I have an open-topped 250 gallon setup (two 125g tanks plumbed together). I keep south American cichlids in one tank and assorted community fish in the other tank. Both are planted. I add 2.5-3 gallons of water per day to replace what has evaporated. I live in an area with really hard water. The short version; I need a water filter. I have access to a water pipe and will run 1/4" tubing from that to an auto top off system. Space is not an issue.
What filter makes most sense?
Filters seem to be rated by time and gallons which seems confusing to me. If a system is rated to purify 50 gallons per day and is rated for six months, does that mean 50 gallons X 180 days = 9,000 gallons? If so, does that mean that same burly system would last me 3,000 days?
Unnecessary Background: read if interested
I was testing my aquarium water this morning and smugly thinking about how all my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates are unreadably low. My pH, because of the hard water, has never been anything other than 7.6. My plants do most of my filtration. I have not done a water change in 3 months.
The test strips showed me the hardness is at the highest possible reading which means it's KH of 240+ and GH of 180+. The + is what made me realize I've been adding buckets of minerals for months. This can't be good. I'll start a water change routine today.
What filter makes most sense?
Filters seem to be rated by time and gallons which seems confusing to me. If a system is rated to purify 50 gallons per day and is rated for six months, does that mean 50 gallons X 180 days = 9,000 gallons? If so, does that mean that same burly system would last me 3,000 days?
Unnecessary Background: read if interested
I was testing my aquarium water this morning and smugly thinking about how all my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates are unreadably low. My pH, because of the hard water, has never been anything other than 7.6. My plants do most of my filtration. I have not done a water change in 3 months.
The test strips showed me the hardness is at the highest possible reading which means it's KH of 240+ and GH of 180+. The + is what made me realize I've been adding buckets of minerals for months. This can't be good. I'll start a water change routine today.