Filtration gph in a 55g?

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J

JoeBel

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 16, 2008
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www.joebeleznay.com
Quick question, looking for what target filtration gph I should be using on my 55g that is housing 4 RB's between 3"-4"'s (I know I need to upgrade or thin out).

I'm having constant Ammonia probs for 2 months and am currently using an Eheim 2215 (165gph). I am thinking of upgrading to the Eheim 2217 (265 gph) if it will solve my problem, but don't want to spend the $ unless I know it will def fix things.

FYI, I'm very clean with the tank, never leaving uneaten food in there. Do weekly water changes. I also don't want a HOB filter for vanity purposes.

Let me know how much filtration you're using if you have a 55g.

Thanks,
JB
 
IMO...I think you don't have enuff bio-media to break down the ammonia in the tank. You should at least have a 10x gph (550gph) turnover rate but maybe a little more for you since your tank is a little overstocked. It's good to have a high GPH turnover rate but it won't mean anything if you lack the bio-media to break down the ammonia, nitrite, and Nitrate. It's the same thing as hooking a sump up to your tank with a pump that can turnover your tank 20x per hour....if it has little or no bio-media in it...it would be worthless. You are doing things right with the weekly water changes but how much % do you change out per week (if your ammonia levels are really high...you may want to do more frequent w/c's like 20% daily until it gets down to a safe level)? When was the last time you cleaned out your filter (hopefully in the old water)? Was the tank fully cycled before you put your P's in? What are your other water params?
 
1 million trillion gph........naw around 4 to 8 hundred gph
 
Thanks for the input guys. My tank wasn't cycled (was newly set-up) when I put the fish in, I was trying to kick start the cycle by adding all established filter media in my new canister. I had to give back the smaller tank they were in so I had nowhere else to put them.

Wow, that's a lot of gph, seems like overkill but I understand because P's are messy. I'm am extremely clean with them though, any piece of food they don't eat, I get out of the tank asap. I haven't cleaned out the canister in the past two months because I've been waiting for the readings to settle and it never has.

On the water changes, I do about 40% per week. In terms of BioMedia I have the Eheim filled with established & new bio max, established filter pads, Chemipure carbon, it's filled to the brim with it all.

My other params:

PH - 6.0 to 6.2
NI - 0 (always has been zero don't know why)
NA - 20ppm

- So, in your estimation if I ramp my filtration up to about 400gph, will everything be fine?

- Can you give me some advice on what BioMedia I should be using?

Thanks,
JB
 
I use the eheim 2227 on a 40g breeder with an 8 inch brandtii. i also have a rio 800 powerhead with the prefilter sponge attached to it.. i do not use any mechanical in the eheim and i have never had a problem with my set up.. my fish gets fed heavily atleast once a day with silverside or 1 market shrimp.. i would suggest emptying your eheim and using all ehfi substrate pro.. along with a large power head or two with pre filter sponges attached.. also i do weekly water changes of 10 - 20 gallons.. i beleive eheims are good bio filters and should only be used as such.. but when using eheim i always use a secondary mech filter.. the 2215 is way to small for your tank and stocking level.. also the increase in water movement will help oxygenate the water and increase the bioload that the filter will be able to handle.. its life insurance for your bacteria so to speak.. so i say just throw another filter that does lots of water movement and everything should be okay.. i hope that helps..

Anthony
 
JoeBel;1874608; said:
Thanks for the input guys. My tank wasn't cycled (was newly set-up) when I put the fish in, I was trying to kick start the cycle by adding all established filter media in my new canister. I had to give back the smaller tank they were in so I had nowhere else to put them.

Wow, that's a lot of gph, seems like overkill but I understand because P's are messy. I'm am extremely clean with them though, any piece of food they don't eat, I get out of the tank asap. I haven't cleaned out the canister in the past two months because I've been waiting for the readings to settle and it never has.

On the water changes, I do about 40% per week. In terms of BioMedia I have the Eheim filled with established & new bio max, established filter pads, Chemipure carbon, it's filled to the brim with it all.

My other params:

PH - 6.0 to 6.2
NI - 0 (always has been zero don't know why)
NA - 20ppm

- So, in your estimation if I ramp my filtration up to about 400gph, will everything be fine?

- Can you give me some advice on what BioMedia I should be using?

Thanks,
JB
Click to expand...

hmmm...the bio-media that you are you using should be fine but the new stuff that you put in still may be establishing themselves. But since you have it filled to the brim...the GPH in your 2217 has more than likely slowed down alot since it has to filter through all that media. Once your ammonia goes down you will see a increase in nitrite, and Nitrate. IMO...I think you should keep your 2217 plus add a FX5 if you want high GPH (this should give you great turnover rate plus the bio-media in your 2217 and FX5) or if you wanna save money...do a DIY sump tank...just remember to get a good pump that can do 600GPH or more. However, think more into the future if your planning on upgrading your tank so you don't have to buy something now for your current tank and having to buy it later when you have to go bigger for your filtration and GPH needs. Lastly, try to wash out your filter....it may have picked up alot of junk over 2 months and needs to be cleaned....remember to wash it in the old water you change out!
 
808flipsyde;1874759; said:
hmmm...the bio-media that you are you using should be fine but the new stuff that you put in still may be establishing themselves. But since you have it filled to the brim...the GPH in your 2217 has more than likely slowed down alot since it has to filter through all that media. Once your ammonia goes down you will see a increase in nitrite, and Nitrate. IMO...I think you should keep your 2217 plus add a FX5 if you want high GPH (this should give you great turnover rate plus the bio-media in your 2217 and FX5) or if you wanna save money...do a DIY sump tank...just remember to get a good pump that can do 600GPH or more. However, think more into the future if your planning on upgrading your tank so you don't have to buy something now for your current tank and having to buy it later when you have to go bigger for your filtration and GPH needs. Lastly, try to wash out your filter....it may have picked up alot of junk over 2 months and needs to be cleaned....remember to wash it in the old water you change out!
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan, I actually just ordered a Penguin 350 HOB so that will bring my gph to about 515gph, which I'm hoping will fix the prob. I'll def clean out my Eheim and you're absolutely right about the filtration prob being a bit stunted by all the media in there.

Do you think I"ll be good with the Penguin Eheim combo?

Thanks again for all the input,
JB
 
I ran an emp 400 on my RB tank 3 - 8 inchers. I had to keep them in there for about 1 year and I had no problems at all. I did water changes every 2 weeks.
 
BlackwaterFL;1876519; said:
I ran an emp 400 on my RB tank 3 - 8 inchers. I had to keep them in there for about 1 year and I had no problems at all. I did water changes every 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Cool, was it a 55g? I was debating on the Emp 400, but the Penguin 350 is mad cheap at petsmart, with coupon I got it for around $25 shipped, psyched!

Any advice on what to use in the filter cartridges, since I've got my Eheim filled with BioMax and filter pads. I was thinking I would use carbon and some floss in the cartridges.

JB
 
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