Confused on Filtration

Originally posted by Prometheus
Personally I have two penguin 330's with the bio-wheels and several bio-balls in the filters plus a UGF.... I also have some messy fish which make this necc.
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That seems like massive overkill for a 55 gallon tank. Why even bother with the UG when you have two Penguin 330s? Have you found problems with high ammonia or nitrites in the past that show a need for the additional biological filtration the UG provides?
 
Originally posted by SayersWeb
That seems like massive overkill for a 55 gallon tank. Why even bother with the UG when you have two Penguin 330s? Have you found problems with high ammonia or nitrites in the past that show a need for the additional biological filtration the UG provides?
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Originally, I was just going to have a penguin 330 and UGF... I 'inherited' some fish shortly after I setup the tank, and was concerned about my ultimate bio / waste load for the fish I'm keeping in there... Thats when (just recently) I added the second 330...

Since my tank would have gravel in it anyway, I figured why not just leave the UGF in and put it to use (no sense in taking out now)...

I was going to just add a pen. 180 or something, but figured I might as well just buy another 330 ( not too big a dif. on price)...

Ultimately my setup would have been at little different but as the chips fell, this is how it turned out... And since it's working perfectly, I'm not going to change it anytime soon...

When I get a bigger tank (a year or so from now, 125-150gal.), I'll move the two 330's to it (in stages of course) and use a fluval 404 or something similar with them, then set the 55 up with an emp 400 w/ UGF... I plan on keeping the 55 lightly stocked ultimately... heck that was the plan for this one originally... ah well :cool:
 
Originally posted by Prometheus
Since my tank would have gravel in it anyway, I figured why not just leave the UGF in and put it to use (no sense in taking out now)...
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I wonder if weekly vacuuming causes extra stress on the fish, both with water condition changes and just the intrusion factor/stress they expereince while the maintenance is being done.


I'm getting two 55 gallon tanks on Monday and plan on a single 330 in each. I was afraid two would cause way too much water churning in the narrow tanks. What's the current like in your 55 with the two 330s? Any whirlpools going on? :)

At less than $21 a piece, I would consider using two 330s on each tank if they didn't roll the water too much.
 
All of my FO tanks are fully vacuumed weekly, and have been for decades. The myth of that disturbance being stressful to the fish is just that, myth. Leaving debris and waste in the tank with lowering effects on water quality is IMHO & IME far more stressfu to the fish.

When considering options, always select the one involving cleaner water over any which have the potential for lower water quality.
 
Originally posted by RTR
All of my FO tanks are fully vacuumed weekly, and have been for decades. The myth of that disturbance being stressful to the fish is just that, myth. Leaving debris and waste in the tank with lowering effects on water quality is IMHO & IME far more stressfu to the fish.

When considering options, always select the one involving cleaner water over any which have the potential for lower water quality.
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RTR - If the bio filtration system is working properly in the tank, then why would water quality conditions be lowering if vacuuming is not done each week? Shouldn't waste and debris be broken down properly even if you do water changes every few weeks?

I'm asking so that I can understand the process better, not to question your judgement or experience (which has proved to be excellent and a great help to me).

Thanks!
 
Biofiltration is our tanks refers to one series of bacterial actions: the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite; then the oxidation of nitrite to nitrate. Period. How about the organics - hormones, pheromones, left-over food (whether uneaten or excreted undigested), cyclic compounds, decaying plant materials if planted, waste matter (feces), etc., almost endlessly. If you remove any significant quantity of organic particulate material by vacuuming, that is that much material which will not end up as dissolved contaminants in the water column after infusoria and bacteria other than the nitrifiers have digested it. Nitrogen is only one form of water quality degradation. It just happens to be one that is easy to measure. Conventional organics and cyclic compounds are generated in the tanks and only laboratories can test and measure for these - but that in no way means they are harmless. We harp on nitrogen because we can use it in unplanted tanks as a measure of the general level of pollution. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that is it the only "bad' material generated in the tank. It just happens to be an easy test, no much more. It is nitrogen plus all the rest that together degrade water quality.
 
Yup, my tanks get vaccumed weekly or twice a week. The fish get used to it (if they ever were afraid of it to begin with). Its really no different than sticking your hands in to trim plants.

Yah, water quality can be good while having extra "gunk" in the gravel. Vaccuming helps remove big old honking pieces of poo that fall in the gravel, any dying plant leaves, excess food, etc. Its all stuff you don't want decaying in the tank. Better to remove it anyway. Not too much different than it getting mechanically removed by the filter, except you wont have the organic wastes still in the tank.
 
Thanks for the info! :bowing:
 
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