Looking To Upgrade To 20 Gallon Tank

[ninjatsu]

I currently have a 10 gallon tank that is going great right now. I have started to experiment with live plants and decor, but now I want to upgrade a something a bit bigger so I have more to work with.
I am wondering what if I would be able to use my Marineland Penguin 100 filter and 100W submersible heater if I go with a 20 gallon tank still? I plan I having a heavily planted with driftwood and rocks. I really
want to stock it with 2 male apistogramma cacatuoides, 4-5 female Apistogramma cacatuoides, along with smaller neons or something small that looks good(haven't researched this part yet,
suggestions would be great).

 

[OldMan47]

You could easily move everything over to a 20 from a 10. A 100W heater is big enough for a 20 but I don't know if the particular filter model is. I am just not that familiar with particular filter models.
Any upgrade after the move, in terms of the number of fish, would need to be done gradually because the filter will only be cycled to the point to support your present fish population.

 

[pippoodle]

the penguin 100 does 100 gph and is suitable for tanks upto 20 gallons so you could use it but you might be better to get a bigger one to add to the tank to cycle along with the penguin and keep the penguin as a spare

you would be best looking for a 150-200gph filter in time so then if you want to go over the 1" rule you wouldnt have any problems

cheers Sarah xx

a fluval 3+ internal filter does approx 700 litres per hour - 153 imp gph / 184 us gph
a 4+ does 1000 litres per hour - 219 imp gph / 264 us gph

 

[OldMan47]

Sarah, a 4+ is a bit too big for a 20. I have one to keep my 40 in good condition for my Ameca Splendens breeding colony. The 3+ is probably not a bad upgrade choice for a 100 gph filter.