How Much Filtration

[vfg10]

hi
I just got a power head filter that makes 277 gallons x hour and i think that is way to much because I check it in my 33 gallon tank and it moves a lot I mean a lot of water

is this the correct power-head for my tank or do I need a smaller one ??

there is a smaller one that makes 126 gallon x hour is this better ???

any info is great

thanks

 

[OldMan47]

126 GPH would be about 4 times the tank volume. When you add that to the filter flow, it is probably enough. The 277 is about 7 times the tank volume and you would still need to add in the filter flow. That is probably going to com to at least 10 times the tank volume per hour. Some plant people would tell you that is ideal but it seems excessive to me. A lot depends on what you believe is the correct flow ratio for a tank. My own preference would be the lower flow rate power head, or maybe even none at all, just use the filter flow. I am a bit outside the norm in my preferences.

 

[vfg10]

hi well the angelfish and the skirt tetras they don't seem to like that much water flow.

I think I need to get the smaller power head

or is the cascade filter better ??

right now I have the filter box but I need to upgrade to something

 

[vfg10]

hi again I just made a video of my new tank video

let me now what you thing
video

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTpYpJ9f59k

what will hapen if I leave that filter box and don't upgrade ??

on thanks for the comments

 

[OldMan47]

If that is a 20 gallon tank, as it seems to be, you are at the absolute minimum for filtration right now. If you add any fish at all, you will be over the ability of that filter to process the ammonia. I would gradually, over the next few cleanings, replace most of the media in your filter with something like Seachem matrix or one of the ceramic media made by Eheim or Fluval. Please do not make that change all at once as it would mean throwing away your cycled media to do that. I have a similar filter running on a lightly populated 10 gallon tank that got the mature ceramic noodles from one of my other tank filters. The only other media in mine is a thin layer of filter floss across the top of the ceramic media. I would increase the bubble rate slightly to try to get about 1/3 of the riser tube filled with air and 2/3 filled with water. That will give you as much flow as can be coaxed from an air lift type filter.