Should I improve my filtration ? please advise

TrickyD119

TrickyD119

Newb
Jan 25, 2005
234
0
0
Auburn, AL
Should I improve my filtration – please advise

I’m currently fishless cycling one of my 29g and haven’t even registered any nitrites yet so I figure now is as good a time as ever to consider changing my filtration.

I currently have a Penguin Bio Wheel 170 and a small Hydro Sponge for use in my QT when necessary. I had always left the bio wheel alone and replaced the carbon once a month previously when this 170 was in use.

My stock will be; 2 German Blue Rams, 10 Rummy Nose or Cardinals, 6 Panda Corys, 3 Otos and maybe a Honey Dwarf Gourami.

Due to setup constraints I believe Power Filters are my only real option.

Is the Penguin sufficient or should I be looking into another filter? If so what kind? Should I junk the carbon inserts and rig up some sort of sponge in there?

I’ve read about Aquaclear filters on here a few times, are the foam inserts for those essentially sponges? If so, would second foam insert fit in the slot intended for the carbon insert?

Sorry for all the questions, but any help will be greatly appreciated.

I came across a local source for Bio Spira so my intentions are that if I replace the current Penguin I’ll then add Bio Spira and add ammonia to test its effectiveness and at the very least hopefully re-jumpstart the cycle process.

Thanks!

edit: I plan on having the tank planted with low maintenance varieties such as Java Ferns, etc. if that makes a difference.
 
Last edited:
Theres no such thing as to much filtration in my book!!! (Hell i run 2 AC 200's in my 20G alone)
Throw a AC 200 on there and a decent power head in the front top corner.
Course thats me, I love my tanks. I just hate cleaning them. So i go a little overkill.
 
Thanks for the input Kabong!

(and all this is phrased for anyone really) Are you suggesting putting the AC 200 on there alongside my Penguin or as a replacement (or either way)? There is no threat to stressing my fish with too much water movement here is there?

Also, can you answer the part about the foam inserts in my first post?

Finally regarding the power head, I’m not very familiar with them. What is their basic function in your setup? Just give the water more movement? Do you have it fire directly into the top of the tank or direct it towards the button with some sort of tube?

Sorry for all the questions, I’m still very much a novice.

Thanks!

edit: I plan on having the tank planted with low maintenance varieties such as Java Ferns, etc. if that makes a difference.
 
Last edited:
i say toss in one of the new penguin 350s and your set. the fish you have wouldnt want too much waterflow anyways. the powerhead isnt needed either.
 
I have a 29 gallon too and I use 2 Penguin 125s. You could pick up a new Penguin 100 and you'd be right at 270 GPH. Still, I would recommened more filtration.
 
Thanks for the feedback Harlock and blitzen.

Harlock, when you say "Still, I would recommened more filtration." Does that mean you'd recommend even more than just adding the 100 to my 170? I'm certainly willing to buy 2 new ones if that is the best route to go.

Is roughly 270gph the circulation I should be searching for with a 29g or is there any rule of thumb to go by in general?

Thanks again
 
No, I meant in general, you needed something more than the 170. Sorry I wasn;tmore clear. 270 gph is great. For me, a minimum would be 5 times my total water volume turned over per hour. That's a lot less than I would prefer in any event. I shoot for 8-10 x turnover. So, I have just over 8 times on mine. With 270 you would be just under 9 times your total water volume turned over per hour, which is just fine.
 
A co-worker of mine bought a 29g kit. The kit came with a Whisper 30, which I told him was barely adequate for that size tank. I told him to get one of the new Penguin 200s. Now he's got an filtration rate of just under 7x per hour and his tank should stay a lot cleaner.

The cool thing about the new Penguins (model 200 and up) is that there's an extra media chamber in there. So we just took that bio-foam from the Whisper, and put it in that chamber to jump-start the Penguin. We'll see how well that works... We added bio-spira just to be safe though...

I hate kits. They provide barely adequate equipement for the size tank used. It's no wonder people get frustrated with this hobby.
 
Thanks again for the information all.

I will definitely head out today and add an additional filter to my setup.

Final question, do you all recommend ditching the carbon filter and rigging up a sponge in there instead?

Where do you obtain the sponge material to do that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom