GPH and WPG rule???

[d_thomas_cg]

i was just wondering what the rule was for gph for filters and watts per gallon for heaters.

It just intrigues me that from what I seem to gather from this site, I would be better off with a xp3 that pumps 350 gph than a emporer 400 that pumps 400 gph for my 55 gal (not setup yet) how is this tru?!?!?!?

as far as heaters go, i was just wonderin if i should get a 200w, 250w, or twin 100w.

Oh and i used to know this, put how many pounds of substrate per gallon??:huh:

[J double R]

most people try to go with 10x turnover rate (500 gph for 50 gallon, 1000 gph for 100g, etc etc)..

[mobilecow]

The desired gph is 10 >> but that's not set in stone... there's no way anyone here can honestly say that an AC300's 300gph is better than an Eheim 2215's 165gph. Or to state the reverse - it would be beyond sanity to stick said canister on a 16g tank. Conversely both filters are rated for 70g tanks. Realistically either of those two filters are individually capable of handling your filtration needs more than adequately - comes down to if you want a canister or a HOB. I've got an Emperor 400 on a 65g and it works like a charm.

Heaters - it also depends on the tempterature of your tank and how much the difference between your room temperature is. Off the top of my head - I'd say get dual 150w heaters - one on either end of the tank as it's 4' long and this would balance things out...

[d_thomas_cg]

thanks guys, makes much more sense, i think im gonna go with the emporer 400 for now and add more filter as i add bioload, if necessary. As j double r and anybody else on this site that is in the military knows, an E-4 in the USCG, 65 for and emporer 400 does a lot better than a xp3 for twice that....

[magakitty]

we have an emperor 400 and an emperor 280 on our 55, and a penguin 350 and the top fin (rated for the 20) that came with the tank on our 20. The 5 hex has the mini bio-wheel that is built in and an air pump.

[Mgamer20o0]

heater people shoot for 3-5 watts per gal. should have 2 heaters and 2 filters for each tank for back up. gph is great but the amount of filter media is also important.

[Dave-ZZ4]

The flow rate is not the only thing that determines the filtering capability. It is also the area of the filter media. The larger the filter media area the lower GPH you can have. Hence why canister filters can have a lower GPH but still be recommended for the same size tank as a higher GPH HOB filter system.

Well that is the way it was explained to me before.

[Star_Rider]

many filters also post thier gph with no media or restriction.
keep in mind you have to deal with head height in the cannister filters. the gph can change based on pipe diameter . elbows and any other fittings used inline.

[Rbishop]

I'd run a HOB and canister, split my heaters between two at 5 watts per gallon.