Filtration Advice

[Erich]

Hello.

My wife and I are setting up a new 75 gallon tank to house some goldfish and koi while we rebuild / restock our pond (a Heron ate all of our fish). Once the goldfish and koi have been moved to our pond, we'll use the tank for tropical fish.

I've got a few questions regarding recommendations of filters and filtration options...

Undergravel Filter
I read / hear conflicting info on undergravel filters. Folks I've talked with say they are useless. Books I've read say they are great when used with supplemental filtration such as a power filter or canister. Some books say that an undergravel filter with a powerhead will suck the water past the gravel (which is supposed to become a huge biological filter) facilitating the removal of ammonia from the water. Other books say that an undergravel filter with a reverse flow powerhead allows the gravel to become a biological filter while pushing the fish waste up to where the secondary filtration mechanism will take it out of the water.

Based on what I've read, the undergravel filter options, when used in conjuction with secondary filtration, make sense but everybody I've talked to says undergravel filters are a waste of time. Any thoughts?....


Canister Filter Recommendation
I'm also looking for recommedations on canister filters. My initial thought was to pair up an undergravel filter with Marineland's Magnum 350 Pro system. I like the idea that this system has a bio-wheel to help remove ammonia. I have to admit that I also like the idea that the Magnum 350 Pro comes with a gravel vac that attaches to the filter so you can clean your gravel without always having to do a water change. Do others feel there is technical merit to this or am I being hoodwinked by their marketing? Other canister filters seem to have more options regarding trays to hold different filter media. This sounds good too. Any thought?....


The Bottom Line
An undergravel filter (with a pair of powerheads) teamed up with a canister filter (possibly the Marineland Magnum 350 Pro with Bio-Wheel), seems to be a technically sound, fish friendly filtration setup. Am I way off base? Am I wasting money? Am I going way overboard (a little overkill isn't a bad thing)? Is there a better way to do this? Are there better products out there?

THANK YOU!!

[William]

A combination like the one you describe is without doubt often the best solution but it might be a bit overkill. A not to small canistar filter should be enough.

Are you planning to have any plants in the tank?

[Erich]

Along with our fish, we've transplanted our pond snails as well. My understanding is that the snails would eat any plants that we put in the aquarium so we're holding off on the plants for now.

Based on your experience, if we went the undergravel route, would you recommend the standard powerhead setup (sucking the water down through the gravel) or the reverse flow setup (pushing the water (and waste) up through the gravel)?

Thanks again.

[William]

I prefer the standrad setup (as longas you don't keep fish that like to dig) and think that setup is better as long as you make regular water changes.