Filtration Options For 55 Gallon

[babe]

hey everyone...i have a 55 gallon, fairly overstocked, with a aquaclear 70... i'm thinking about upgrading the filtration to two aquaclear 110's...would that be overkill for a 55 gallon? i have an oscar, tiger barbs, tinfoil barbs, colombian tetras, bolivian rams, a convict, a featherfin catfish, and a pleco...i know it's overstocked and i plan to upgrade to a bigger tank within the year, so they will have to stay put for now...
i did a water test a week after a 75% water change and the ammonia was zero, zero nitrites, and 20ppm nitrates...the only reason why i want a better filtration system is to get rid of all the poop that settles on the gravel...i've had a aquaclear 110(actually when it was still called aquaclear 500) on a 40 breeder and remember it being very strong, but was wondering how it would be on my 55 gallon...or rather, two of them on a 55 gallon...

 

[5teady_2012]

Heard of a gravel vac?

 

[babe]

Heard of a gravel vac?

yea, i have...i have a python water changing system...i do a 75% water change every week and vacuum the gravel during that time, but there is still a lot of waste produced by the middle of the week...it doesn't really affect the water quality much, but it is quite unsightly...i was thinking, with a couple of powerful filters, i could just let the filters suck up the waste so i can rinse out the sponge instead of vacuuming every few days...does that make sense or am i missing something here?

 

[5teady_2012]

Well to be fair, your fish are still going to crap on the bed of the tank, but like u say your overstocked so that wont be helping..

You shouldnt even have to be doing 75% water changes weekly either, more like 30%, your having to do more cos your overstocked though..

adding more filtiration wont stop the crap building up on the floor, unless it gets wafts about and ends up being sucked in..

My advice is, get rid of some fish, but you dont want to do that so best to gravel clean more.

 

[babe]

Well to be fair, your fish are still going to crap on the bed of the tank, but like u say your overstocked so that wont be helping..

You shouldnt even have to be doing 75% water changes weekly either, more like 30%, your having to do more cos your overstocked though..

adding more filtiration wont stop the crap building up on the floor, unless it gets wafts about and ends up being sucked in..

My advice is, get rid of some fish, but you dont want to do that so best to gravel clean more.

i understand that my tank is overstocked and i am going to do my best to remedy that...but for the time being, i basically just wanted to know if two aquaclear 110's in a 55 gallon would create too much water movement for the fish i am currently raising...

 

[5teady_2012]

If the flow is too strong, just tru to aim it towards the glass, or somehow cut the flow down.

 

[Mikaila31]

Get a canister. IMO tanks 55gal and up need canisters. Especially since you have such a large bioload. I run a Rena XP3 on my 55gal.


BTW doing large water changes isn't going to hurt anything, Although depending on your water stats they may not be nessicary. I do 50% water changes weekly on my 55gal.....

 

[babe]

Get a canister. IMO tanks 55gal and up need canisters. Especially since you have such a large bioload. I run a Rena XP3 on my 55gal.


BTW doing large water changes isn't going to hurt anything, Although depending on your water stats they may not be nessicary. I do 50% water changes weekly on my 55gal.....

i've considered getting a canister filter for this tank but noise is a concern as this tank is right next to my bed...i've had a Marineland magnum 350 deluxe canister filter before and it was quite noisy...the aquaclear 70 currently on this tank is very quiet, as was the aquaclear 500 i used to own a few years back...

what are some quiet canister filters out on the market these days?

 

[Mikaila31]

My rena is pretty quite, I wouldn't say its silent. It's more so the rushing water you hear, make sure you have all the air out of the canister otherwise it can be noisy. I have a aquaclear 30 and that thing is soooooo noisey.....

Petsmart will pricematch online sites, so just fine the lowest priced rena xp3 online and they will price match it. If you don't like it you can always return it.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

eheims (not the ecco range) are pretty quiet and v reliable so they'll run and run

another tip for getting poop up off the bottom of the tank and into the filter is to install a powerhead on the tank an inch or two above the substrate on the opposite end of the tank to the filter inlet pointing towards it. this way you'll get flow along the bottom of the tank it will lift and push some of the poop down towards the filter inlet and then when it gets close enough it'll be picked up by the filter.

clearly still need to gravcel vac but it does make things a little better purely in terms of unsightly waste.

 

[waterdrop]

eheims (not the ecco range) are pretty quiet and v reliable so they'll run and run

another tip for getting poop up off the bottom of the tank and into the filter is to install a powerhead on the tank an inch or two above the substrate on the opposite end of the tank to the filter inlet pointing towards it. this way you'll get flow along the bottom of the tank it will lift and push some of the poop down towards the filter inlet and then when it gets close enough it'll be picked up by the filter.

clearly still need to gravcel vac but it does make things a little better purely in terms of unsightly waste.

Totally agree. An eheim from the Pro or Pro II series will be even quieter than the aquaclear because of less water return noise probably. I have a hard time detecting vibration from mine even with my hand on it, let alone noise - have to check the spraybar flow to confirm its running.

But, regardless, adding more filtration, while a good thing in your case, is unlikely to go very far in solving the visible waste problem - its just not all going to get sucked in. MWs suggestion of creating a cross-flow sounds quite good and if you like the idea, it might even be enhanced with the right type of heavier short ground plantings towards the intake end of the tank, to hide the stuff that is being swept over there.

~~waterdrop~~