filter question

M

minnesotagal866

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May 30, 2005
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I have a 55 gallon planted tank (low light--java fern and moss, melon swords, bronze wendtii, and some other swords) with about 20 fish, including 6 corys, 9 tetras (bleeding hearts and pristella), 6 tiger barbs, a pleco, a gourami, and a iridescent shark. I guess that's 24 fish. The pristella tetras are supposedly there for the summer and then back to school but I have a feeling they'll stay and my husband will take some of our excess white clouds (currently breeding like crazy in an outdoor 35 gallon pond) back to school. I bought the tank at Walmart and it came with the basic Walmart filter. I want to upgrade to an Emperor. The tank has been up and running over a year with minimal fish loss (some due to a water problem with our town supply). The fish are getting bigger and I think I need better filtration. I do about a 20 gallon water change every week and test the water regularly and have excellent readings, but I still want to upgrade the filter. I am not sure how to do this. Can I remove the cheap Walmart filter and put a new filter in its place? Or should I set up the Emperor on the other side of the tank (I don't have hole in that hood) and run both for a couple of weeks to establish the filter. I have had conflicting information, some say that the ammonia spike will be short and not a problem because of the plants in the tank and the gravel, others say to run both. Or maybe the Walmart filter is fine, and I am worrying for nothing. I do know that eventually I will need to get a larger tank for the shark, so far he's fine, I'm thinking I'll have to upgrade in a year or two.

A side note, I bought some new plants for my newt tank and found a black molly fry in the bag. I figured it would be safest kept in the newt tank, I have kept white clouds in there before with no problems. My other choices are a 2 1/2 gallon betta tank or my 55 gallon community, and I have a feeling his best shot is with the newts--although I'm not making any promises to himl It is heavily planted so maybe he'll survive.

Thanks for any advice,

Jackie
 
The shark will need a biger tank soon. They can grow up to 4ft long, and need a BIG tank. I would try to get the bigger tank, or give it to someone else. It will just grow too big to be hapley keeped in a 55g.

To set up another filter, you need to run both for 4 weeks. This will give a chance for the bacteria to gorw inside it. You should also take some (1/2) the media from the old filter and toss it into the new filter during the 4 weeks. This will make sure the bacteria will grow. But why not leave both filters running all the time? The more filteration the better.

I would leave the fry with the White Clouds. Unless you have a filter and heater for the 2.5g Betta blowl, its not a good idea. After a few weeks it should be big enought be put into the 55g.
 
Why not run two filters. On long tanks (and a 55 gallon is long) 2 filters is a great idea. There is always a back up plus you make sure to have good current at both ends of the tank. Otherwise running both for 3-4 weeks should do the trick and then remove the old one.
 
I agree. I would run two filters. I have the Walmart 55G setup myself. I ended up buying a second HOB from Walmart and simply run them on both sides. Its provides alot of water in a tank that size. Plus you can bulk purchase the same filter media for both sides
 
You guys are right, I should just get the extra walmart cheapo filter and run two in stead of one monster Emperor. I was seduced by having a big ol' Emperor but two aqua tech walmart specials will do the job just as well. In fact, one is doing the job right now, but with the growth of the fish I wnat to make sure it continues.

As far as the shark goes, I know that I will have to get a new tank in the not too distant future. Currently he is 4+ inches long (I am bad with measurements) and mostly peaceful (I admit to the loss of a small pristella or two when they were small that I am pretty sure he snacked on). He comes out mostly at night and cruises the tank, then relaxes in the largest driftwood cave for most of the day. I am think a 125 should meet his needs for the forseeable future. I read in the species profile (here on aquaria central) that they generally top out at around 18 inches in the home aquarium. I also have the option to take him back to the fish store but I'm rather fond of him. I will add that this fish was not my decision to add to the community tank but bottom line is that he is there and now I want to do the best for him. I'm looking at him right now, maybe he's 5 inches. Time to start saving for that new tank!

Thanks,

Jackie
 
I have one of those walmart specials on a smaller tank. I stopped using the actual filter media they sell and bought some sponges from a fish store. I then cut the sponges so they were about the same size as the filter media that comes with those filters and stuck it in (I cut it a little big so I could squeeze it in and it wouldn't move). Now I just rinse the sponges out during water changes and have been using the same sponge for 2 years now. On my other tanks the sponges have been running longer.
 
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