I have been running a fluval 205 on a hagen 800 deep tank and find that I have small bits in the water. It's just not as clear as I would expect for an expensive filter. The bits are about 0.1 mm or something like that, like small pieces of dust. The water is moving quickly through the system and the filter has been cleared out. I have tried water clearers but they make no difference. On my son's tank he has an internal fluval running and he doesn't seem to have any bits in his tank. My tank has had plenty of water changes and has good water test readings. Would any of you suggest a second filter to improve water quality, or not?

Fluval cannisters are excellent Biological filters, however they do lack in the mechanical department. I personally like to run filter combinations, however I also run a cichlid tank which requires over filtration. My gut level suggestion would be to purchase something like a smaller aquaclear hob maybe the 30 gallon variety and add that to the current setup.

Well let's see here. If my info's correct you've got about a 30g tank. Your filter's a canister if I'm not mistaken. At 180 gph it should be fine. Rule of thumb is turning your water over between 5-10 times per hour. Your filter (180/30= 6 times per hour) is well within the parameters. But since it's obviously not doing the job you might consider adding an HOB. Something rated to handle a 30g tank. That should pick up the slack.

In my experience HOB's do an excellent job of polishing the water(removing tiny particles) I prefer the Tetra Whisper series, a 20-40 would do the job nicely.

for a cheap and reliable second filter in my opinion you can't go wrong with an aquaclear. the 150 or even the 200 would be a good choice for your tank size.


looks like they renamed them.
:blink: the 150 is now the aquaclear30, and the 200 is now the aquaclear50.

Thanks for all the help. I think I have come to the same conclusion. I was thinking of getting a powerhead since somebody mentioned them, but I am not sure if that's the right thing. I will look up the items you guys have recommended. Thanks again!

got any updates for us? just curious as to how you're tanks are doing now.:)