# Recommendations 6ft tank



## Joe1985 (Mar 28, 2012)

Hello All,
just in advance any help would be greatly appreciated.
I am soon purchasing a 6x2x2 fish tank, well, my girlfriend and i have bought a house and the tank has came free with the house (cool huh) haha my question is what would be sufficient filtration for a tank that size? i am not 100% sure of these things.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

I would check to make sure the tank doesn't leak first =X


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## jentralala (Oct 5, 2012)

I'd go with a canister filter for that size tank. Fluval, Rena, and Eheim are all great brands, and I've also heard good things about Marineland and Sunsun. Just get one rated for your tank size or a little over.


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Fluval doesn't make them that large, except the FX5 but that's overkill.

That tank is ~180 gallons.

My own six foot tank is a 125 gallon, I use the Rena XP3 (now called API Filstar XPL). With live plants you could get away with the same (the limit on the XP3 is 175 gallons) but you may wish to go with the XP4 (now called API Filstar XPXL) which is good up to 265 gallons.

Eheim has the same problem as Fluval, there is a massive gap in ratings. A classic 2217 does 159 gallons and the next classic model, the 2260, is good for 396 gallons! The only one in the ballpark for them is the Professional 3e 2078 which is good up to 185 gallons.

Still not as bad as Fluval though. The largest normal canister they have is the 406 which is only good up to 100 gallons ... then the FX5 monster that is good for 400 gallons. They have NOTHING between 100 and 400 gallons 

They just came out with the FX6 too which is also 400 gallons just has more bells and whistles.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

I would go with two filters. One would be a dedicated bio-filter (canister) that would rarely require any maintenance and the other would be a dedicated mechanical filter (HOB) with ability for periodic chemical as/if required that would be serviced routinely. 
Why? 
Biological filtration benefits from slower flow rates and not being disturbed. Increased media capacity also allows us to leverage more advanced bio-filtration.
Mechanical filtration media is best serviced often to prevent trapped detritus from decomposing into dissolved organic compounds (DOCs) that pollute the water.

Although I'm using two HOBs, this is basically what I'm doing on my 60g and it seems very successful.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

just a tidbit, if your going planted run the other direction form HOB's


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

MoneyMitch said:


> just a tidbit, if your going planted run the other direction form HOB's


And canisters too?...Perhaps you should explain further.

Note: the reason I suggested a HOB for mechanical filtration is the ease at which the media can be serviced.


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## Sanguinefox (Nov 29, 2011)

Before anyone can give you proper advice we really need to know where you stand with stocking, substrate, lighting, and planting. Doing so gives us an idea of what type of system is best for your future tank.

I can give you some general advice based on my experience with larger tanks, and my 6 foot long 150 gallon.

If you have sand as your substrate you have to question "What will my fish be?". Once you know that ask yourself are these fish that can kick up sand? Bichirs, Rope Fish, Eels, Corydora, Loaches, etc are all fish that hang about the bottom and can uproot plants that are not well rooted, and kick up an enormous amount of sand. Other fish such as Gourami, Rainbowfish, Tetra, Bala Sharks, etc (upper to mid level) are fish that tend to not mess around with the bottom too much.

This is important. If you have fish that kick up sand you want filters that can deal with it. All HOB's and some Canisters pull water through a tube, into the motor, through the media and then back into the tank. This is fine if you don't have sand being kicked up. It is not if you do. So plan accordingly. You can use HOB's in this situation if you cover the intakes with something to filter the sand out and hope it doesn't burn out, and hope you don't end up with a clogged pre-filter while you are out which then burns your motor.

Yes I am hinting at something here. Hint Hint.

Moving on, you must also take plants into consideration. If you want to run a fully planted tank having current is important. Moving those plants around helps fight against algae overtaking the leaves. It also ensures even distribution of nutrients. Fully planted tanks when balanced correctly should not need heavy filtration. You still need current though. That's all I can offer as per advice.

I personally run a 150 gallon tank that is 6 feet long. I run two heaters and two filters. Both filters are Canisters. This works for me. The tank is planted though, with root heavy plants and things grow very well.

EDIT: One other thing. When you have larger tanks going into the 150 range and up there there is always the possibility of layering when it comes to water. This happens when you have heavier water that is loaded with nutrients/organics hanging around the mid to lower range of the tank. The cleaner lighter water sits at the top. This happens when you don't have a system forcing the water to mix or if you have your filters set up so that they are only effectively filtering the mid to top range. I had to fight this at some point until I finally realized was going on. When you set up filtration make sure you are pushing water around properly so you don't face this problem.


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Sanguinefox said:


> This is important. If you have fish that kick up sand you want filters that can deal with it. All HOB's and some Canisters pull water through a tube, into the motor, through the media and then back into the tank. This is fine if you don't have sand being kicked up. It is not if you do. So plan accordingly. You can use HOB's in this situation if you cover the intakes with something to filter the sand out and hope it doesn't burn out, and hope you don't end up with a clogged pre-filter while you are out which then burns your motor.


I believe on my XP3 the motor is on the output (so after media).

