Penguin filter $$

[davidaguiar]

Any suggestions re: a Penguin 125 filter for a 30 gallon tank. The charcoal filter gets filled up after only two or three weeks, and the water starts going out the intake tube spillway. I change about 25% of the water every two weeks. They say the filter should need to be changed every 4-6 weeks.

Is the charcoal filter that important? Should I just try to rinse it out and reuse it? I try to feed at the opposite corner so less of the flakes get sucked into the uptake tube.

[Matt W]

Yep...just rinse it out with some of the tank water that you extract during water changes...the carbon is really only useful for removing chemicals and medications from the tank...no need to have active carbon in there all the time....

[Cearbhaill]

I keep regular old filter floss in my Penguins- you can either put it in the basket or remove the cartridge and use floss exclusively- no need for charcoal anyway. Bought in bulk at Big Al's floss costs next to nothing and you can change it every week. My goldfish tank gets it changed twice a week.

You can pull up lightly on the intake tube and the flow will reduce substantially while you feed- course you've gotta remember to push it back down. But I wonder if your cartridges are getting that gunky maybe there's too much food floating around?

[davidaguiar]

Thanks for the tips!

Yeah, I'm pretty careful not to overdo it on the feedings. They usually snap up the flakes within a minute or two. I could drop in the flakes a little bit at a time, but then my greedy platys would get it all and leave my baby red-eyed tetras with nothing!

What do you mean about putting the filter floss in the basket. Do you just jam a bunch of it in the bottom? Doesn't it catch on the biowheel?

Also, do you really need to use tank water for rinsing the cartridge? Most of the biofiltration is on the wheel, right? I've just been using cold tap water.

P.S. Awesome tank Cearbhaill!! One of these days I'll get up the guts to start a new live planted tank. It just seems like so much more work, and I'm hardly around as it is. Just have enough time to take care of my fishies and stare at them for hours on end!

[NJ Devils Fan]

Ok, for the cartridge, put it in the dishwasher by itse;f and just do a rinse cycle. You do not have to worry about bacteria because like you said, it is on the biowheel. As for floss, it is the fluff that you put in couch cushions. I had a big bag of it from when I had to fish one of the cuchions a long time ago so I put it in my filters and it's great. No, do not put it in the filter just loose, you need whats called a media basket. Its just a little basket that you can put the floss in so it will stay in place. You can probably pick one up at your LFS(local fish store).

[Cearbhaill]

Actually I stuff the filter floss in loose- if you arrange it just so it stays in place pretty well.

And davidaguiar- I should probably mention that I am not using the Penguins in my planted tank- it runs with an Eheim cannister and that's all. The Penguins are on my Goldfish tank.
And you're right- the planted tank is a whole lot more work!

[NJ Devils Fan]

Oh, I didn't think it would, thanks for clearing that Cb.

[cdawson]

1 penguin 125 is not even close to being enough for a 30g. You need something with at least 240 gallon per hour (GPH). As a rule of thumb, I and others on this board use a turnover rate of 8x your tank capacity for proper filtration. I used one pengiun 125 on a 10g, but that was only good enough for light stocking. It's getting clogged because it can't handle all the waste it's sucking up. I had this problem when I used a penguin 175 as a supplement on my 135g.

[JSchmidt]

The sufficiency of a filter for a given tank size is entirely dependent on stocking level (amount, type and size of fish), frequency/amount of maintenance (cleaning filter, changing water, etc.) and feeding practices. A 125 could easily be sufficient for a 30 gallon tank; if the tank registers no ammonia and nitrite, and there isn't excessive buildup of fish poop and other crud, the filter is sufficient.

Having to clean/change mechanical filtration every 2-3 weeks is not excessive. In fact, if you clean your mechanical filtration more frequently (e.g., a couple of times a week), you'll greatly reduce the need for other types of maintenance because you'll be removing food, poop and other stuff before it has a chance to break down and contribute to the level of dissolved organic compounds in the tank. Frequent rinsing of mechanical media will help nitrates build up more slowly and will generally improve the 'health' of the tank.

I like to use pieces of Aquaclear filter foam in my Penguins. I just get a slab of foam, cut it to fit the filter well, and stick in in there instead of the cartridges. Foam is easier to clean (IMHO) and it lasts just about forever, making it very economical.

HTH,
Jim

[davidaguiar]

The filter foam and filter floss both sound like great ideas. I don't mind cleaning a filter every week or two, its the shelling out money part that I don't like.

The Penguin 125 seems likes its working pretty well for my 30g (Zero ammonia/nitrite levels)

I have 5 Julii corys, 4 platys, and 6 Red-eyed tetras.