Filtration required for 4' BN tank?

Just new to seriously keeping BN.

currently have a 4'x14"x18" tank, barebottom with rocks, driftwood, and breeding caves in it.

Doing water changes of 15% every 3-4 days due to the amount of excrement in the tank.

Current filtration is an Otto PF-800N and Otto PF-1200N filter at each end (800LPH/1200LPH respectively)

Stocking of the tank is as follows:

1 pair albino BN (male being just over 16cm!)
2 pair common BN
22 peppermint BN @ 4-7cm each.

pH is 7
Temp is 24-26 (drops overnight)

Also, how do I go about feeding them peas to ensure the females are pregnant and not just experiencing bloat? I would just drop peas in the tank but they float and BNs sit on the bottom/sides

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Just saw I posted this on the wrong section, if an admin could be so kind as to move it I would appreciate it

so are you asking if that is enough filtration or are you looking for recomendations as to replacements?

Either way, ut technically is enough but with a bristlenose tank, as you have already found out, they produce a lot of poo and more filtration is better. they also like current so more filtration is not going to cause issues from that point of view.

I use one of these on my grow out tank (well its bigger brother, 2200l/h with the UV) Your tank sounds identical except that i have some sand in the bottom to avoid issues with bacterial infections.

http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.com.au/internal-external-filters/pro-aqua-canister-filters/1500l/h-with-uv-canister-filter-with-all-filter-media-new/prod_28.html

the UV light helps keep the water free of nasties and being a cansiter filter its biological filtration is a lot better than an internal one. I would recommend keeping one of the internal ones and getting a canister filter. they are hands down the better option.

peas need to be blanched and de-shelled. it boil frozen peas for about 90 seconds then spend a few minutes de-shelling them. then i just turf them into the tank. De-shelled peas will sink, its the air that is trapped in their shells that causes them to float.

Good luck with it all and def ask as many questions as possible, its how we all learnt

Seconded doug Canisters are always the best idea when adding filtration to your tanks. In fact I have on on all my tanks, even the 2ft. Also good idea are sponge filters Which I also have in all my tanks

Many thanks Doug And thankyou for the link for the canister filter Last time I ran one of those was 5 years ago on a 5' tank (ran 10x filtration lol) and I just remember them being expensive as buggery!

But shall look into investing in one of those. May setup a canister then convert one of the power filters to be a power head to direct the poop ...will see

Guess I will just have to do the vacuums every 2-3 days. Looking to offload some of our peppermints and we should be getting a breeding pair of peppermints in the next week or so (found a shop that did them for $150 AUD a pair)

$150 a pair hmmm reasonable pricing. Anychance you could ask that shop if they will ship?

Will ask him when we pick them up

He's also trying to find out if he can get a trio for us and how much it would be. He couldn't guarantee a trio as the person that owns the fish needs to get them out of a 5000L tank :|

Will let you know though mate

EDIT: BTW these pairs are all proven breeders, I've been fooled before with a private seller selling me a "pair" when in fact it was a random male & female.

EDIT 2: Does anyone know where to get the Otto filter sleaves to stop any fry getting into them? Saw them at a breeders house the other week but forgot to ask her where she got them.

Thanks mate
Have you tried eBay for the filter sleeves?

The guy wouldn't ship the peppermints unfortunately

But did just pick up the following:

Trio peppermints
35 4-6cm fry
2 8cm sub-adults
150 cherry shrimp

Got all that for $400 ...god bless private sellers

But I have another question, I have replaced the PF-800N with another PF-1200N so now the tank is running 2400 LPH of filtration. I am awaiting my tax return before I get a canister filter on it, however in the mean time I have noticed that at all times my tank is cloudy and white and assume that the beneficial bacteria is not taking hold in the tank as it's bare bottom.

Is there a trick to maintaining it being cycled or would I just be better off putting a layer of gravel in the damned tank

PS I have just had a common female BN die due to bloat and I assuyme that's to do with the tank not holding cycle 100%

its not just the gravel that holds beneficial bacteria but also the wood etc thats in the tank. Yes putting gravel in the tank wouldnt hurt and id def do it but its up to you. how often are you doing waterchanges? too often can cause the tank to be going through a constant cycle as it prevents the beneficial bacteria from multiplying. also when you get your canister filter try putting in some purigen or bio chemzorb. they work wonders on my tanks and keep them crystal clear as i stated in a previous post, sponge filters are also a good idea to add to tanks as they provide reasonable biological filtration as well as providing some oxygen to the water.

i also like having some gravel/sand in my tanks. Not a lot, just a smear that gets blown around and often leaves patches of clear glass bottom. this gets the bellys of the fry off the bottom for a bit and prevents bacterial infections. it also helps with the bacteria as mentioned.

Hello

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Cheers.