I'm not certain sand is such an issue with canisters though. I can see it being much more of an issue with HOBs since in a HOB the impeller is at the bottom of the reservoir and thus the sand will settle down there. In all canisters I have seen the impeller is located at the top.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

AbbeysDad said:


> And canisters too?...Perhaps you should explain further.
> 
> Note: the reason I suggested a HOB for mechanical filtration is the ease at which the media can be serviced.


cans aren't as bad for planted and are just as easy in my opinion to clean as a hob. I can explain in further detail if in fact he plans on going the planted route.


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## Joe1985 (Mar 28, 2012)

Sanguinefox said:


> Before anyone can give you proper advice we really need to know where you stand with stocking, substrate, lighting, and planting. Doing so gives us an idea of what type of system is best for your future tank.
> 
> I can give you some general advice based on my experience with larger tanks, and my 6 foot long 150 gallon.
> 
> ...




There was a fluval fx5 on this tank for quite some time but the original owners r now taking the filter for their own 5ft discus tank to take to their new home, the tank currently has white gravel substrate id say approximately 5-8mm pieces with plastic plants (will think of some time down the track maybe putting real plants in but brings me to the other thing i was going to say) the tank is also currently stocked, there is 4 featherfin catfish(i am worried these will eat and all cats will eat my live plants correct) , 3 eel tail catfish, 1 rainbow shark, 1 bala shark, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, couple of convicts, a headstander and some cuckoo catfish, a few common bristlenoses and possibly a juvie pleco i think thats it but not 100% sure as the ex owners may take a couple more fish with them..
going back onto the fx5 i have currently lined up a second hand fx5 that is about a year old for $150 they usually retail here brand new for 600-700 so im thinking this is a good deal so ill most likely grab it, also sanguine with the topic u brought up regarding circulation and lighter water and so on how would a wave maker go?? i have heard they do wonders especially to keep the circulation going... and ps i apologise for not mentioning at the start this tank had inhabitants in it already.
id love to put a few earth eaters in there eventually and a nice piece of driftwood as a centrepiece will put pictures up when i can.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

Assuming it's in good shape, $150 seems like a good deal for a used FX5, however with a 400g rating, that's way overkill for your 180g tank.
Wave makers are for SW reef tanks to simulate the surf and I could be wrong, but I haven't heard of anyone using them in FW tanks. 
With the possible exception of river simulations (often with powerhead(s) at one end and inlets at the other) the goal should be simple gentle circulation in the tank which can typically be accomplished by adjusting the flow and direction of filter return water. Remember too, there's a fair number of swimming fish and you might be surprised of the flow dynamics created by swimming fish.


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## Sanguinefox (Nov 29, 2011)

Joe1985 said:


> There was a fluval fx5 on this tank for quite some time but the original owners r now taking the filter for their own 5ft discus tank to take to their new home, the tank currently has white gravel substrate id say approximately 5-8mm pieces with plastic plants (will think of some time down the track maybe putting real plants in but brings me to the other thing i was going to say) the tank is also currently stocked, there is 4 featherfin catfish(i am worried these will eat and all cats will eat my live plants correct) , 3 eel tail catfish, 1 rainbow shark, 1 bala shark, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, couple of convicts, a headstander and some cuckoo catfish, a few common bristlenoses and possibly a juvie pleco i think thats it but not 100% sure as the ex owners may take a couple more fish with them..
> going back onto the fx5 i have currently lined up a second hand fx5 that is about a year old for $150 they usually retail here brand new for 600-700 so im thinking this is a good deal so ill most likely grab it, also sanguine with the topic u brought up regarding circulation and lighter water and so on how would a wave maker go?? i have heard they do wonders especially to keep the circulation going... and ps i apologise for not mentioning at the start this tank had inhabitants in it already.
> id love to put a few earth eaters in there eventually and a nice piece of driftwood as a centrepiece will put pictures up when i can.


That's a lot of fish for a tank D:

I would like to point out right of the bat that Bala Shark should be in a group. Makes me sad when people make them leave alone, they are social fish.

I don't know a whole lot about cat-fish. I do know that plecos can be like goldfish in the kind of bioload they produce. As per the filter you have lined up, honestly I suggest trying to go duel filters instead of one huge one. 

The problem with relying on just one filter is what happens if it breaks down? You have nothing. Nothing until get something new. If you split the task of filtration between two filters, then if one goes down you still have the other to help till the fix arrives. Also if you alternate cleaning filters and never clean them at the same time you have better stability in your tank.

If the water layering becomes an issue, the best thing for it is power heads. Or to be able to get the intake of your filters to sit mid range to a bit lower. That helps pull water sitting at the bottom into the filter and then spits it out at the top range.


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## Joe1985 (Mar 28, 2012)

well personally i would rather overkill filtration then not enough im sure alot of people will agree, i do see your point sanguine in regards to the one fiilter but i will point out i have a 1200LH otto canister filter that could fare as a back up filtration device, personally with the bala sharks i would either get a few more or give him away as i knew already they do like a few of their own kind, are you saying thats too many fish?


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