hi all, i have a 20 gallon long tank, and i bought a 200b penguin filter, which is rated for up to 50 gallons. It works fine, but the water flows out too strong for the tank. Unless I have the tank filled to the very top w/ water, it becomes too loud, and the water comes out of the filter so strong, that it agitates the sand in my tank and usually ends up jamming the impeller w/ a grains of sand. :huh: I've searched through the forums, and someone mentioned attaching a sponge to the intake to reduce the water flow. If anyone has any other ideas on how to control the flow on my penguin filter, or more details on what type of sponge, or how it works, i'd appreciate it! Thanks, Jason
penguin filter - do it yourself flow control?
- Thread starter roninmagik1
- Start date
first off, any filter large enough to do any good is going to cause splashing if you don't keep your waterline up, why would you keep it low? I had the same problem with my 20 long, it's the design of the tank that causes the problem. the water came out of the filter across the top of the water to the front glass, bounced off the glass and into the substrate causing the sand to move around. I dropped back to a penguin mini filter and have had no problems since. What kind of fish do you have in the tank, how many and what type of setup do you have? Kyle
Hey snakeskinner =), I do keep my waterline up, but with this filter and the 20 gallon long, it's to the point where i'm adding water to fill it up to the maximum every night before i go to bed, and even filled to the maximum, the sound is still annoying. It's not annoying to the point where i'll go insane, but it does take me longer to go to bed, because of the noise. And i completely agree with you about the design of the tank!!! It does the exact same thing, going across the top of the water, off the glass and into the substrate!!! There is a long horizontal stripe at the very front of my tank about 10 to 12 inches where the sand is pushed away and the glass shows. I had the same thought about dropping down to a lower filter, i wanted to avoid spending more money, but it's really not that much money, a penguin mini should be less than $20.
In the tank, i have 4 panda corys, 2 clown loaches and one tropheus maswa. The tropheus, i'm trying to find a good home for, as I read that he is happiest w/ a big group of his/her own kind. I have a 20 gallon long, w/ black sand for the substrate, thinly spread, maybe 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick, in the tank is one piece of driftwood and 3 small pot/caves. I was happy w/ the 200b penguin filter because the powerfull flow managed to pick up alot of the dirt, while leaving the sand alone (except for that stripe at the front), but I think i will buy a smaller filter and see how that works. Thanks alot!
In the tank, i have 4 panda corys, 2 clown loaches and one tropheus maswa. The tropheus, i'm trying to find a good home for, as I read that he is happiest w/ a big group of his/her own kind. I have a 20 gallon long, w/ black sand for the substrate, thinly spread, maybe 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick, in the tank is one piece of driftwood and 3 small pot/caves. I was happy w/ the 200b penguin filter because the powerfull flow managed to pick up alot of the dirt, while leaving the sand alone (except for that stripe at the front), but I think i will buy a smaller filter and see how that works. Thanks alot!
Probably not an option with whatever hood your using, but if you could side mount the filter the water would have the entire length of the tank to travel.
Maybe you can somehow mount a trough under the outflow so that the water flows to the other side of the tank (maybe made from a length of the inflexible tubing that is used in UGF bubble lifts, only cut in half) . You could drill holes in it so water drops out slowly over the length of the trough. It woudl drastically improve water quality in your tank as well, since the same water would not be filtered over and over. I would use suction cups to mount it just under the outflow and at an ever so slight angle. Just an Idea i had, but never followed up on.
Maybe you can somehow mount a trough under the outflow so that the water flows to the other side of the tank (maybe made from a length of the inflexible tubing that is used in UGF bubble lifts, only cut in half) . You could drill holes in it so water drops out slowly over the length of the trough. It woudl drastically improve water quality in your tank as well, since the same water would not be filtered over and over. I would use suction cups to mount it just under the outflow and at an ever so slight angle. Just an Idea i had, but never followed up on.
I was thinking side mount too.
As the filter ages, the flow rate will decrease. The wheel will turn more slowly and a full load of fish will keep the filter somewhat clogged.
In the mean time, using a sponge to cover the inlet tube sounds like a good idea to both slow down the flow rate and prevent sand from getting sucked up into the impeller, which could ruin it.
As the filter ages, the flow rate will decrease. The wheel will turn more slowly and a full load of fish will keep the filter somewhat clogged.
In the mean time, using a sponge to cover the inlet tube sounds like a good idea to both slow down the flow rate and prevent sand from getting sucked up into the impeller, which could ruin it.
THanks for the ideas! i think i'll take a trip to home depot and see what types of sponges as well as plastic tubing/hosing i can find! It'd probably be alot simpler for me to just go and buy a smaller less powerfull filter, but it's now a personal challenge to get this filter working good! =)
You can also decrease the flow somewhat by pulling up on the intake tube, so it's not seated so deeply in to the impeller well. You don't need to pull up much, just a bit. I do this all the time, with the older Penguins anyway.
HTH,
Jim
HTH,
Jim
I have a small plastic container that I bought at the container store for $ 1.98. It has a solid bottom and slits in the sides. I hang it off the filter so that the water is dumped into the basket and the flow gets dissipated across the top of the tank. Periodically I find one of my fish hanging out in it.
Also I have an evaporation problem, it is usually pretty dry here. I find tight fitting glass tops to help a lot.
Also I have an evaporation problem, it is usually pretty dry here. I find tight fitting glass tops to help a lot.
Powerful filter like that in that size tank I imagine does stir up the surface quite a bit...hence the rapid evaporation issue. Slowing down the current will definitly help to also slow down evaporation.
Well, I got home, and didn't feel like going to home depot, so i looked around the house and finally cut up a sponge i had in my box of fish stuff. It was originally a cleaning sponge to clean algae from the glass. Anyhow, i played around, pulling out the bottom part of the filter tube, and replacing it w/ a square of sponge, using the suction to hold the sponge in place. Well, that worked, but it worked too well!! The bio filter didn't spin, and the water flow was cut too much. Finally after trying different things, i stumbled on this. I cut a small square, maybe 1 inch x 1/2 inch, and put it in the thingamabob (at the end of the tube on the filter, the plastic piece that fits into the end of the tube, where the water is sucked in), that cut the inflow of water just enough to quiet it down, and lower the water flow to a perfect level!! Thanks for all the suggestions and help everyone, i got me a happy ending!! =)