[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: which Eheim?
Dennis was asking about which Eheim to buy for his planted tank. Eheim's
recommendation are (I believe) based on a regular "fish tank", where
biofiltration in the filter is of paramount importance due to the usual
tendancy of hobbyists to over-populate their tanks and the fact that plastic
plants are _still_ more popular than real ones.
If you have a heavily planted tank with a low to moderate fish load, the
plants in the tank can handle a lot of the biofiltration needs themselves
and the external filter can be relegated to being of secondary importance,
so it really wouldn't hurt to go with the smaller one, if price is a concern
to you.
In the Eheims, a lot of them use the same pump, and the thru-put of water is
regulated more by the diameter of the hoses which are used than by the
actual capacity of the pump. As well, the flow rates are measured either
with empty canisters or with freshly changed canisters (no build-up of
sludge in the media), so the real world performance is always going to be
less than the manufacturer's specs.
Personally, I happen to like a lot of current in a tank, so I don't mind
using powerful pumps and big filters. But I run several filters sans media
of any kind other than mechanical and I spend a lot of time ensiring that
the outflow from my pumps is well distributed and not violent or
concentrated in any one place. In nature, water moves a lot more than it
does in most aquariums.
James Purchase
Toronto