the drain holes..here being water tested.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Fishkid,
Not really more effective, you jsut need to have the screen size, flow GPH and lighting right for whatever your tank is and you're good to go.
I would reccomend a vertical screen over a diagonal or a horizontal and always go 2 sided with the lights, otehr than that any setup that falls in the peramaters will work just fine.
even when my screen wasnt even growing good algae it was strong enough to bring my phos and nitrates down to undetectable, so think o how strong it is now that its growing good thick algae.
Mine doesnt even grow as good as somke I've seen because I need to get different lights, but its plenty sufficient to do the job just the way it is. These things are crazy powerful at pulling out the bad stuff.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Flower-
Nice sump/refugium. Good craftsmenship in building it by them.
Have you ever had a problem with 'junk' pilling up in one of you sumps because lack of flow around?
Jstdv8-
I am interested in trying it. But one of the things I see is that is a disadvantage is it doesn't create an area for growing other life (copepods, snails, etc). Would it still be as effective if you have it and a sump in the same line?
Thanks
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
you need it to actually sit in a sump, the screen sould be 1" in the sump water. I don't know about snails or whatever, but it grows more copepods than 6 mandarins could eat.
Before my mandarin decided to go carpet surfing I would take the screen when I was going to clean it and swish it around slowly in the sump water to wash off some pods before I clean it.
That is actually the reason for having to clean it once a week is the copepods will eat holes in your algae and algae could fall off the screen and go back into your system as well as the pods themselves.
You want to export as much of the nutrients that this thing captures as you can so having algae fall off or leave in pods bellies is very counter productive.
The tap water used for cleaning the screen kills all the pods on the screen, but it produces them so fast its crazy.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3332008
you need it to actually sit in a sump, the screen sould be 1" in the sump water. I don't know about snails or whatever, but it grows more copepods than 6 mandarins could eat.
Before my mandarin decided to go carpet surfing I would take the screen when I was going to clean it and swish it around slowly in the sump water to wash off some pods before I clean it.
That is actually the reason for having to clean it once a week is the copepods will eat holes in your algae and algae could fall off the screen and go back into your system as well as the pods themselves.
You want to export as much of the nutrients that this thing captures as you can so having algae fall off or leave in pods bellies is very counter productive.
The tap water used for cleaning the screen kills all the pods on the screen, but it produces them so fast its crazy.
I wouldn't think that they would grow on it sense the water is pushing against them. If you shake it off in the sump would any algae come off?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3332105

Water Changes? Clean sand?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bang Guy http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3332130
Healthy live sand is the best filtration in my opinion.
Is there any specific depth that would make the sand bed more effective? Like would 2" let more life grow than 4"?
Thanks.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Fishkid,
No, you just give it a light up and down or swirl. no algae comes off.
If you only have like 1 mandarin or 1 sixline this is totally unnecessary as they will allready have all the pods they could possibly eat in the system by the time the screen grows in really thick.
These these things are pod factories, it's like cheato on steroids.
The guy who reinvented these things in a DIY system says they also keep the little starfish and other cool little creatures, but I've never seen anything but a ton of pods in mine.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
IMO the best device is your own mind. Start as natural as you can as bang suggest. If that’s not enough go through the thought proses to address specific problems
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:Originally Posted by fishkid13 http:///forum/thread/382046/what-has-been-the-best-filtration-device-s-that-you-have-used#post_3331994
Flower-
Nice sump/refugium. Good craftsmenship in building it by them.
Have you ever had a problem with 'junk' pilling up in one of you sumps because lack of flow around?
Jstdv8-
I am interested in trying it. But one of the things I see is that is a disadvantage is it doesn't create an area for growing other life (copepods, snails, etc). Would it still be as effective if you have it and a sump in the same line?
Thanks
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Man that happens to me lately..what is with this site??? lets try it this way..
Flower-
Nice sump/refugium. Good craftsmenship in building it by them.
Have you ever had a problem with 'junk' pilling up in one of you sumps because lack of flow around?
Answer: I don't have my new sump up yet..I have one sump and one refugium that drains into the sump...what kind of flow problem do you think I will have?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
A thriving sandbed and live rock. Add a good skimmer, and you're in the gold.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Flower,
I've had the same problem several times in the last couple days, I couldnt post at all on Friday It didn't take a single post I made so I gave up.
 
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