I was wondering if an Emperor 280 would be to much for my 38G tank. Its currently housing 7 serpae tetras, 7 redeye tetras, 5 juli cories, 2 ottos, and a 4 inch female kribenisis. It currently has an undergravel filter in it. The tank has been running for over 5 months now with no problem at all but the reason i wanted a new filter is because im looking into making the tank heavily planted. So what do u guys think? Will the 280 be to much? Should I go with somthing a little weaker?
38G Filtration
- Thread starter Clown38
- Start date
a filter is actually not needed
I don't think you can ever have a filter that is too 'big', unless it causes water movement that is too fast.
That said, an emperor type filter is a bad choice of a planted tank. They disturb the surface of the water too much, releasing precious CO2. Trust me, I tried to get my Co2 levels up with Co2 injection with a 280 and failed miserably...even removing the biowheel did not help. Ditto for an undergravel filter if powered by an air pump.
The best choice is either a canister filter, or no filter (just a powerhead). If you have enough plants, a powerhead to move the water around should be fine, and will actually help your plants grow faster, since they utilize ammonia more efficiently than nitrate. Its always best to start off a planted tank with LOTS of plants, as that will keep algae in check. If your nervous about this, try using a sponge filter hooked to a powerhead, and then remove the sponge for a few days... and watch your ammonia. The sponge filter has the added bonus of removing 'green water' algae from the water column.
Plants are tricky, you better read up and make sure you have all the basics covered (light, water hardness, rich substrate, CO2,micro-nutrients)
I have been running a 20 gallon long without a filter now for two months, it has a 3 inch apisto, a 3inch SAE, 5 tetras, 2 otto's, and an unimaginalbe number of snails. I actually have to add nitrate to it to keep the nitrates above zero (which will favor algae growth). Since I removed the canister filter, my plants have really started to grow like crazy, and algea is so rare I am worried about the algae eaters.
I don't think you can ever have a filter that is too 'big', unless it causes water movement that is too fast.
That said, an emperor type filter is a bad choice of a planted tank. They disturb the surface of the water too much, releasing precious CO2. Trust me, I tried to get my Co2 levels up with Co2 injection with a 280 and failed miserably...even removing the biowheel did not help. Ditto for an undergravel filter if powered by an air pump.
The best choice is either a canister filter, or no filter (just a powerhead). If you have enough plants, a powerhead to move the water around should be fine, and will actually help your plants grow faster, since they utilize ammonia more efficiently than nitrate. Its always best to start off a planted tank with LOTS of plants, as that will keep algae in check. If your nervous about this, try using a sponge filter hooked to a powerhead, and then remove the sponge for a few days... and watch your ammonia. The sponge filter has the added bonus of removing 'green water' algae from the water column.
Plants are tricky, you better read up and make sure you have all the basics covered (light, water hardness, rich substrate, CO2,micro-nutrients)
I have been running a 20 gallon long without a filter now for two months, it has a 3 inch apisto, a 3inch SAE, 5 tetras, 2 otto's, and an unimaginalbe number of snails. I actually have to add nitrate to it to keep the nitrates above zero (which will favor algae growth). Since I removed the canister filter, my plants have really started to grow like crazy, and algea is so rare I am worried about the algae eaters.