Hi, I'm considering an upgrade from a 20 gal. tall to a 55 gal. sometime in January. I have an extra filter, and I was wondering if my two filters together would be adequate for a 55 gal., thus saving me the expense of a new filter. One filter is a Whisper Power that hangs on the back, good for 20 to 40 gal. aquariums. The other is a Whisper Power 20i, the kind that looks like a black dixie cup that hangs inside the tank. So that's one filter good for up to 40, and a second good for up to 20. Plus I have an under-the-gravel filter from an old 10 gal., which I plan to situate somewhere in the 55. I hear these kinds of filters don't do much, but it would be a little extra carbon filtration plus aid in aeration. The tank would house 2 dwarf honey red gourami and 3 young clown loaches (and I know these loaches may eventually outgrow the 55, but I think they should be good in there for a few years). Maybe I'll add a school of something very small, but not until I have a quarantine tank available (man, I've learned that lesson, and my 10 gal. quarantine currently houses an ancient gourami who was getting picked on; btw, for the folks who answered my earlier questions about his care, he's a happy camper now). Would my double filter idea work for the 55, with 2 gourami and 3 loaches, and lots of java fern? Thanks for reading my post!
adequate filtration for a 55 g?
- Thread starter LeahK
- Start date
I wouldn't use those. You would be best either buying a canister, one large HOB filter, two HOBS, or 1 canister and 1 HOB. Also, when buying the filter, don't go by the "20-40 gallons" it says on the box, because it is almost always wrong. You should go by the gph (gallons per hour.) The gph should be at least 7 times larger than the amount of water the tank can hold. For example, since you are upgrading to a 55, you don't want the gph to be lower than 385.
thank you for the info and advice. I looked back at the box for my current Whisper 40 HOB, which is on my 20 gal tank, and the box says it is good for 210 gph. Following dvd_wightman's 3rd option of 2 HOB's, could I buy another of the same filter and then be ok? That is, I'm guessing that 2 Whisper 40 HOB's would be good for 420 gph, assuming you can just add the gph together? If at all possible, I'd like to utilize the 40 HOB I already have, albeit in conjunction with a second filter, rather than buy a new, larger HOB and have the 40 remain unused. And, on top of it, I don't post on the newbie forum for nothing--I'm not really clear about what a canister filter is and how you maintain one. Thus I'd like to stick with familiar HOB's if possible.
Running two of the Whisper 40's would probably do fine .... It would be best to go ahead and get it now if you can (or atleast acouple weeks before you get the new tank) and have them both running on your 20g to allow a good bacteria growth to build up in the new filter .... You may have to adjust the flow on both filters all the way down when running them both on the 20g you have so not to add too much water current for the fish that are in there.
For sure a pair, an idea on hob's would be like 2 Pen.350's or Emp. 400's, or an AC equivilent.On our 45 i have a P- 350 and a HOT Mag 250.............:idea:
I'd cut any claims of GPH or tank size capabilities in half of any filter you were looking at. Those claims are usually based on an ideal installation and without any media in place. As soon as you add the media and pads, flow is tremendously reduced, not to mention as it starts to trap debri, what will happen.
I would go with one medium size canister and an AC 70.
I would go with one medium size canister and an AC 70.
Hi, thanks for all the advice. I like southpaw's idea of buying the new filter early and running it on the 20 gal to get the bacteria going. However, things would be kind of crowded, and I'm not sure if I can accommodate 2 filters with my tank cover. Would I get the same effect if I just drop the new biological filter pad inside the tank and let it sit there for a few weeks?
it would be better to run them both as the water going thru the filter helps supply needed oxygen for the bacteria to grow.... You could always place the other filter on the end or even the front and use some sort of temporary cover to just keep the fish from trying to bail out ....doesnt have to be pretty just something to cover the tank for about 2 or 3 weeks to let the bacteria build up good in the new filter.