One canister for two tanks

[Elgonte]

Hi. I couldn't find an answer to this question, so I thought I'd put it up. I am considering picking up a single canister filter for my two 29 gallon tanks. I would split the in and out hoses and use a filter rated for 70 or 75 gallons. Has anyone done this? Is it something that can be done? One of the tanks was just given to me without a filter and I was thinking that I could spend a little extra now and save in the long run by only running one filter, and when I upgrade to a 55 gallon, will already have a filter. Please give me your thoughts on this.
Thanks.

 

[musichead707]

Im not really smart with canister filters, but i think it would depend on the length of the hoses, b/c they might not be made to go up long distance, you might lose alot of power/current in your tanks. But i say give it a try if it doesnt work return it.

 

[Elgonte]

Thanks for the response. I was thinking that if you used smaller hoses after the split, you might not lose water pressure. Can you really return a used filter? Anyone else have suggestions? Anyone want to experiment for me?

 

[The-Wolf]

I have been think about this for a while so here is my input

it can be done if...
A; you have a water bridge or the tanks are directly connected
B; you have a pump that matches the pumping power of the cannister, so the water level in both tanks stays the same.

the only drawback is both tanks wil be the same ecosyestem and therefore if one tank becomes diseased the so will the other one.
Personally I have decided against this idea for now.

HTH

 

[Vip]

it can be done but i wouldnt do it, your mixing 2 differnt types of water.

 

[Stryker]

your need either a water bridge (simply a length of hose that ALWAYS has syphon) or an overflow from one tank to the other.

Your canister filter then needs to take water from one tank and expell it in the other. The bridge/overflow takes care of the rest.

Problem is your risking any desease outbreaks spreading across your two tanks. A UV steriliser inline with the canister filter may help, on the upside you've efectivley got one big volume of water thus any mishaps like a unnoticed dead fishie will not pollute your water so seriously.

 

[Elgonte]

I see what you mean. There's no way to be sure that individual hoses would suck and disperse at the same rate, one side pushing a little more would cause an overflow. Thanks for the input, I think I'll stick to power filters for now.