As I mentioned, we very strongly suggest that if you intend to enrich the tank with carbon, and if you intend to use strong lighting, then you really need to pay very close attention to flow and distribution. When we look at tank sizes of 200L, this is the beginning of problems because that is up to 200 kilograms of water, and that is a lot of water to move.
CO2 diffusion rates in water are 10,000 times slower than in air, and so having poor flow in a tank will mean no ends to your troubles. It is much better to be over the top with flow than to be below the minimum threshold because flow and good distribution will erase many of our mistakes. I think people don't worry enough about setting up their tanks for success. All they can think about is how much sexy light they can pump into the tank, and that's just a train wreck waiting to happen. Flow/distribution and CO2 dissolution is THE most important aspect of a planted tank. That is why we have settled on the 10X rating rule. So if it means some inconvenience in the beginning, then just get over it and press on. The investment will reward you in the end.
Flow energy is especially important as the tank matures and as the plant biomass increases. The result is flow blockage and the attendant problems of severely decreased CO2/nutrient delivery.
It really doesn't matter what brand you get, as long as the filter is rated at 10X the tank volume. We just happen to know that the FX5 has a flow rating somewhere around 2000LPH and it 's a good price for the amount of flow it produces. The Eheim proIII series also have similar ratings. All filters deliver only half of what they are rated from the manufacturer because they are tested under the most favorable conditions such as with no filter media and at shallow depths so that's why we work around that by calculating and playing the 10X rating game.
As nayr88 mentions, if it is impossible to fit that size in the cabinet then use two filters each with a 5X rating. You can even achieve better flow by using powerheads to augment the energy, but it is so much cleaner and easier to have that energy delivered by a single filter.
When manufacturers rate a filter for XYZ size tank, they have no idea about the requirements for a high tech tank, so their ratings are meaningless. People always assume we are over the top when we suggest a filter size that seems absurdly over the top - until they run into trouble...then they regret their choice, and all of a sudden it doesn't seem so absurd.
Do yourself a favor and get as much flow rating you can for that tank, whether it means you have to bust that cabinet wide open or whether you have to stuff it with more filters than you think you need.
Cheers,
CO2 diffusion rates in water are 10,000 times slower than in air, and so having poor flow in a tank will mean no ends to your troubles. It is much better to be over the top with flow than to be below the minimum threshold because flow and good distribution will erase many of our mistakes. I think people don't worry enough about setting up their tanks for success. All they can think about is how much sexy light they can pump into the tank, and that's just a train wreck waiting to happen. Flow/distribution and CO2 dissolution is THE most important aspect of a planted tank. That is why we have settled on the 10X rating rule. So if it means some inconvenience in the beginning, then just get over it and press on. The investment will reward you in the end.
Flow energy is especially important as the tank matures and as the plant biomass increases. The result is flow blockage and the attendant problems of severely decreased CO2/nutrient delivery.
It really doesn't matter what brand you get, as long as the filter is rated at 10X the tank volume. We just happen to know that the FX5 has a flow rating somewhere around 2000LPH and it 's a good price for the amount of flow it produces. The Eheim proIII series also have similar ratings. All filters deliver only half of what they are rated from the manufacturer because they are tested under the most favorable conditions such as with no filter media and at shallow depths so that's why we work around that by calculating and playing the 10X rating game.
As nayr88 mentions, if it is impossible to fit that size in the cabinet then use two filters each with a 5X rating. You can even achieve better flow by using powerheads to augment the energy, but it is so much cleaner and easier to have that energy delivered by a single filter.
When manufacturers rate a filter for XYZ size tank, they have no idea about the requirements for a high tech tank, so their ratings are meaningless. People always assume we are over the top when we suggest a filter size that seems absurdly over the top - until they run into trouble...then they regret their choice, and all of a sudden it doesn't seem so absurd.
Do yourself a favor and get as much flow rating you can for that tank, whether it means you have to bust that cabinet wide open or whether you have to stuff it with more filters than you think you need.
Cheers,
