Filter recomendations for a 75g bichir tank

[Goonie]

Stocking plan is 2 African ropes 2 senegal bichirs school of congo tetras a featherfin squeaker and maybe a couple bushfish.

 

[Becca]

Whatever leaves the least amount of open space in the lid.

 

[Goonie]

Would an ac 110 give enough filtration or should I buy another canister

 

[Becca]

Would an ac 110 give enough filtration or should I buy another canister

An AC110 will leave them space to escape. Bichirs and rope fish are known for leaving tanks.

 

[Goonie]

I would likely make a cover using sheet plastic if I went hob. I'm just concerned that a fx6 would create to much flow for the tank as most of them prefer slower moving water

 

[FishEggs]

The ropes are very capable at escaping tanks.
You can reduce the flow of the fx6 quite easily if you can glue PVC pipe together.
I plumbed mine using a 1" pvc pipe as the stack and then T'd it off to 2 outputs of 3/4" pipe. Reduces the flow a lot. Something to think about if you already have an fx6.

 

[Goonie]

Have any experience with the sunsuns? They already have a spray bar and I'm not to good at the diys

 

[FishEggs]

Just the 304b and it up and started leaking on me out of the blue. That was several years ago though so I dont know if quality has gone up. Some people love them some people hate them same as any thing else. Your experience may vary. Right now I run 2 fx5s I bought used on my 220 which is what I have my bichirs in and they have been rock solid.

Have you looked at the FX4?

 

[Goonie]

I haven't I run 2 fx6s on my cichlid tank with an ac110 and sponge and I love that set up. But it's a deep tank at 30tall and the flow doesn't disturb the bottom to bad, so cichlids are still happy

 

[Becca]

Psssst. Corner mattenfilter www.swisstropicals.com. All you need is a tiny hole for the airline.

 

[Goonie]

I've been looking at something like that for a shrimp tank, I didn't think it would work with such dirty fish. I'll look into it ty.

 

[Becca]

I've been looking at something like that for a shrimp tank, I didn't think it would work with such dirty fish. I'll look into it ty.

I'd use something with a lot of biological filtration (like a mattenfilter) and use a gravel vac to really clean up the waste. If you have them eating high quality pellets and can keep some plants growing, they shouldn't produce that much waste. Once they hit a certain size, no filter is going to manage those turds.

 

[Goonie]

Lol, got ya, I have been going back and forth on sand, seachem fluorite and eco complete for this any recomendations on substrate,I had planed on basing the tank with crushed lava rock and laying my substrate on top

 

[Becca]

Lol, got ya, I have been going back and forth on sand, seachem fluorite and eco complete for this any recomendations on substrate,I had planed on basing the tank with crushed lava rock and laying my substrate on top

Well... Your lava rock will end up on top - it's lighter weight than most sand and sand will easily shift between the chunks of rock (even if it's pretty darn crushed). You're also working with fish who burrow and slide around on their bellies. Lava rock can be sharp (as can fluorite). If you're not too concerned about color, you could try a thin layer of pool filter sand mixed with a decorative type of sand or rounded gravel so you have a mixed grain size and accent it with big chunks of lava rock, maybe positioned around potted plants so the plants will stay in place.

Why a shallow layer of sand? Glad you asked... less area for detritus and poop particles to build up in.

One of my favorite substrates is pool filter sand mixed with CaribSea Peace River sand. CaribSea packages a lot of really nice substrate varieties that mix well with sand to create a more natural looking substrate with a mixed grain size (e.g., not stark white/all one color). Something consisting of medium-large grain sand will keep most waste on top so you can suction it out as you see it (turkey basters may come in handy for this).

 

[Goonie]

I like that idea it's what I did with my cichlid tank I think pearl river is exactly what I used with some ph buffering sand I have added alot of fish since the picture but it's for the substrate

 

[Becca]

Yep, like that, but maybe half as deep - makes it easier to suction poop out if your substrate is heavy and sparse.

 

[Goonie]

Got ya, as always I appreciate it.

 

[FishEggs]

I definitely would not use lava rock with them. They like to "walk" across the bottom and lay there too. Lava rock is too sharp. I just use the sand from the creek in the back yard.