29 Gallon Tank, Aqua Clear 300 Ok?

[smmetz]

Hi, I am new to these forums. First post, yay.

Anyway, i have a 29 gallon tank, had it for 2-3 months. It came with a whisper 30 filter sytem. I plan on replacing it soon. I was looking at the Emperor 280, but then heard about the Aqua Clear filters.

Is there such a thing as filter overkill? I plan on getting a Aqua Clear 300, but was even toying with the idea of stepping up to the Aqua Clear 500.

Right now, we have about 25" of fish in the tank. Once I get a decent filter on it, we will buy a few more small fish. So, is the AC300 gonna do the trick, would it hurt to get the AC500? Are both overkill, should I get the AC200 instead? Opinions wanted please.

Thanks!

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. The general rule of thumb for filter size is that the filter should be able to cycle all the water in the tank 4-5 times per hour. So for a 29 gallon aquarium your filter should be able to filter 116-145 gallons per hour minimum. General opinion on this topic is that there is no such thing as filter overkill, and that it is better to have more filtration than not enough filtration. Having said that, the only problem with having a filter that is too strong for a tank is that it will generate way too much current. Some fish like a little current, others don't, and too much i think would stress them out. On my 10 gallon i had a filter that i think was rated at 100 gph. So that's about 10x filtration. On my 55 gallon the filter moves 350 gph for about 6.3x filtration.
I'm not sure what the flow rates are on the Aqua clear filters. I assume the 300 is 300 gallons and the 280, 280 gallons. This would definitely be lots of filtration, so you'll have to consider the current issue. If you plan on upgrading to a larger tank in the future this may be something to consider as well.
I hope i was of some help, welcome to the forum, and i'm sure others will offer some additional opinions and advice. Good luck.

 

[thecatdidit]

Hi, I am new to these forums. First post, yay.

Anyway, i have a 29 gallon tank, had it for 2-3 months. It came with a whisper 30 filter sytem. I plan on replacing it soon. I was looking at the Emperor 280, but then heard about the Aqua Clear filters.

Is there such a thing as filter overkill? I plan on getting a Aqua Clear 300, but was even toying with the idea of stepping up to the Aqua Clear 500.

Right now, we have about 25" of fish in the tank. Once I get a decent filter on it, we will buy a few more small fish. So, is the AC300 gonna do the trick, would it hurt to get the AC500? Are both overkill, should I get the AC200 instead? Opinions wanted please.

Thanks!

I work part time at a pet store. A small independent one, not a chain. We have a reasonable aquatic department. We don't have a "commercial" sales tank system. Instead, we have about 60 ordinary tanks. Nearly half are 29 gallons. Some are 20 Longs. We also have a handfull of 37 gallon tanks. The way this section was framed out was for tanks all 30" long, with the frames being spaced every 15". We have other tanks, where the frames are spaced every 12". In these we have a mixture of 25 gallons (24" long) and mostly 30 gallon breeders over 40 gallon breeders (36" long). The breeders work the best actually for our needs.
Some tanks have Power filters, perhaps just less than half. Others have Lee's Triple Flow corner filters. We sell Tetra, Hagen, Penn Plax and Marineland/Penguin filters. Most filters are Tetra. Nothing wrong with a Tetra filter. I have a Whisper 30 at home on my 25 gallon. They all work fairly well. I think the Hagen is better if you like to "fiddle". We chose filters that are cheap to run or at least save labor.
Now if the tank has petite fish, say Danios are Guppies, we pack them in tight, about 3-3.5" per gallon. We use the corner filters for them. If they are average build, say Angels, we put them in about 2" per gallon. Keep in mind, the tanks are full on Thursday, but half empty come Sunday night. If your fish are packed in as tight as a retailer does, that's too tight.
Now Goldfish are fun. They can clog up a filter in no time. We try to keep the large build fish like goldfish under 2" per gallon. We may pack the Goldfish in tighter, but they are so low profit and tough. Their tanks are the only ones that well excede the filter size. For example, they are in three 40 gallon breeders. You'd assume that a Aquaclear 50 would be fine. Not with the Goldfish, we put Aquaclear 70's in those tanks. We "stretch" our tank capacity a little bit by over filtering. I'd hate to see the fish kept in these conditions long term, as it is stressful.

 

[MsInchworm]

Hi smmetz

Welcome to the forum!

I love AquaClears and have them on many of my tanks. These days the only other kind of filters I use are the old fashioned box filters to supplement them or as the sole filtration in small tanks.

It would help if I knew what kind of fish you plan to stock in your tank, but in almost all circumstances I would have to say to forget about putting an AquaClear 500 on a tank the size of a 29 gallon. It's a very powerful filter, that moves a lot of water, and any fish that does not require a massive amount of current will think they have been caught in a waterfall.

There are two things to consider when buying a filter. The first is biological filtration and the second is mechanical filtration. Biological filtration refers to the amount of beneficial bacteria that live in the filter media. The convert the chemical wastes of the fish to less harmful nitrates. Mechanical filtration is that which picks up minute particles of matter in the water and holds it in the filter until you rinse it off. You might also hear about chemical filtration, and that is done when there is a chemical substance (like medicine) that needs to be removed from the water. This is what carbon or charcoal is used for. In normal circumstances you won't have to worry about that.

An AquaClear filter uses a sponge on the bottom to house the beneficial bacteria. Tank water flows over and through it and feeds and oxygenates the bacteria. Many experienced fishkeepers fill the chamber above the sponge with filter floss to increase the surface area available for the beneficial bacterial to cling to which allows them to add more fish to the tank than usual. This also greatly enhances the mechanical filtration. Now Hagen sells something called BioMax inserts which also do this but, IMHO, less effectively than filter floss. They are also expensive and cannot be cleaned as easily or as well as the filter floss.

Either way, there will only be as much beneficial bacteria living in the filter as the number of fish in your tank can support so a giant filter that circulates a lot of water is totally unnecessary under most circumstances.

 

[Steve Adams]

ok....

how should I clean my filter, I have a aquaclear 30, using the sponge on bottom, floss in the middle and biomax on top. right now, I keep the biomax in the filter at all times, toss the floss and rinse the filter about 1 time per month.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

first there no such thing as too much filtration as long as the currents arent too strong for the fish to handle...... although i think a 500 is way to much current on a tank that size. and to replace your filter media, rinse the mechanical media in a bucket of aquarium water to loosen up the trapped particles. or replace it entirely. Why are you using the floss? as extra mechanical or as extra biological? if for mechanical do the above steps, if for biological dont rinse it at all. As for the biomax do not rinse it at all, be sure to keep it wet though during maintenace, that doesnt include keeping it wet with tap water.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Steve Adams

You don't usually have to touch your filter until it starts to clog up and slow the amount of water passing through it. It becomes more effective mechanically if it has some soil on it. A fixed schedule is seldom required.

All you need is the sponge and the floss to have it do a great job. When it starts to get too dirty, just rinse both the floss and sponge in water you have removed from the tank during a normal water change, and put it back in. The beneficial bacteria is clinging to the surface of these, not living in the dirt.

The BioMax just provides additional surfaces for the beneficial bacteria to grow on. Adding more filter floss is less expensive and can be reused over and over with nothing more than a quick rinse. Don't just throw it out because then you are throwing away a lot of your beneficial bacteria that is living on it.