# 50L with a aquamanta 200 efx



## Tucker90 (21 Jan 2019)

Got the efx for £10 from eBay, stuck some hoses on it and it works a treat, 

Question is; it’s rated at 800LPH, do I save this for a larger tank? I get the feeling 16 times the tank every hour is a bit excessive? 


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## Siege (21 Jan 2019)

No should be good. I’ve got 12X of what’s  on the box on my 100L and the aquamanta will proabably deliver 60% of what’s on box. My Eheim 70%

Bit of a bargain you got there.


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## Millns84 (21 Jan 2019)

If you do find the flow a bit over the top, then you can diffuse it with a spray bar. 

You could even absolutely pack the canister with media which will invariably impact on flow.


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## Tucker90 (22 Jan 2019)

Millns84 said:


> If you do find the flow a bit over the top, then you can diffuse it with a spray bar.
> 
> You could even absolutely pack the canister with media which will invariably impact on flow.



Thanks for the reply! One thought was to pack the filter out! Maybe with some finer foam/wool! 

And as for the spray bar  really want lily pipes really! Don’t like anything else! 




Siege said:


> No should begood. I’ve got 12X of what’s  on the box on my 100L and the aquamanta will proabably deliver 60% of what’s on box. My Eheim 70%
> 
> Bit of a bargain you got there.




Thanks for the reply! I will hook it up to the tank and see how it is! I’ve always tried to follow the x10 rule give or take, but just thought this might be a bit extreme! 

And yes! It was a bargain! £10 worth of hose and I’m away! 

Hopefully the lack of performance works in my favour! 

Thanks 
Thom 



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## dw1305 (22 Jan 2019)

Hi all, 





Tucker90 said:


> One thought was to pack the filter out! Maybe with some finer foam/wool!


I probably wouldn't. You are really better off not having any fine mechanical media in the filter itself. 

The reason is to do with with the limits on nitrification imposed by slow flow and low oxygen levels. Have a look at <"Filter cleaning...">

You can easily diffuse the flow with wood etc in the tank. 

cheers Darrel


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## Tucker90 (22 Jan 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, I probably wouldn't. You are really better off not having any fine mechanical media in the filter itself.
> 
> The reason is to do with with the limits on nitrification imposed by slow flow and low oxygen levels. Have a look at <"Filter cleaning...">
> 
> ...



Thanks Darrel, 

I’ll just have to wait and see! Got the hoses on order so when they arrive I’ll see what it’s like!

Just don’t want the tank looking like rapids! 

Just out of curiosity what foam would you recommend? 


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## Millns84 (22 Jan 2019)

I'd get a set of pond foams to cut to size.

All Pond Solutions sell sets of three different grades, as do Finest Filters and even Maidenhead Aquatics if you've got one nearby.

I use them in all my canisters and it ends up loads cheaper than foams from the manufacturer.


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## Tucker90 (23 Jan 2019)

Perfect! Found these on fleabay which seem reasonable, ordered some k1 media as well! 






And found this recommendation from the filter manual, I’m not adding charcoal so will just add more k1 to it! 






As for the litre per hour on this filter, when you read the manual it states that the filter produces 800LPH without any media at all.

Therefore by the time I’ve filled it with media and put lily pipes on I think it will reduce it considerably! 

Thanks for all your help buddy! 

Really appreciated 

Thom 



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## Konsa (23 Jan 2019)

Hi
I would not worry too much about it.I don't think 800l/h is ovwrkill in 50l tank.I run 2 filters on my 70l one Tetratech 600l/h and one internal 600l/h for polishing water as have messy fish.The other tank 125l I have JBL e1501 1400l/h and Eheim skimmer 350l/h all filters in tanks on full blast and flow just right.
Depending on hardscape and plants U will get significant flow reduction once they grow in.As Darrel said I will keep away from fine media.If U want tho impede flow just stuff it with ceramic (sintered glass) this has more drag to it than sponges and doesn't clog.If I want optimum flow I use coarse sponge and very little ceramics in my filters.
I dont agree with the recommended filter setup in the pic.If the water comes from bottom up It is good to have coarse sponge first,then medium sponge, then bio media and any chemical media(carbon,purigen) last.Its also good to think about sponge prefilter on the intake.U can rince it weekly on maintainance day and the filter will stay clean for months on end.
Regards Konsa


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## Zedan (23 Jan 2019)

Generally these filters run much slower in operation, especially after some crud has built up in the filter. It also depends on what you have in the tank. A betta wouldn't be too happy but many schooling fish enjoy riding currents


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## dw1305 (23 Jan 2019)

Hi all,





Tucker90 said:


> Just out of curiosity what foam would you recommend?


No finer than PPI20.





Millns84 said:


> I'd get a set of pond foams to cut to size.


I do this, but if you want longer lasting ones (but more expensive originally) the Poret type last almost indefinitely (I've got some that are ~15 years old). There is a guy on ebay who sells them "greenpikeman", the listing is <"HMF. Hamburg filter mat sponge. different sizes and grades ppi 10, ppi20, ppi30"> 





Tucker90 said:


> And found this recommendation from the filter manual, I’m not adding charcoal so will just add more k1 to it!


I've used <"K1 type media in a canister filter">





Konsa said:


> I dont agree with the recommended filter setup in the pic.If the water comes from bottom up It is good to have coarse sponge first,then medium sponge, then bio media and any chemical media(carbon,purigen) last.Its also good to think about sponge prefilter on the intake.U can rince it weekly on maintainance day and the filter will stay clean for months on end.


I'm with @Konsa, the media set-ups from the manufacturers are usually "interesting" and have much more to do with selling you new replacement sponges etc. than they do with the efficient running of the filter.  This filter set-up might be intended for a non-planted tank, where phosphate levels might build, and you might want to attempt simultaneous <"nitrification / denitrification"> in the filter (although I wouldn't ever)  

Personally I'd definitely leave out the <"filter wool">, the phosphate pad and the fine sponge, none of them offers any advantage, and the <"phosphate pad">, if it worked, <"would inhibit plant growth">. These are some <"activated carbon/charcoal"> comments.  

I like a <"pre-filter">, I use <"chunky sponge blocks">, but there are less visually obtrusive options.

cheers Darrel


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## Millns84 (23 Jan 2019)

I'd also recommend completely ignoring the media set up suggestion from the manufacturer...

Generally speaking, you're looking at coarse to fine from bottom to top - There's much debate about just how coarse you want the foams but generally you're looking at 20-30 ppi. Many also put ceramic rings like Eheim Mech in the very bottom of the canister to catch any really heavy muck before it even touches any foam in the trays.

The green foam you've found is 45ppi I believe (I use it) and will need cleaning monthly whereas with the coarser pads you can take some liberties (depending on a plethora of other factors of course). The upside to the finer foam, for me at least, is that it actually saves filter floss from clogging too quickly, but again it's all subject to debate and largely personal preference, how much maintenance you want to do etc.

I open my canisters monthly and everything's dirty but not completely clogged. This is on a big tank too - 450 litres - Running three canisters and includes some messy cichlids as well as a pair of American flag fish who love to pull stem plants apart!

One final suggestion - Pre filter sponge. I use Aquael turbo sponges which fit perfectly on most intakes. The 500 version is quite small (I use it on my 1300lph canister) but I use the larger pre filters on both of my 2000lph canisters.


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## Tucker90 (23 Jan 2019)

Thanks for all the advice everyone! 

I’ve ordered what bits I think I need! Will update this thread with when it’s all in! 

Thanks again
Thom 


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