Cichlids and Filtration

[zormer23]

OK, one more question...

The setup I just bought came with 2 canister filters (Fluval 405 and a Jebo 829).  I have a 125 Gallon setup with about 35 large (4-6 inch) cichlids...  

I don't know about you all ... but canister filters scare the heck out of me.  I know people use them for years without problems, but all I can think of is if one connection starts leaking I could have a ton of water on the floor and potentially a lot of dead fish.  So I've been thinking about replacing these eventually with 2 Marineland Emperor 400 filters.  I trust these a lot more to not fail by leakage ...

Would this be a mistake?  I think the emperor filters are awesome based on my experience with them on heavily stocked community fish tanks.  

Thanks,
Rich

[CichlidFan]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

I'm with you Rich, I like emps, I see them all over town on LFS tanks ....even on saltwater. But, I would try to get over your fear of cans, they too are excellent filtration systems. Go with an Eheim 2217, top of the line, dependable and secure.

No worries mate..... My 125 has a emperor 400, a Eheim 2217, and a pro clear 75 w/d.

Clear as your big tank we saw when we picked up the 110 Oceanic.

CF

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

I would either go with a wet/dry for that tank and the stock but upgrading to larger canisters will work.

If you plan on going with another canister go with the eheim 2260.

[SteveCGG]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

I started my 215g with a single eheim 2260...I now have about 25 med to large africans in there and the water is very clear. I will eventually add a second one for backup/extra filtration. It also my 1st experience with both a canister filter and a reef ready tank. Scared the @%&* out of my wife at first, having 5 large holes drilled into the floor of the tank   I used to use an emperor 400 on my 55g. the canister is WAY better!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

HOB filters do not compare.

[zormer23]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

I believe that canisters are probably way better ... but they wouldn't be better in terms of me being able to sleep at night.  (By the way --- we lose an hour of sleep tonight  --- UGH!)

Will the emperor's be able to handle this load OK is my real question ... I don't see why they wouldn't unless there just isn't enough bio capacity in the emperors to handle all the ammonia/nitrite conversion.

[Delock]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

snag you a ehiem 2260....

[CichlidFan]

Re: Cichlids and Filtration

I'm going to be doing some experimenting with one of my emps, I'm going to basically turn it into an AquaClears, meaning, I am going to start using some eheim 2217 media (the tubed ceramic kind) and a chem pure pak, and most likely a typical black particle sponge. I'm going to replace the gay little blue cartridge with this combination and test it out on one of my tanks. We'll see how it goes.

CF