Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all. I have recently bought a 240 gallon aquarium. But I'm not really sure of the filtration that I want to go with. I was thinking of buying a Ocean Clear 325 Canister Filter and a Little Giant 5MDSC Water Pump. But I don't know much about it. I want something that isnt going to loud but works good. Does anyone have anymore suggestions? Right now I have a 75 gallon with underground filter and 2 350 magnums hooked up. I want to stay with the undergravel filter. Also if someone knows a little on redoing the top portion of a fish tank. I'm not totally happy with the top portion of my tank and would like to get some feedback from someone that could tell me how to change it , without damaging it.

thanks all..hope to hear from you

Here is my two cents on the topic. I personally don't like underground filters. When I had my 120 gallon tank I had an underground filter and the amount of work it took to clean the gravel every week was outrageous. Now that I have a turtle, I find that he likes a good mix of gravel and sand to burrow in. Sand and underground filters don't mix well.

Secondly, about my recommendation for a filter. Eheim canister filters are tremendously powerful and amazingly silent. They get the job done and you don't have to clean the gravel as often as you would with an underground filter. However, the largest model they make commercially will only clean a 160 gallon tank... so you would need it and maybe one of their 100 gallon filters as well. The other option is a sump filter. In our outdoor pond, we use a Berlin sump filter. It takes care of all 250 gallons of water and is fairly maintenance free. I clean it once in the spring and once in the fall and it seems to do fine. Keep in mind that we only have koi in the pond and I find that all my koi aren't nearly as messy as my turtle. However, the koi also take care of a lot of grass clippings that make it into the pond, as well as some of the leaves from the ornamental trees that surround the pond. Anyways, back on topic, I would venture to guess that the Berlin sump filter would work wonderfully for your aquarium.

www.eheim.com for the canister filters

OR

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_filters_berlin_sump.asp for the sump filter.

Happy Herping,
Jordan Worley

Hi, Thanks for the info. With the sump pump one that mentioned does that have to be put into the tank or can it be under the tank? I have heard alot on the undergravel filters more bad than good. Kinda of funny I would be the only one that likes it. I like the idea of it because the water is sucked under the gravel taking all the yuckys with it and up the tubes to the filter to be left in there. I havent had any problems with mine as of yet. But I like all of the information everyone can offer. And I thank you for the ideas. I'm going to be going to check out the other filter you mentioned as well.

Thanks and let me know about that sump pump...

I would think that if your substrate is large enough to allow large particles to pass through it, then the undergravel idea might work ok if the water is then taken outside the tank and cleaned somehow. What ive heard of undergrounds is that the waste is sucked into the substrate and bacteria breaks it down there. This doesnt work well with turtles, but excellent with a light fish load.

I would think and underground filter- with large, loose gravel, which has the uplift tube hooked to somekind of canister or wet/dry filter would be ideal for a turtle tank, therefore sucking waste from the entire floor of the tank, instead of just an uplift tube. I may incorporate this idea into my next DIY filter.
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