Enough Filtration?

[wolfnature]

Hello everyone.

I just got 2 Penguin 170 filters as a present for my 65 gallon tank. This seems sort of borderline as enough filtration and was curious what some of your thoughts were.

[125gJoe]

Those filters are good, but canister filters are good too. The canisters have more room for filtration media

[Richer]

What kind of fish and how many of them do you have in your tank?

Assuming you have a moderately - heavily stocked tank, you do not have enough filtration. For HOB (hang on back) filters, generally you want to aim for a turn over rate of around 10 times per hour. You currently have about a 5-6x turnover rate. I'd suggest adding another filter to your system... An Aquaclear 300 will do quite nicely. Over my years of fish keeping, I've found aquaclear filters to be very good at mechanical filtration, quite realiable, pretty quiet, and quite inexpensive.

HTH
-Richer

[NJ Devils Fan]

Yea, not enough filtration. I would go with an Emp 280 or even an Emp 400 with those two penguins.

[wolfnature]

Thanks for the responses so far. I am actually considering trading the 170s in and getting 2 330s instead.

[NJ Devils Fan]

That would be better. I would consider though getting an Emp 280 and an Emp 400 because they are like a step up from the penguins. But, geting 2 330s would be fine. Just stating my opinion. Another option could be to trade in one penguin 170 and get an AC 500. Its all up to you.

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by 80gJoe
Those filters are good, but canister filters are good too. The canisters have more room for filtration media

I couldn't agree more. IMHO if you are planning on changing your HOB's all together. Spend the extra $15-$20 and get a canister. Then you will have more options than you will have with a HOB.

[andruboz]

[sorry i dont know how to do the fancy quoty thing]

"I couldn't agree more. IMHO if you are planning on changing your HOB's all together. Spend the extra $15-$20 and get a canister. "

the difference in filters locally is more like the $50 to $100 range.

i guess big als is the great equalizer but even there you'll spend
$75 or $95 and still wont have the wacky magic biowheel. and you have to worry about a hose incident that drains your tank and soaks your house.. course that's me being a little bit paranoid.

[NJ Devils Fan]

andruboz, all that magical wheel does is provide more area for beneficialy bacteria to grow. I think that some of the filter boxes falsely advertise the bio wheels. On my pengiun 125 box, it says that the wheel instantly kills ammonia and nitrite. That's not true. The bacteria on the bio wheel are what break down the ammonia and nitrite. That is a bit misleading.

[Tyler718]

Originally posted by andruboz
[sorry i dont know how to do the fancy quoty thing]

"I couldn't agree more. IMHO if you are planning on changing your HOB's all together. Spend the extra $15-$20 and get a canister. "

the difference in filters locally is more like the $50 to $100 range.

i guess big als is the great equalizer but even there you'll spend
$75 or $95 and still wont have the wacky magic biowheel. and you have to worry about a hose incident that drains your tank and soaks your house.. course that's me being a little bit paranoid.

Sorry I miss quoted the price. It is roughly $50 difference at Big Als. As for the "a hose incident that drains your tank and soaks your house.. " I have never heard of. I think you are thinking of a Wet / Dry Filter.

The reason why I suggested the canister is that you have more options of media besides a cartridge and a "magic wheel". The bio wheel is good, but how much is someone going to spend on cartridges per month? You end up spending a lot more cartridges than you would for media for a canister.

I do use HOB's , but they are for mechanical filtration only. I use AC's with 2 sponges only. All my other filters are canisters.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Tyler, not all HOB filters are for mechanical filtration only. One's with bio wheels are both mechanical and biological filters.

[JSchmidt]

The question posed by Richer, still unanswered, is the best contribution thus far: what sort of fish and how many will be in the tank. You cannot evaluate filtration without considering the bioload. In a lightly to moderately stocked tetra tank, two 170s should be fine. In a heavily stocked african cichlid tank of the same size, those filters wouldn't begin to be enough.

We need all the data to make good recommendations...

Jim

P.S. Absent any other info, get a Eheim 2028. More than enough filter for a tank that size. It also costs as much as 10 Penguin 170's, but it's only money!

[wolfnature]

Right now the tank is empty because I don't have it yet :D

I ordered the tank a couple weeks ago and should be getting it soon. I am still working on a stocking plan, but tentatively I am looking at a few gouramis, a couple cichlids, a couple schools of tetras or barbs, and some corys and algae eaters. It will be a community tank and will probably be medium stocked, nothing too heavy. But I am still trying to decide.