New filter setup, canister and UGF/RUGF question...

kitokatlin

kitokatlin

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Feb 1, 2008
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I have a 55 gallon freshwater aquarium that has been running since June of last year. I have had relatively healthy fish, I have not lost more than normal amount of fish. I just purchased a marineland magnum pro 350 (biowheel) canister filter. I had a whisper over the tank filter and a UGF. I currently have my UFG turned off and am just running the magnum.

I am trying to decide what to do with the UGF. I have read a lot on this forum about RUGF and am not sure if I should do that or just remove the UGF all together. My fear of removing the UGF is that I don't want to mess up the biological system in my tank and if I switch to a RUGF that it will put too much crap into the water when I turn it on. What are your suggestions?

I currently have:

2 Gold Veil Angels
1 White Blushing Angel
3 Clown Loaches
1 Silver Hatchet
2 Turqouise Danios
2 Zebra Danios
1 Bristlenose Pleco
1 Columbian Tetra
1 Fire Gourami
1 Pearl Gourami
1 Upsidedown Cat
2 Boesmani Rainbows (1 male and 1 female)
2 Bolivian Rams
 
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Well, with that heavy bio-load and inappropriate stocking, I would definitely drive the plates as an RUGF with the Mag's output.

But only after a heavy gravel vac.
 
I do a 20% water change every week, during the water change I also do a gravel clean, I keep the tank incredibly clean. Why do you call it innapropriate stocking?
 
The rainbows are much too active of a fish for angels, IMO.

The 3 clowns, while slow growers, will need a much larger tank, and for me, show better behavior in larger groups, like 5-7.

Hatchets are a schooling fish that should be in groups of 8-12.

I feel you would be much better off with weekly 50% water changes.
 
The angels and the Rainbows in my tank get along great and are in fact usually with eachother. The clowns are doing great and I do know they are slow growers, 5" quickly and growning to maximum size in 10-15 years, I am not to worried about it right now and will upsize my tanke when the time comes. The 50% water change IMO will stress out the fish as it is too much of a water change from my re-search. But I would like to get back to the filter question. Thanks!
 
I already answered the filter question, from my point of view.

Can you post the links or references to the size of water change issue? We are all here to learn. Many folks do larger water changes and some of us do daily 50%- 100%, with no ill affects.
 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_changes.php (the water chemistry changes more dramatically at once, putting more stress on the fish.)
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/wchanges.htm (if water from tap not matched, causes water chemistry problems)
http://www.bestfish.com/wtrchang.html (change smaller portions of water more often)
http://www.firsttankguide.net/smallwaterchange.php (What are some benefits of frequent, small water changes?)
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/maintenance.html (Larger percentage water changes mean larger pH swings causing increased stress)

These are just a few...
 
Turning off the UGF and putting on a new filter means you may experience a mini cycle. It is a question of how fast you lose bacteria in the substrate vs how fast they recolonize elsewhere.

If you want to convert to an RUGF, for sure you need to do a thorough deep vravel vac (right down to the plate). You can also try to suck crap from under the plate by inserting a tube down the uplift tubes. Using airline size or close to it should allow you to get it under the plate and move it around some. I however would prefer to power it independently from the Magnum using powerhead(s).

I do not think that a single 350 mag is sufficient filtration for your tank. A 4 ft long tank should have a minimum of two filter intake points, imo. I would suggest you get a second filter and place one at each end. An Aquaclear would be fine.

BTW- the colombian tetra, as is true for most tetras, should be kept in groups. While many suggest a minimum of 6, 10 or more is really better to bring out their natural schooling behavior and to make them most comfortable.

Finally, I have 17 tanks running currently and do 40-50% wcs on them all at least weekly and some get more than one change a week. As long as new water is matched to tank params, it is hard to provide too much clean water for fish.
 
Would it be a good idea to re-connect the HOB in place of the RUGF or UGF?
 
kitokatlin said:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_changes.php (the water chemistry changes more dramatically at once, putting more stress on the fish.)
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/wchanges.htm (if water from tap not matched, causes water chemistry problems)
http://www.bestfish.com/wtrchang.html (change smaller portions of water more often)
http://www.firsttankguide.net/smallwaterchange.php (What are some benefits of frequent, small water changes?)
http://www.drhelm.com/aquarium/maintenance.html (Larger percentage water changes mean larger pH swings causing increased stress)

These are just a few...
Click to expand...

And all of those equate to more smaller changes, more frequently..not one small change weekly....

If you are doing consistent water changes from the same source at the same temp..no issues...
 
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