Filtration Question

[bettafriend15]

im having a little trouble deciding on a new filter i mean theres so many types and i had a few questions
1. is it true that you always buy the biggest filter you can afford and the bigger the filter the less maintence you have to do on it.
2. what is the best brand of filter
3.are canister filters really worth the money
4. can somebody please explain to me what powerheads do
thank you

 

[fozziebear]

im having a little trouble deciding on a new filter i mean theres so many types and i had a few questions
1. is it true that you always buy the biggest filter you can afford and the bigger the filter the less maintence you have to do on it.
2. what is the best brand of filter
3.are canister filters really worth the money
4. can somebody please explain to me what powerheads do
thank you

ok yes buy the biggest filter you can, increases your stocking capacity and helps keep your water cleaner, and can hold more filter bacteria, brands to look for are tetratec fluval aquaclear eheim and the like, most people stick to eheim and fluval because they are the main 2, cannister filters are better as theres nothing in the tank except the inlet and outlet, and powerheads basically just move water, you can get some that have sponge filters.

 

[rdd1952]

Covered well. The more filtration, the better. I will add though that I have HOBs on my 29 gallon (a Whisper 30 and Whisper 20) and canisters (2 Fluval 305s) in my 75 gallon. I doubt that I will ever run another HOB after these stop working and I have to replace them. I love canisters. You can also get inline heaters that work on the water lines for the canister filters, taking another thing out of the tank. I have those on the 75 gallon also.

 

[bettafriend15]

Covered well. The more filtration, the better. I will add though that I have HOBs on my 29 gallon (a Whisper 30 and Whisper 20) and canisters (2 Fluval 305s) in my 75 gallon. I doubt that I will ever run another HOB after these stop working and I have to replace them. I love canisters. You can also get inline heaters that work on the water lines for the canister filters, taking another thing out of the tank. I have those on the 75 gallon also.

to have good filtration on a 55 gallon aquarium do you how man gph i need just like a minimum number because i was looking at biowheel filter and thats all it had on it was how many gph it had

 

[rdd1952]

The minimum is 5 times the tank size (a filter that will process the water at least 5 times an hour). That would mean at least 275 gph but it is always better to over filter so something in the 350 to 400 range would be better. That allows you to push the limit on stocking and still have enough filtration to cover it.

Also, on tanks of 4' or more, like a 55 gallon, I think it is better to have dual filters rather than just one. First it allows for better circulation to have one on each end and second, if one happens to stop working, you still have water circulating. The same applies to heaters too, one on each end. I am running 2 Fluval 350s (rated 260 gph each) with inline heaters on my 75 gallon and a whisper 30 and whisper 20 on the 29 gallon (only one heater on it).