I've been reading a lot of the info on this site, and am now realizing how important filtration is when keeping an Oscar. It was reccomended to me at the petstore to upgrade the filter that came with the kit I purchased, so I got a Marineland multi-stage canister filter C-360 for up to 100 gal. tanks. Is this going to be sufficent, or will I need something more? If so, what? I am just getting started so I really have no clue.
I hope that once my tank arrives I can actually set it up and get it running!

Thanks

A 75 al. tank with a 100 gal canister should do it...ull just have to try it and see.i have a 44 gallon and it has a 60 gallon filter on it and it works soooo i would say u have made a wise purchase.

Great!

Thanks

Hi tiellover and welcome

A Marineland c360 canister does 360gph with an Oscar you probably want around 8 to 10 times the size of the tank. With a 75gal that would be 600 to 750gph. You may want to add a HOB (hang on back) filter to increase your gph on the tank. O's are very messy and the bio load on the tank is quite high and manufacturers recommendations for filtration don't take that into account.

If you added a HOB that has a rate of around 300gph you would have the best of both worlds.

The ratings on filters are a general guideline and are sufficient for community fish. However oscars are very messy and you need extra filtration. With oscars you should aim to have a filter rated for twice the size of your tank. So if you have a 50g tank your filter with be good. If your tank 100g you will need 2. This is for oscars when they are nearing full size, if you buy babies you wont need the extra filtration straight away but remember they grow quick

Ok, that's what I was thinking...

Could I add another canister, or would I have to go with a HOB? I say this because after spending $200 on this canister I see that I can buy one off of ebay for about $60 brand new. Also, I don't think I'll have the room for an HOB in the spot I want to set the tank. I don't want it so far out from the wall. Is it possible to have two canisters?

Thank you!

I would think you can go with two of the canisters. I'm still with my 30 gal moving to a 150 shortly. I have a few oscars sm-med size and I have a UGF and a whisper 5
HOB filter. Thats when they used to make the whisper filter bags larger. Anyways, its doing a good job but it clogs every 3 days and I'm doing water changes every 2 days due to the size of the tank and amt of fish. It has great cleaning ability but like they said the oscar have alot bigger waste then most fish so it is a problem.

This is why I'm so nervous about going upto a 150 I don't want to be doing water changes on a tank that big every 2-3 days and cleaning the filters all the time.

I'm hoping with a UGF, 2 of the larges cascade canister filters & a once a week water change I'm hoping to manage
the 150. I really wish I new just how it would work out before I spend the $$$.

Lets us know how you make out.

Personally i dont like HOB filters they hang on the back of the tank taking up space and need cleaning to often.

my suggestion would be to get another canister or a sump but yr tank needs to be drilled for that so canisters will be the best way to go.

Thanks Vbaby, two canisters it is!

most people will agree that canisters are easy to maintain,install ect.

i just prefer them as i have many tanks it saves me time doing all the canisters compared to any other filters.

my 180g tank that i will be setting up in a few months will possibly have a sump though.

There is no problem with 2 cannisters, i have 2 on my 100g and 3 on my 180g


Margaret, the reason you are having to do so many water changes is because of the lack of volume of water. In a bigger volume of water your fish waste (ie nitrates) are diluted a lot more so you dont have to do water changes so often. You will have to do a decent % every week tho and thats a lot of water on a 150g. You may have to upgrade your filters to bigger ones for the 150g to reduce how often you have to clean them. Some filter come with a fine sponge/cloth material in them. This clogs up really quick. I personally remove this otherwise you have to get into your filter every week to clean it

delboybully ~ thanks for the info. its was very helpful.