Filter selection help

K

Ketso

Cityfied Redneck
Jan 26, 2007
347
0
16
Peebles, Ohio
Hello folks,

I am in the process of putting together a 55gal (long) freshwater tank. I have already purchased the tank and have made my decision as to what type of heater to use (Hydor THEO Heater 300 Watt).

I guess, not sure, the next logical step is to decide on a filter. My wife and I discussed this last night and SHE decided we would like to have as quiet a filter as possible without costing a fortune.

I have read that the models recommended to me by my LFS have sometimes been very quiet and sometimes not so quiet. The 2 they recommended are:

350B Penguin Bio-Wheel Filter
Hagen AquaClear 110 Aquarium Power Filter

Prior to reading about some folks having noise issues with these, I had decided on the Penguin because of the replacement media being cheaper over the long haul. However, now, I am unsure.

A bit about what I want to accomplish with this tank. As for fish, this will be a community tank. I have not decided exactly which fish yet, but possibly tetras, cories, etc. The more mild mannered easier to care for kind of fishes. (Don't want to get in over my head starting out).

For substraight I was thinking of using more than one type. Sand (possibly PF sand) in the front for a few inches and then blending into dark colored gravel. Kind of a "beach" thing.

I plan to add a few large stones and make some caves, etc. Maybe even a piece of sealed driftwood. I also want to slowly swap out any fake plants to real. But I think I should concentrate on making the fish comfortable for now. Dont want the live plants causing a problem I am not yet ready/able to deal with.

And last but not least (for the moment) is lighting. I plan on using "medium-low" lighting to start out. Let me get comfortable with taking care of the fish before I have to tackle algae.

Hopefully this information is not overkill. Thanks for any and all input, I look forward to reading your thoughts on this subject.

Regards,
Dave
 
Or one AC 70 and a cannister.
 
I second the above comments. Two HOB filters (aquaclear, whisper, emperor, ect...) will work great in a 55 gallon.

If money is not an issue go with Eheim Canister filters. I use two Eheim 2026 filters. They are dead silent.
 
Keep in mind you don't need to replace the sponge on the aquaclear unless it starts to deteriate. That is to say you should be able to go a year or more without having to buy new media there. Well you can also rinse off filter cartridges in the penguin. As far as wanting to have a quiet aquarium you should look into cannister filters. A rena xp-2 would do, but an xp-3 would be better. Currently rena filters are the lowest price of the cannister filters I would buy. If you have money to burn get an eheim. With a cannister you can place the input and output nozzles on opposite ends of your aquarium to promote flow.

While a single filter on a 55g aquarium is acceptable, I still keep around a second filter in case something goes wrong with my first. In my case I have an older penguin 330b filter with media baskets. Should something go wrong with my cannister I can pull the bio media and a decent portion of the sponges out and place them within the penguin. Also should the need arrise to remove medicines from the aquarium I find a hob power filter easier to set carbon up with.
 
OK, along this same line, what would be a typical gph (gallons per/hr) for a 55 gal tank?

I know a clean tank is essential in most situations, but something that does 300gph seems like over kill to me. I am new to all this. You folks are the seasoned veterans. So, I'll take your advice on it.

Regards,
Dave
 
Provided the amount of flow doesn't bother the fish you keep or plants, I always push to the high side of 6-10 times tank volume for turn over.
 
Keep in mind that that 300gph is what the pump can do if sitting in water with nothing attached to it. Mount it in a container with tubes restricting the flow and filter material restricting the flow and you easily lose 35% of that rating. From there we truly get into the realm of personal opinions. There are those that swear by a flow rate of 10x your aquarium volume. Others say that 5x is where you want to be. I pretty much take the volume of the aquarium and double it. Then I get a filter based on that number. Now one of my aquariums is a 50g with a fluval 404 filter. Filter is rated at a flow rate of 340 gph and a circulation rate of 225 gph assuming you don't set the filter up improperly. That would put me at 4.5x my aquarium volume. Having this aquarium set up for several years I can honestly say that it fits my needs. If I kept fish that are known to be messy I'd add a second filter however. Also keep in mind that so far only the fluval filters seem to put in writing an actual circulation rate and not just state their pump output.
 
DeMonZ said:
I know a clean tank is essential in most situations, but something that does 300gph seems like over kill to me. I am new to all this. You folks are the seasoned veterans. So, I'll take your advice on it.

Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...

This is why Aquaclear filters are great; they are cheap, effective, have a large media capacity, and flow adjust to suit your needs.
 
Just realized that no one has mentioned that online pricing is often much lower than in store pricing. I originally purchased my fluval 404 from bigalsonline.com for $95 plus $15 for shipping and handling. At the time petsmart had the same filter for $195. Also if you have a petsmart near you they should price match to their online price if you print out the page with the price on it. Currently they show the price of a rena xp-3 filter as $105 and the price of an aquaclear 110 as $40. If you had to choose between an aquaclear or a penguin normally speaking the aquaclear should be quieter.
 
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