# Fluval 406 not able to handle 75 gallon?



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

What other fishes? How long has tank been running with fish?How many fish total?
How often do you feed the fish? How often do you change water?
How often do you clean filter?

I think the filter to be a bit overworked on 75 gal and might go with two such filters on the tank.


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## Evilgrin (Oct 2, 2012)

Considering the 406 is rated for a 100 gallon tank it should be up to the task. Yet this would be highly dependent on a few factors what type of media are you running in the filter as well as how tightly packed the media is in the filter. How often do you clean the filter will also factor in. Also what is your bio load if you are even close to being fully stocked for your tank then a supplemental filter would be in order.

Based on the info you've provided I'd have to agree that you need another filter to take up the slack. I'd recommend something in the sunsun 303 - 304 range they can be found for around 50$ on Evilbay or Amazon if you look around and they work quite well. I've had mine running for 2 years with no issue to date I still have my Fluval 302 but it's still packed in it's box since I don't need it currently.


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## bsantucci (Sep 30, 2013)

I ran a 406 on my 48 gallon and thought it wasn't enough. On a 75 I'd go with adding another filter. Maybe throw a 2215 on it or a 2217 if you need more flow?

What media do you use in the 406? I found adding filter floss to one of the baskets really helped pick up the smaller stuff. Add it wet so you can pack it in the basket nice and full. Should clean it up quick.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I would get another Fluval 406 as mentioned,and purchase an extra set of media.
This way you have spare media for same filter's,same type media.
No extra expense for different media for different filter(s) and when one set of media is dirty,you can swap in some new ,,and clean the dirty media and have it ready for the cleaning of the other filter assuming you stagger their cleaning by a few days.


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## glenCOCO (Aug 12, 2012)

11 Pristilla tetras
5 tiger barbs
5 glolight tetras
4 Sterbai cories
3 bosemani rainbows
3 L144s
2 irian rainbows
2 black neons
1 powder blue dwarf gourami
1 redtail black shark
5 horned Nerites
1 amano shrimp
2 Sulawesi Cardinal shrimp

I have an XP3 sitting around, but I'd rather have one filter running for aesthetic purposes. Would the XP3 be a better option? I see that it's rated for 175g but it's GPH is lower than the 406. The 406 has the initial large white sponge then in the first camber it has a finer sponge then an empty chamber and the last two are full of ceramic rings and substrat pro. I'll try putting floss in the empty chamber.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I really think your gonna want two filters for the tank for aesthetic reasons as you say, (less detritus/particulates floating about).
What's more important aesthetically? two more tubes(intake/output),, or floating particulates?


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

You may be able to clear the problem with some thought on how the media might work better. Sometimes we shoot ourself in the foot by trying too hard! 
When the water enters, I like to have a really course media first if it doesn't have the barrels like Ehiem uses. The barrels are great for spreading the water out to get better use of the full layer of media but without them we have to work with what we get. If you use a really fine media first, the rough stuff will clog it quickly so I go for course first, then do the bio-filtering and end up with fine media to make the water look good. 
You will need to look at what your tank does and decide if you are needing more flow which requires less restriction from media, more bio which needs more of that type or a combo of some other sort. 
From your description, I might look at less media to improve flow, move the course media to first and then use more fine media last to polish. Don't do all the change out of media at once to avoid creating an ammonia problem.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I think a clue to the sudden disturbance of otherwise pristine conditions reported previously, may have to do with the redtailed shark and new addition of the cory's to substrate level, Plecos too .
The redtail shark now finds interlopers into an area previously ruled by him and will if normal behavior prevails,,spend his efforts at harassing the cory's/plecos any time they venture to an area it consider's it's own.
All of this disturbance could result in kicking up detritus/mulm that may be more problematic than previously.
Still think I would opt for another filter were it me based on numbers of fishes alone.
Plecos themselves could also be contributer to the extra disturbance at the substate for they too can kick up considerable gunk during their nocturnal meanderings.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

glenCOCO said:


> So a couple weeks ago I added some Sterbai Cories to my 75 gallon that a Fluval 406 is currently running on. Before then, my water was pristine and the surface was always clear. Now there's constantly detritus floating around and the surface of the water is never clear. I get that with the constant digging in the sand that the cories are going to be kicking stuff up that usually sits in dead spots, but is this just something I have to learn to deal with now? Shouldn't a capable filter be able to clear the water column? I mean, as I type this there is a literal S storm brewing in my tank!!


Hi glenCOCO,

I have several planted tanks and typically I try to run 7X - 10X the water volume in filter GPH. For example, for my 75 gallon I run 2X Marineland Magnum 350 filters (approx 700 gph total).

I too like Corydoras and the tank contains about a dozen C. sterbai along with Pearl Gourami, Rainbowfish, and Otos with an SAE for algae control. What I like about Corydoras is the fact that they do 'stir up' the detritis in the tank getting it into suspension so the filters can remove it. Otherwise the detritis just accumulates affecting water quality, bacteria levels, and possibly providing a breeding ground for disease.


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## jwwoodjr (Sep 10, 2012)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## glenCOCO (Aug 12, 2012)

Thanks for all the awesome advice everyone! I think I'll try the filter floss idea first and see where that takes me. 

I see where you're coming from, roadmaster, but if you stand back a couple feet it's not very noticeable. An extra input and output would definitely be an eyesore in combination with fluvals ugly/massive intake. If it was a heavily planted tank then I wouldn't care so much, but I decided to go with a minimalist island scape right in the middle with driftwood, seiryu stones, and some plants with a whole lot of swimming space for the rainbows and redtail shark.


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