Hi there ive got a tank with a trickle sytem filter build into the hood,power head basically fills up the filter and theres little holes in the bottom that realises the water back into the tank has anyone got any pro's and con's on this system as i want my tank to be conditioned to perfection before adding sum oscar's.

I would like to see a more detailed look at your filtration. Trickle filters normally work by having the water literally trickle through a layer of media. This media is not submerged underwater, it is just kept wet through the water trickling through it. Because of this action, the media is exposed to a lot more oxygen. The nitrifying bacteria that live on the media thrive because of oxygen, the more oxygen they can get, the better they will work. That's a very simple way of describing how a trickle filter works. Does this sound similar to yours?

It really depends on what type of trickle filter you've got. I have used the commercially available eheim wet dry trickle filters before and I would never now recommend their use on oscar tanks. This is a disadvantage of these type of filters, because the water is trickling through the media, the media needs to be relatively free of debris. If it starts getting clogged up with crap, the trickle process takes longer. This is when these type of filters are not so efficient. They are much better used on marine tanks because marine fish don't produce the amount of waste that a lot of tropical fish do. Or should I say, it doesn't come out in huge clumps like Oscars. I'm not saying don't use you step of filters, feel free to, you will just have to carry out a lot more maintenance on them, unlike a lot of other canister filters.

By far the best type of trickle filters are wet dry trickle sump filters. These are truly magnificent filters, probably the best type of filter you can have. You still have to be careful. Put your mechanical filtration in the correct place to stop any debris clogging the media up. However, because you can make you tired of filters so big, you can pack an enormous amount of biological media in, you should never ever have a problem with toxins in your tank then.

Anyway, getting off track a little bit now. I would like to see your filter in more detail. Your definition of a trickle filter, may not be what I have been talking about.

your deescription of the filter is spot on its basically a tube the lentgh of the tank that drops water through media and then trickles through into tank.
its packed with 3types of media(ceramic type balls,carbon sponges & type of cotton at top)

I should add a canister just to be save,rather to much filtration then to little!!!
ill attempt to upload a pic!

They don't sell those type of filters in the UK. However, I think marineland manufacture these type of filtration systems. Looks like you've got quite a lot of filtration. The white cotton looking filtration is actually mechanical filtration, this is what captures the debris. This is the media that you will have to clean the most. The ceramic balls must be treated very carefully indeed, you don't really need to clean them out that often, only when they get gunked up. When you do need to clean them out, rinse out an existing tank water and never let them dry.

You can never have too much filtration for Oscars. However, if your filtration system is keeping your tank clean at the moment, i.e. you don't have any ammonia or nitrite readings and there isn't a lot of solid waste being left in the tank, don't feel as if you need more filtration. I can't really tell that much from your photo, but it doesn't look as though you've got much room to put pipes down the back of the tank anyway.

added a fluval canister and water is perfect now

I am assuming that you have added this new canister with fresh media? It's going to take a little longer for your new filter to start working properly. Where is it will work at removing waste, it will take a few weeks for the bacteria that live on the biological media to build up

waste removed thanx for advice

OFL we do get some filters like that in uk. They are cheap tanks from china (The build quality of the cabinet is appalling!). I have only seen small tanks with them tho. A pump pumps water over a sponge. However if the one in this post has other media it might do the job. Adding a canister was a good idea.

Come to think of it, I had a 2 gallon tank a few years ago that had one of these filters built into the lid. Mind you, there was any carbon and a white foam wheel, no actual biological. I think they have incorporated the biological and mechanical altogether. I don't think you would want to put more than a couple of guppies in it to be quite honest.

This tank is 1200mm(L)x765mm(H)x475mm(w)
its got 3 floru tubes build into top two normal and one red with this trickle system build into the roof which has sponge,carbon and ceramic in it.

as delboybully said its from china and yes the cabinets are really crap quality but the tank itsellf is actually OK.
With New Zealand being so small its difficult to get good stuff at good price,this tank is just suppose to be the hospital tank as im busy conditioning two huge 12mm glass tanks in my double garage to get the breeding thing started in due time.
A huge undertaking as my car and boat is now sleeping outside to make space for the fish.

anyway thanks again for the advice guys
cheers