Hi all,
I have had no filter on my 30 gallon for about 8 months. The tank has been self sustaining in a sence that bacteria has grown all over the place. Water was never cloudy, you could only see stuff floating around in the tank. Fish stayed perfectly healthy.
I decided to spend some money on a filter for the tank. So I bought an Aqua Clear 110 which will flow about 500 gph. Over kill for the 30 gallon but I was looking for surface area. Considering the size for your tank with aqua clear filters usually have a small surface area for filtration. I turned it down which also refilters the water in the filter many times and puts out just enough GPH for the tank. Surface area is huge and when putting a 50 micron scrubing pad in, water turns crystal clear within a couple hours.
I would also reccomend putting the biomax third inline after the scrubbing pads to make sure they are underwater for maximum bacteria coverage. Carbon can go on top if you use it.
I have had no filter on my 30 gallon for about 8 months. The tank has been self sustaining in a sence that bacteria has grown all over the place. Water was never cloudy, you could only see stuff floating around in the tank. Fish stayed perfectly healthy.
I decided to spend some money on a filter for the tank. So I bought an Aqua Clear 110 which will flow about 500 gph. Over kill for the 30 gallon but I was looking for surface area. Considering the size for your tank with aqua clear filters usually have a small surface area for filtration. I turned it down which also refilters the water in the filter many times and puts out just enough GPH for the tank. Surface area is huge and when putting a 50 micron scrubing pad in, water turns crystal clear within a couple hours.
I would also reccomend putting the biomax third inline after the scrubbing pads to make sure they are underwater for maximum bacteria coverage. Carbon can go on top if you use it.
