Another filter question... regarding magnum 350

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pyroman9

AC Members
Nov 22, 2004
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Howdy all.

Alright so I know there have been a few threads... ermm many... on this topic.

I cannot find a good answer though and a recent one.

I have a 55g fish tank with barbs in it. A lot of them... around 30 i think. Small ones of coarse I do not have any tinfoils or anything. They are all variations of the tiger barb or smaller. However I do take good care of the tank.

I am considering however adding another filter to the tank.. I currently have one Magnum 350 on the tank but I do not have the pro system setup.. aka i do not have the two biowheels that hang on the tank.

I am considering adding another magnum 350 pro system on the other end of the tank. Would this be to much??

I have live plants in the tank and a decent sized pleco ~6 inches.

The filter works great now but I find that almost monthly I am changing the sponge out in it due to all the crap from the tank. Or is there something else i should do? Maybe a prefilter? I use the gravel vacuum usually weekly and do 25% water changes.
 
Considering the load on the tank, and the fact that it is planted would suggest that a prefilter might be a good idea. I am reluctant to suggest a 2nd filter due to the tank being planted. It is one thing to have plants and another to have "A planted tank" where-in the the plants are the primary residents and the fish secondary. The reluctance of a 2nd filter is because you don't want to off-gas too much and deny the nutrients your plants require. Water testing should indicate the need for water-changes and filter pressure would indicate filter cleaning.
 
so what kind of prefilter? Would you suggest i get the upgrade of the bio wheels for the one filter?
 
The bio wheel attachments are not a must have and i would just add a HOT magnum and i think you would be happy. It also comes with bio wheels and without i my self use the bio wheel on my sump where its out of sight and power it with a small powerhead it doesnt have to be connected to the filter. I just happen to have a few bio wheels from Hot magnums i bought thats the only reason i hooked them up. If figure why not use them if you have them cant hurt anything they wont help with "filtering" your water its just a place for good goo to grow.
 
If you want the joy of a biowheel get your self a Penguin 350. The footprint is smaller on the back of your tank. You wont be tying up your magnum with more hoses to tangle, clean, leak and disconnect, and a Penguin 350 will augment filtration and bio. Plus later if you want you can add house plants to the back of the Penguin to suck nitrates out of the tank, all for about the same price or $10 more then for the Mag 350 pro.
 
No such thing as over-filtration with that bioload.
 
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