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Multiple Oscars in Large Tank

pisanoal said:
How often do people implement other forms of nutrient export in freshwater? Are they just not as effective? Or is it just because wc's are cheap and relatively easy that most fw folks use them instead of other export methods? Thinking deep sand bed, anoxic zones, refugium, or sulfur denitrators.

Most people seem to use canister filters in fw. How often do most clean them?
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I’m assuming you’re referring to skimmers for exportation which to the best of my knowledge aren’t effective in freshwater since you can’t get the foam. I think most people here use canisters or sumps. I use canisters and I clean mine at least once a month. A drip system works too, but I classify that as a WC. I can’t imagine how big of a refugium you’d need for Oscars or if it would even work.
I don’t have any experience with the other methods you mentioned, but maybe someone else can chime in on this
 
tlindsey said:
Most clean once a month. I personally never had a cannister filter. If I had a Oscar a sump would be my choice for filtration.
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Coming from saltwater, my thought is canister filters = nitrate factories. Once a month means most of the solids are still breaking down feeding the ammonia cycle.

Definitely sump for me regardless of fish type.
 
Joshuakahan said:
I’m assuming you’re referring to skimmers for exportation which to the best of my knowledge aren’t effective in freshwater since you can’t get the foam. I think most people here use canisters or sumps. I use canisters and I clean mine at least once a month. A drip system works too, but I classify that as a WC. I can’t imagine how big of a refugium you’d need for Oscars or if it would even work.
I don’t have any experience with the other methods you mentioned, but maybe someone else can chime in on this
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Skimmers do work, just not as well. I had one on my koi pond and it did definitely pull gunk. And they are not actually exporting nitrate, just removing compounds before they can break down and feed the nitrogen cycle. Removal of solids before they break down is critical to keeping nutrients in check and one reason canister filters aren't used in sw.
 
pisanoal said:
How often do people implement other forms of nutrient export in freshwater? Are they just not as effective? Or is it just because wc's are cheap and relatively easy that most fw folks use them instead of other export methods? Thinking deep sand bed, anoxic zones, refugium, or sulfur denitrators.

Most people seem to use canister filters in fw. How often do most clean them?
Click to expand...

Nothing beats fresh water, in a system that contains large crap producing fish such as Oscars. You can filter the b'jesus out of a tank, but you are still going to be performing massive regular water changes, as the fish gain size. Many SW keepers on this site, along with plenty of folks that have tried every form of nutrient export imaginable. That is why no one asked specifics regarding filtration.

Either way, just some friendly advice. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
pisanoal said:
Skimmers do work, just not as well. I had one on my koi pond and it did definitely pull gunk. And they are not actually exporting nitrate, just removing compounds before they can break down and feed the nitrogen cycle. Removal of solids before they break down is critical to keeping nutrients in check and one reason canister filters aren't used in sw.
Click to expand...
I’m going off of experience but I don’t think saltwater is as messy as fresh. I’ve had a few salt tanks and I have a 5.8g pico now and it has a bunch of corals and various inverts along with a Darwin clown and I can’t get any nitrates to show. I’m running an AC50 with a sponge and media which is not much different than a canister.
So while I’ve heard canister’s are nutrient factories, especially on Reef2Reef, I question that.
 
pisanoal said:
How often do people implement other forms of nutrient export in freshwater? Are they just not as effective? Or is it just because wc's are cheap and relatively easy that most fw folks use them instead of other export methods? Thinking deep sand bed, anoxic zones, refugium, or sulfur denitrators.

Most people seem to use canister filters in fw. How often do most clean them?
Click to expand...

I've never used canisters because I keep reading how they're a pain to clean and people get lulled into not cleaning them enough. Not saying don't use 'em, but still...plus I'm paranoid about floor level filtration during power outages (like the random one here an hour ago)

I used a different approach. Knowing I was going to have an oscar and other bioload strong fish I figured to increase efficiency to the max.

In the 225 I utilize this system which as worked well

2x 2 jumbo sponges with a powerhead on each stack (one in each corner). Each jumbo sponge is rated to 125 gallons (total of four). Haven't touched these in nearly 5 years.

3 Aquaclear 110s stuffed with Bio Bale and sponge. Bio Bale is a plastic ribbon with rough texture that has 33sqft of surface area per pound for bio filtration. It's just one long piece of plastic ribbon that rinses clean in tank water in two seconds. Nothing sticks to it.

(4 ) 4"jumbo airstones for oxygenation and water movement, equally spaced apart. The airstones are placed in front of the aquaclears and 'crossways' in the flow of the powerheads. I never saw any logs from Brick after using this method. But the mechanical sponges would be black every 2-3 days so they were cleaned twice a week. Sometimes three once Brick got really huge and bulky.
 
Unless you are growing a jungle out of that size of tank, with that kind of bio-load, you are only kidding yourself if you think that is going to reduce water changes. Regular water changes will still be required.
 
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