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Do I need mechanical filtration?

2K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  DKRST 
#1 ·
I've just purchased a second hand 4ft tank with one of those built in filters in the hood, a wet/dry or trickle filter I think they're called. I am wondering if I need to add mechanical filtration as well. I'm planning on having an African cichlid setup with fine grain sand as the substrate. I've never used sand before and am wondering if it will jst be easier to let debris settle and siphon it off every couple of days or add in a sponge/canister filter.
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#2 ·
I've just purchased a second hand 4ft tank with one of those built in filters in the hood, a wet/dry or trickle filter I think they're called. I am wondering if I need to add mechanical filtration as well. I'm planning on having an African cichlid setup with fine grain sand as the substrate. I've never used sand before and am wondering if it will jst be easier to let debris settle and siphon it off every couple of days or add in a sponge/canister filter.
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Were it me, and I were setting up a tank to house numerous cichlids. I would look for filter that would move five to eight times the volume of water the tank holds each hour. Example. 55 gal X 8 = 440 gal per hour.
A canister filter with the intake on one end of the tank and the return on the other end would be my choice.
 
#4 ·
Having a 10g quarantine tank with sand, let me state that sand is a real pain to siphon mulm off of, depending on your sand grain size. My sand is really fine. It's possible to not use mechanical filtration, but it's a lot of vacuuming if you don't!
 
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