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Internal to external filter

roughyed

Member
Joined
21 Jan 2009
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31
Currently using Eheim Aquaballs on my 2 small tanks (40L and 60L) and whilst I have had no problems with them, they are a bit intrusive. So I was looking at the Eden 501, however quite a few posts on here suggest that for the price you might as well get a Eheim 2213, etc.

Question....wont this be to big? In terms of power of flow etc? I've always just got a filter recommended for the tank size.
 
Hi,

I would maybe take a look at the Tetra tec ex600, wold be perfect for those tanks, as you should be looking at 10 times turn over and considering it has a flow rate of 600 lph is perfect.


Cheers Gordon.
 
BINKSY1973 said:
Hi,

I would maybe take a look at the Tetra tec ex600, wold be perfect for those tanks, as you should be looking at 10 times turn over and considering it has a flow rate of 600 lph is perfect.


Cheers Gordon.

Turnover and flow are two different things!

I've got a filter that gives about 9 times volume turnover but does not give the flow that will enable good distribution of CO2 and ferts, so I've added a Koralia.

There is no point in believing that because the filter says 1200lph (and the tank is 120ltr) that you are actually are going to get 10x lph and if you do this is just "turnover" which could be in a very limited corner of the tank. You could have lots of dead spots that the CO2 and nutrients are not reaching

Flow is more important than turnover of a filter.
 
simondoherty1 said:
BINKSY1973 said:
Hi,
There is no point in believing that because the filter says 1200lph (and the tank is 120ltr) that you are actually are going to get 10x lph and if you do this is just "turnover" which could be in a very limited corner of the tank. You could have lots of dead spots that the CO2 and nutrients are not reaching
Flow is more important than turnover of a filter.

The flow reductions were 'factored' in when the 10x 'suggestion' first started. We estimate each filter is around 50% actual of the stated lph so in theory the need here is 5x.

However since then we have moved further on and many of us are using much much more.

Saying that for a small 60l tank I can't see a problem with going by the 10x. There shouldn't be too much of a problem with flow as in a larger tank.

AC
 
So the actual filtration (in comparison to the current smaller internal) is less important than the increase in flow around the tank?
 
the external will more likely be much better at filtering but with you will need a much higher lph than your internal.

For example a Fluval3+ is rated at 700lph and due to it being internal then as long it is cleaned weekly then it will be closer to it stated than as external as the flow reductions are minimal. An external of 700lph will have a huge amount more space within it and therefore not need cleaning weekly like an internal but because of hoses etc it will be greatly reduced lph wise!!!

Therefore if you have a 700lph internal then you would probably need a 1000lph external to match it flow wise.

AC
 
if it was me and i had a 60l tank. i would either, go overkill and get a tt ex1200 for £63 delivered or get the ex700 for £58 deivered

(you have to pay postage on the 700 as it originally comes to 53 so i have factored this in) so for the sake of a few quid i would get the ex1200.

reason 1) if you decide to upgrade in the future you would have saved yourself alot of £££££
reason 2) filters only put out around 50% so from the 1200 you would be getting 600lph which is 10x rather than 350lph from the 700 which is more around 6.5x. therefore you would probably solve your flow problem if you got the ex1200 as you would probably not have any dead spots. this would save you more ££ as you dont have to buy a koralia, which, as a downside, would not look very aesthetically pleasing in the tank imo.

hope i made sense.
 
TBH the dead spots part is not something I've read up on! At first I just wanted to get rid on the huge internal filers! Thats the problem with simple ideas.

Then I read that For the price of an Eden 501 you might as well get a 'proper' external.

You go away for a few months and everything changes! :D

Don't worry I will begin to get back up to speed!
 
With regards to flow, plant tanks seem to want good/high flows but shrimp tanks seem to want low/gentle flow (to prevent babies flying up the inlet).

My tank is both? Now confused! :D
 
Baby shrimp seem to do fine if they get sucked up by the filter so don't worry too much. You can just release them from the filter when you clean it so be careful you don't wash them away!!!
 
True, they seem to be ok in my internal! I currently clean the filter sponges tank water then leave the 'solids' to settle before going on a shrimp hunt! (can take a fustratingly long time!). Don't know why I thought it would be so different really.
 
Nick16 said:
get a tt ex1200 for £63 delivered

hi Nick,

Where did you get this price from? I'm in the market for one and the cheapest I can find is around the 90 mark.

I must admit I've not searched everywhere apart from ebay and a couple of other usual online retailers.

EDIT: Just read another thread and livingsea do them for that price!
 
Yeah I got mine before the price hike, I'd still give £70 though, they're worth it.
 
Cheapest EX1200 I can find is warehouse aquatics at £72 + £3.75 delivery. They have them in stock, anyone know of better deals?
 
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