Filter And Cycling Question

[ziroth04]

Hello everyone,

I'm currently in the process of cycling (fishless) in my new 55USG tank and have a dilemma. I have roughly 10 inches of room to put anything taller than 2 inches on the back of the tank due to a low hanging cabinet (im in an apartment). I purchased a Marineland HOT Magnum 250 filter for the tank since it sits so low and I can slip it under the cabinet clearance.

I quickly realized this would barely be adequate and not adequate at all for biological filtration. So right now I'm using the Top Fin 60 (temporarily) that came with the tank in addition to the magnum and ordered an Emperor 280. The 280 only uses 9.5 inches on the back of the tank so it will fit perfectly. My questions:

1. Will the Magnum 250 canister and the Emperor 280 on the opposite side be adequate for a 55G?

2. How will I be able to switch to the Emperor 280 from the Top fin 60 without losing a ton of bacteria? (How can I transfer them w/out starting over the cycling?)

Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

I have both of those filters. The 280 is a nice filter but mine is on a 20 gallon tank, not a 55. IMO it is a bit underpowered for a 55. The HOT magnum is my emergency filter. It spends most of its time on my big community tank so that it stays cycled and is available for immediate use on any other tank. The big community uses a Rena XP3 as its main filter. The combination is probably enough for a 55 but, as you said, the HOT Magnum is not much of a biological filter. That is why I hold it as an emergency only filter. Mine is presently the filter on a 20H where the main filter just quit one day. As soon as I can, I will be replacing the dead filter with a new one and the HOT Magnum will go back into its standby role.
The 280 has a double basket setup so you can use the one they send you empty as a place to put the cartridge from the Top Fin filter. It may not fit just right but the spare basket in the 280 will hold the pieces nicely if you just chunk up the top fin cartridge and place it into the basket.