What kind of filter would be the best to use??

I recently purchased a 75 gallon tank. I plan on it being a community tropical tank. Currently I have a 30 gallon that I am going to move most of them into it and some are going to stay. However, the 75 gallon came with two HOB filters, however, the biofilter was thrown away with the carbon filters. And the HOB are pretty gross. I am debating on either buying new HOB's or going another route. I wanted to see what others use and what would be the easiest and most beneficial for the fish. HOB, Canister filter (what kind), or sponge fitlers? There will be angelfish, tetras, pleco, bala catfish, gourami, and a betta. Once set up there will only be about 20 small sized fish (other than the pleco which is about 4 1/2" and the catfish is about the same size. This is why the 75 needs set up asap! Have to rearrange the house to make it work! lol Too many tanks are going to be in this house. Soon there will be 2 - 30 gallons, 1 - 15 gallon, 1 - 55 gallon, 1 - 75 gallon, 2 - 20 gallons, and a 28 gallon bowfront. Goodness. Two people combining to one household with a love for fish! lol I'll give a breakdown of what are in the tanks for all of those who are interested.

But back to the topic. Please let me know what type of filters you use, and why you find them beneficial. I find the filters need to be changed very frequently on the HOB's and looking for something more efficient.




Tank breakdowns:
30 gallon - tetra's (roommates)
30 gallon - single cichlid [too aggressive to be with any other fish, kills them all]
15 gallon - Guppies (roommates)
55 gallon - african cichlids (roommates)
75 gallon - tropical community tank
20 gallon - breeding angels [separated with tank divider]
20 gallon - goldfish
28 gallon - tropical community

(275 gallons)

For a 75 community, I would say a AquaClear 110 for a HOB.

Or a Rena Xp2 or 3 for a canister filter.

Madness, That is the route I was thinking about going or doing two 40-60 gallon HOB. How often do you change the filter media on a canister filter? I have never had/used one before, well that functioned.

aqueon 55/75 is the way to go for a 75 gallon. 400 gph and loads of room for media(i use 14 scrubbies in mine) and are reletively inexpensive @ 23$ on [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and 28$ on kensfish.com. best hob for the money you can buy by far imo

Fishman09 how often do you change the scrubbies? I love kensfish.com I get my cichlid food from him and they LOVE it!

Thats 400 GPH with no media in, with media probably closer to 250-300 GPH which isn't all that much for a 75 gal tank. The Aquaclear 110 is a better choice for a HOB.

Personally I'd go canister, you can get a Sunsun/Grech off ebay for cheap that will work wonders with more media.

i havent had to change the srubbies. just rinse every few weeks or so. filled with media there is zero noticeable flow loss compared to no media to. these things juice out water like crazy and i trust mine on a 75 gallon alone and will be the only hob i purchase from here on out. theyre that good.

So you have only the scrubbies in there fishman09 and then rinse them every few weeks and it works well?

yes and it works great

Cool I'll look into that.

And the others that you all listed. Thank you.

rinse your scrubbies/media in tank water, not faucet water. Dont rinse them thoroughly, just a quick rinse and then put them back

I am an overkill man so I would go with an FX5 but that's just me.

Naso2 wrote:I am an overkill man so I would go with an FX5 but that's just me.

Sound like me, running an Aquaclear 20 and a Grech 302 on a 29 gal

Just noticed there was a bala catfish in the mix. These generally will require salt as they get older and live in a brackish to full marine environment as adults.

If this is the fish we are talking about: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]