Cannister Filter in-line capabilities

[plantaholic]

Hi All,

I'm setting up a new tamk shortly. Its only a two footer so my challange is to maintain as much space in the tank as possible. To this end i'm looking to have as much equipment outside the tank and in-line with the cannister filter.

My questions are as follows- as a rule in heavily planted aquaria how many times should I be looking to cycle the water through the filter per hour?, and secondly is it possible to run UV steriliser, Heater, and CO2 diffusion in the in and/or outflow of the filter.

Thanks, Planto.

[Nathan]

i think its best to turn the water over at least 2-4 times an hour.

it is possible to run all that, however it is dependant on your cannister filter (strength an lph) an also what the height difference is between the tank an your cannister filter

eg it would work a lot better if the filter was level with the tank as it doesnt have to carry all that water so high.

i wouldnt run the heater through the cannister filter, what im planning on doing is putting the heater vertically next to my cannister filters intake tube, so the warm water is sucked through the filter then through to the rest of the tank therefore making it really quite hard to see an still effiecient.

[DarrenJThomas]

I run CO2 and UV on the outlet of the canister filter. Some canisters also have an inbuilt heater as well. I would opt for the under gravel heater if going for a planted tank

[plantaholic]

Thanks for the responses,

The heating cannister filters are a great option. I've been having a good look at the models available on the Aquarium Wholsale website, my concern is their capicity exceeds requirements for my 2 foot tank.

Is the flow rate adjustable on cannister filters? Can a high capacity cannister be scaled back for a smaller applications?

A heating cable is definitely being installed. It does appear that this has to be supplemented by another heat source however. The dupla models appear to be my choice at this stage.

[*Chris*]

youw ould want to do the tank a few more times than that nathan
id be doing the tank at least 5 times an hour
2-3 times is not nearly enough to keep your tank and fish healthy
EXAI

[Nathan]

on my discus planted tank its turned over about 4-5 times an hours an theyve been going great for quite some time, even spawning. and as we all know discus are quite sensitive.

im going to havng my planted tank turned over around 4 times an hour an it will be sotcked with about 30 rummynose an 20-25 glass shrimp