[Bastler]

Ok I have posted this on a few sites with no luck and this forum is easily the best fish forum. So here we go.

Hey all. After a rather annoying heater explosion whilst I was away and losing all my fish I am almost ready to start again with my 50G.

I currently have a single canister filter filtering this tank. I was wondering what is the best way to have my tank nice and clean. Sometimes I cant do a water change for three weeks. Is there some way to automate this process? I have seen a couple of builds on this forum where this has been done.

The other thing I was thinking of doing was having another canister filter connected to an under gravel filter but not sure if that is a good thing to do or not?

I am wanted to keep say 3-4 electric yellows and 3-4 other african cichlids plus a pleco. Something along those lines anyways. On a side note would you think my tank is big enough for this?

Any help is much appreciated thanks heaps.

 

[Tado77]

Hi
Some people clean the filter every week and other every month - what is best I dont know.
If u want a bit info about medium for external filter the good one is from Seachem - biological filtration - Matrix and De nitrate
I start to use in my two "tanks" both of them few days ago - how thats work ? Iwill see after few weeks, Im hope the best.

With the another filter to under gravel is not bad idea - cause the water will run through the gravel and give oxigene for roots

 

[Fishedout]

Ok I have posted this on a few sites with no luck and this forum is easily the best fish forum. So here we go.

Hey all. After a rather annoying heater explosion whilst I was away and losing all my fish I am almost ready to start again with my 50G.

I currently have a single canister filter filtering this tank. I was wondering what is the best way to have my tank nice and clean. Sometimes I cant do a water change for three weeks. Is there some way to automate this process? I have seen a couple of builds on this forum where this has been done.

The other thing I was thinking of doing was having another canister filter connected to an under gravel filter but not sure if that is a good thing to do or not?

I am wanted to keep say 3-4 electric yellows and 3-4 other african cichlids plus a pleco. Something along those lines anyways. On a side note would you think my tank is big enough for this?

Any help is much appreciated thanks heaps.

2 canisters is always a good thing so that you can clean them on an alternating shedule. That way you always have excellent bacteria populations. I don't know that hooking one up to UG filter would be a good idea though. I would imagine the flow rate of most canisters would probably be too high for UG. Powerheads work very well with UG though, so I would recommend that if you want UG filtration. Try the reverse flow method so that water is pumping out of the UG plates up through the substrate as this will help stop as much debris collecting on the substrate which means less vaccuuming. UG of any sort is not very effective if you want a sand substrate though in which case you will be better off without it IMO. Two canisters of the right volume would be plenty on a 50gal. Something along the lines of 2 x Ehiem 2213's would probably serve your purposes quite well.

For the automation you would need a pump inside the tank that pumps water out to a sink or where ever. Then a rather substantial tank that will hold enough water for 4 or 5 water changes, with another pump for pumping water that you have already prepared back into the tank. Programable electronic timers to run both pumps. I had this arrangement on one of my larger tanks at my old house & it worked quite well. Just make sure that the timers are set so that the water pumps out of the display tank well before the refill pump is set to top up the tank. You will also have to run several tests to get the refill pump to run for the exact amount of time needed to fill to the correct level or you will end up with a very wet floor or a very empty display tank!! Blackouts can play havoc with electronic timers that don't have a backup battery to keep them running when the power goes out, so make sure any timers you get have this feature. Vaccuuming the substrate can only be done manually.

Assuming your tank is of the standard dimensions a 50gal is plenty big enough for 8 africans under 6inches, you may in fact be better off with more, so long as they are compatible, to help with agression issues. A plec should be ok but you may need to be careful about PH. Many plecs can't handle the high PH & hard water required by rift lake cichlids. A bristlenose would be a safe bet though as they are very hardy & adaptable.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Personally, I'm not a fan of UG filters in planted tanks, as the plant roots tend to grow down through the filter plates and block off flow. Which then turns the area underneath the UG into a cesspool. Reverse flow would be better, but still susceptible to root blockage, so personally I just avoid them.

If you go with a good canister, or combo of canister/HOBs on the tank you shouldn't need the UGF anyways.

 

[fox]

Some africans have a liking for pleco eyes. You might get lucky but be prepared.

 

[Bastler]

Thanks so much for the replies sorry I have been so slow to get back to you all. But my computer has decided its power supply would blow up so it has been difficult.

Thanks again the info was exactly what I needed cheers.